Women’s Soccer Conference Play to Begin

Women’s Soccer Conference Play to Begin

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EDISON, NJ – Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) league play begins tomorrow Friday, September 14 under the lights with Fairfield University (5-2) traveling to Manhattan College (1-3-1) for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
 
Opening weekend continues Saturday, September 15 with three conference games. Niagara University (4-3) takes on Iona College (2-6) on ESPN3 at 11 a.m. Siena College (3-3-1) welcomes Quinnipiac University (3-4) at noon, and Canisius College (3-2-1) follows on the road for a match at Saint Peter’s (0-6) at 1 p.m. The lone Sunday, September 16 game is between the reigning two-time regular season champion Monmouth University (5-2-1) and fellow New Jersey native Rider University (4-2-1) at 6 p.m. on ESPN3.
 
Conference play takes a break during the week and resumes Saturday, September 22 when Marist College (2-2-1) travels to Iona for a 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN3.
 
Through non-conference play Monmouth and Fairfield boasted the most wins with five. Fairfield (3-0), Niagara (3-0) and Canisius (2-0) each went undefeated at home while Rider (3-0-1) is the lone road warrior with no losses away from home.
 
The Stags currently lead the MAAC with 18 goals and 12 assists in seven games. Forward Alex Madden leads the way for Fairfield with a league-leading 12 points and six goals, which is tied for 11th in Division I. Madden’s most impressive performance came against Wagner College in a 4-1 win where she recorded a hat trick. Rider's forward Kourney Cunningham posted a hat trick of her own at Delaware State in a 5-1 victory in where she scored three goals and one assist to tie Madden for the MAAC-lead in points. 
 
Niagara’s Annie Ibey and Canisius’ Madeline Beaulieu are tied for second in the MAAC with four goals. Ibey is tied for fifth in Division I and leading the MAAC with three game-winning goals.
 
Goalkeeper Amanda Knuab and Monmouth have only allowed four total goals in eight games with Knaub posting four total shutouts. Rider’s Carmen Carbonell has a league-leading 50 saves in seven games with the second-best save percentage (.877%) in the conference behind Knaub (.889%). Carbonell's 50 saves are seventh in Division I and Knaub's four shutouts are tied for 16th. 
 
The 2018 MAAC Women’s Soccer season culminates at the championship October 28-November 4. This year’s championship brings a new format. All games will be hosted by the higher seeds. The first round begins October 28 at the No. 3 and 4 seeds followed by the semifinals November 1 hosted by the No. 1 and 2 seeds. The championship game kicks off Sunday, November 4 at the highest remaining seed. Monmouth is chasing its third-straight MAAC Championship after beating Manhattan (2017) and Quinnipiac (2016) the last two years.
 
For the latest championship and ticket information, schedule updates, and all other MAAC Soccer news follow @MAACSports, @MAACOlySports and visit MAACSports.com.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.