WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ?The Monmouth University men's soccer team topped Fairfield 2-1 in a very competitive contest on Sunday afternoon on The Great Lawn in front of a crowd of 628. Sophomore Chase Barbieri (Hillsborough, N.J.) tallied the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute after Rich Baker (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) played the ball to Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) on the right side who found Barbieri on a cross for the score. Monmouth improves to 1-1 on the season with the win, while the Stags fall to 1-1.
“It is only fitting that Chase (Barbieri) and Ryan (Kinne) had a hand in both of our goals because from Day One of preseason they have been our most consistent performers,” said head coach Robert McCourt.
The Hawks controlled most of the first half's possession which culminated in a Kinne goal off a free kick from 24 yards out to the far post to give MU a 1-0 lead with 8:44 left before halftime. Kinne's shot hit off the fingertips of Fairfield keeper Justin Burse and found the back of the net for the early MU advantage.
The contest went into the half with the Hawks up 1-0, but the Stags tallied the equalizer when Michael Uy fired a shot that Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) saved, but Fairfield's Erik Ilislje put home the rebound to knot the contest at 1-1 five minutes into the second half. Fairfield appeared poised to take the lead when Christian Uy made a move in the box and fired a shot, but Meredith dove to his left and saved the ball, keeping the game even in the 61st minute.
The sophomore keeper from Scotch Plains kept the game square when he made another save on a Mike Lentine point blank shot later in the second half, which paved the way for Barbieri's game-winner. From there on out, the Monmouth defense stifled Fairfield and preserved the win.
Monmouth outshot Fairfield 14-9 and 7-5 in shots on goal, and held a decided 9-2 advantage on corner opportunities. Burse made four saves for Fairfield, while Meredith made five saves for MU to earn his first win of the season.
“It just goes to show how many different styles of play there are in collegiate soccer,” said McCourt after the win. “This was a much different affair than Friday (against Seton Hall), and I am happy with the way we responded today.”
Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, September 11 when they travel to upstate New York for a 7:00 p.m. clash with Syracuse.
