Freshman forward Dave Nigro (Marlboro) scored the equalizer in the 72nd minute as the Monmouth University men’s soccer team tied Fairfield University, 1-1, in the Hawks’ firstever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match on Oct. 5 at Lessing Field. With the tie, the Hawks move to 1- 5-3 (0-0-1 MAAC), while the Stags are now 3-2-2 (0-0-1 MAAC).
“I thought our guys showed a fantastic amount of character tonight,” Monmouth head coach Robert McCourt said. “We had a [penalty kick] called against us. We could’ve put our heads down, but we actually bounced back stronger than we were before, and I thought we were unlucky not to get more out of the game. Historically, Fairfield is one of the better teams in the MAAC, so to come up here and get a point on the road in the conference I think is a good building block for us moving forward.” Making his first career start in goal, freshman Eric Klenofsky (DePaul Catholic) made two saves to preserve the tie. Fairfield goalkeeper Joe Martin did not register a save.
Fairfield was awarded a penalty kick in the 57th minute, and Jon Clement found the back of the net to give the Stags a 1-0 lead.
Jacob Rubinstein (Ocean Township) checked into the game in the 71st minute. Forty-seven seconds later, he found Nigro with a pass across the box that the freshman put away past Martin for the equalizer.
For the game, the Hawks took an 8-7 edge in shots and a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
The Hawks return to MAAC action Oct. 9 when they play host to Iona College. Kickoff from The Great Lawn is scheduled for 7 p.m.