The Fairfield Stags men's soccer team represents

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time a ...

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan ar ...

and competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

. The Stags play their home games at

Lessing Field Lessing Field is a multi-purpose lacrosse and soccer stadium on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is home to the Fairfield Stags men's and women's lacrosse and soccer teams. Previously named Varsity Field it was ren ...

on the campus of

. The team was ranked nationally in 1998 (24th), 2000 (15th), 2001 (12th), 2005 (24th), 2006 (15th) 2007 (17th) and 2011 (25th) and competed in the

NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champi ...

in 1999,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

. The 2006 team advanced to the second round in the NCAA Tournament after defeating in-state rival University of Connecticut, 2–1. The team also won the MAAC Championship Tournament in 1999, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2017. Individually, ten players have earned Regional All-American honors including Mark Longwell '82 who was the first Stag to go on to play for the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

and major professional soccer for the NASL

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. The Stags are currently coached by 1998 New England Coach of the Year

Carl Rees Carl Rees is the head coach of the Fairfield Stags men's soccer team where he was the 1998 NSCAA New England Coach of the Year and the 1998, 2011 and 2017 MAAC Coach of the Year. Rees is a USSF academy national team scout. As a player he was a ...

History

Dawn of the Stags

The Fairfield Stags men's soccer program first began in 1964. Fairfield University Athletic Hall of Famer James Kuhlmann was the founding coach who dedicated himself to the university and the development of the program over the next 24 years. Coach Kuhlmann's dedication and efforts culminated in the Stags becoming a routine MAAC contender in the 1980s with standout players Mark Longwell '82, who went on to play for the

and the NASL

, and Alberto Zappala '82 leading the way.Fairfield University :: 1995 Hall of Fame Inductees
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Red Stags Rising

With Head Coach

manning the helm over the past decade the Stags have been ranked among the nation's elite programs having produced seven

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 3 ...

Regional All-Americans and achieved seven winning seasons, including double-digit win totals in five of the last 10 campaigns. In 1998, the Stags posted a program-high 15 wins, and earned a No. 24 national ranking, the first-ever top 25 poll appearance by any Fairfield University team. In 1999, the Stags won its first MAAC tournament title and the program's first NCAA play-in berth. In 2000, the Stags earned a No. 15 national ranking. In 2001, the Stags placed in the national rankings all but two weeks, hitting a program-high of number 12. In 2005, the Stags posted an unbeaten conference record (8-0-1) for the first time in school history and captured the MAAC regular-season championship. The Stags also garnered a national ranking in the 2005 polls, thanks in part to an unbeaten mark during the month of October (8-0-1).

2006 season

In 2006 the Stags became the first Fairfield team in any sport to advance past the first round of an NCAA Tournament, as they defeated UConn 2–1 in the

NCAA Men's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champ ...

in Storrs, CT. After winning the MAAC regular season and post season championship, the Stags, led by seniors Alex Cunliffe and Mike Troy, as well as juniors Tom Skara, J.P. Francini and Sam Bailey, entered the UConn game as the underdog. A goal by senior Jimmy Gaughan broke a 1–1 tie and solid goaltending from Francini kept the lead for Fairfield who upset the Huskies. The Stags lost to Towson in the second round, but will be remembered as one of the best athletic teams in school history.

All-time head coaches

Awards

All-Time statistic leaders

Stags in the pros

References

External links

* {{Fairfield University Soccer clubs in Connecticut 1964 establishments in Connecticut