FAIRFIELD, CONN. — It was an action-packed evening as crosstown rivals Sacred Heart and Fairfield battled to a draw in the regular-season finale of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play at Park Ave Field.
Records:
Sacred Heart (8-3-4) (7-0-3 MAAC)
Fairfield (7-4-5) (5-1-4 MAAC)
Top Performers:
Danny Istambouli - 1 goal, 1 assist
David Garcia Gallego- 1 goal, 2 shots on goal
Sam McCann- 1 assist
Between the Pipes:
SHU: Luca Marinelli - 1 goal-against | 1 save
SHU: Nate DiLoreto (T, 0-2-1) - 1 goal-against | 2 saves
FAIRFIELD: Evan Chomow - 0 goals-against | 4 saves
FAIRFIELD- Viktor Nikolov- 2 goals- against
How it Happened:
The Stags came out firing early, striking in the 10th minute when Sean Albritton broke free for a one-on-one with Luca Marinelli and slotted it home to make it 1-0 Fairfield. The Pioneers nearly found the equalizer in the 29th minute as David Garcia Gallego and Eli Stein each ripped shots that forced Fairfield goalkeeper Evan Chomow into a pair of acrobatic saves to preserve the lead.
The second half, however, belonged to Sacred Heart. In the 63rd minute, Danny Istambouli was fouled just outside the box, setting up a Pioneers free kick — and Istambouli made it count, curling it past the wall and in to level the match at one. Just four minutes later, senior captain David Garcia Gallego unleashed a beautiful strike into the top-left corner to put SHU ahead 2-1.
Fairfield answered in the 76th minute, with Albritton striking again — this time against SHU keeper Nate DiLoreto — to bring things level once more. DiLoreto came up big down the stretch, making two clutch saves in the 81st and 83rd minutes to secure the draw for the Pioneers.
Sacred Heart held the edge in shots on goal (6–5) and corners (5–3) in an evenly matched contest.
Of Note:
Up Next:
Sacred Heart will host the second round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament on Thursday November 13th at 6pm.
