Saints, Stags Battle to Scoreless Draw

October 22, 2014

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Freshman goalkeeper Josh Weiss posted his sixth shutout of the season as Siena Soccer battled Fairfield to a scoreless draw at Siena Turf Field. The 0-0 tie was the Saints’ first such result in three years.

With the point, Siena (9-5-1, 4-1-1) remained unbeaten at home at 5-0-1. The Saints also ran their overall unbeaten streak to five (4-0-1), one off the program record of six set in 1995.

Siena out-shot Fairfield (6-3-5, 3-1-3) 8-3 in the first half and had its best scoring opportunity in the final minute. With under 20 seconds remaining, Alexander Tejera’s shot was blocked and Uros Antic’s point blank rebound deflected off Fairfield goalkeeper Matt Turner’s fingertips and just over the crossbar.

The Stags controlled the offense the rest of the way, out-shooting the Saints 12-4 over the remaining 55 minutes. Fairfield, which entered the day ranked 10^th nationally in scoring defense, held Siena without a shot on target over that time.

Fairfield had two chances to win it late, but couldn’t cash in. In the 79^th minute, Ben Wignall’s header hit off the outside of the post. Three minutes into the first overtime, Steven Valente corralled a misplayed ball deep in the Saints’ zone with only the keeper to beat. But Weiss cut down the angle and Valente’s attempt went harmlessly wide.

Weiss made five of his six saves after halftime, lowering his impressive goals against average to just 0.71 for the season. He also moved to within one shutout of the program’s single season record of seven set by Eric Lind in 1998.

Turner made all four of his saves in the first half to post his 10^th shutout in 14 matches for Fairfield which ran its unbeaten streak to six (3-0-3).

Tejera attempted five of the Saints’ 12 shots, while Wignall had six of the Stags’ 15 targets. Siena held a 6-1 edge in corners.

Siena will look to equal the longest unbeaten streak in program history Saturday when the Saints head to Rider for a 1 p.m. kickoff.