The Canisius men's soccer team suffered its first home loss of the season in a 1-0 defeat to Fairfield University at the Demske Sports Complex on Saturday night. The Golden Griffins fall to 7-5-2 overall and 2-3-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

“I didn't think we came mentally ready to play tonight. We can't use the cold weather and wind as an excuse,” Canisius coach Dermot McGrane said. “Fairfield was able to take advantage of its best scoring chance. We couldn't do that on a number of good opportunities when we had them.”

Fairfield (5-4-4, 2-2-2 MAAC) struck first in the 26th minute as Hrvoje Valente was able to get past the Canisius defense with an open look on the Griffs' net. Canisius keeper Andrew Coughlin was able to make the first save, but Ben Wignall corralled the rebound and beat Coughlin to give the Stags the lead. The best chance for Canisius came with just under 15 minutes left in the half when the header from senior Asani Samuels hit the crossbar.

Canisius outshot Fairfield 7-1 in the second half but couldn't find the equalizer. A cross from junior Alex DeCarolis with 8:30 remaining found senior Jon Cary, but the header from Cary went just wide.

Coughlin made six saves in the loss for Canisius while Fairfield keeper Matt Turner posted five saves en route to the victory.

Canisius returns to the field on Wednesday, when the Golden Griffins host Marist College. Game time at the Demske Sports Complex is set for 4 p.m.

Notes: Canisius last lost at home on Nov. 2, 2013, against Iona as the Griffs were 6-0-2 in their previous eight home games… The Stags defeated the Griffs for the fourth consecutive meeting… Canisius is now 5-4 in one-goal games this season.