Army West Point Athletics
Thursday, August 21
West Point, N.Y.
4:00 p.m.
Army West Point
0-1-0, 0-0-0
1
vs
2
Fairfield
1-0-0, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Fairfield
1
1
2
Army West Point
1
0
1
Army Falls to Fairfield in Season Opener
August 21, 2025 | Men's Soccer
WEST POINT, N.Y. – An early second-half goal proved to be the difference, as Army West Point men's soccer dropped its season opener 2-1 to Fairfield on Thursday evening at Malek Stadium.
Army (0-1-0) battled tough for all 90 minutes but was unable to find the late equalizer after Fairfield (1-0-0) scored the game winning goal in the 52nd minute off the foot of Sean Albritton to pull ahead 2-1.
The Stags got off to a fast start in the opening half, recording their first goal of the season on a beautiful shot outside of the box by Alex Vas on a free kick following a yellow card by Army's Justice Willis.
Cards were one of the stories of the game, as the officiating team handed out four yellow cards to the Black Knights, and three yellow cards and a red card to the Stags.
Despite falling behind early in the game, Army responded with a goal in the 32nd minute to bring the score level. After Jacob Nguyen's shot from inside the box was saved by the Fairfield goalie, Jubril Bamgbala cleaned up the rebound to record his first goal of the season and the fifth of his career. Nguyen was credited with the assist.
After Fairfield jumped ahead by one with just under four minutes left to play, the Black Knights found pressure in the offensive zone but couldn't quite find the decisive game tying goal. The Stags played the final 10 minutes of the night down a man after Jordan Blunschi received his second yellow of the game, resulting in a red card.
Army recorded 14 shots, three on target, while Fairfield had 13 shots, including four on goal. Blair Camargo made two saves for the Black Knights.
In other miscellaneous stats, Army had five corner kicks compared to Fairfield's two. The Stags had 19 fouls, while the Black Knights recorded eight.
Coaches Corner: Brian Plotkin
"I thought the first 35-40 minutes we were excellent at being on the ball. Outside of 10–15-minute window tonight, I thought we had the ball where we wanted to be. Credit to Fairfield. They made an elite play to create their second goal. But overall, a lot of positives."
Up Next
Army returns to action on Sunday night as it welcomes Big Ten foe Penn State to Malek Field. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. with the match being broadcast on ESPN+.
Follow the Black Knights
Follow Army men's soccer on X @ArmyWP_MSoccer and on Instagram @armywp_msoccer. Fans can also like Army West Point Athletics on Facebook and learn more about men's soccer and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.
Army (0-1-0) battled tough for all 90 minutes but was unable to find the late equalizer after Fairfield (1-0-0) scored the game winning goal in the 52nd minute off the foot of Sean Albritton to pull ahead 2-1.
The Stags got off to a fast start in the opening half, recording their first goal of the season on a beautiful shot outside of the box by Alex Vas on a free kick following a yellow card by Army's Justice Willis.
Cards were one of the stories of the game, as the officiating team handed out four yellow cards to the Black Knights, and three yellow cards and a red card to the Stags.
Despite falling behind early in the game, Army responded with a goal in the 32nd minute to bring the score level. After Jacob Nguyen's shot from inside the box was saved by the Fairfield goalie, Jubril Bamgbala cleaned up the rebound to record his first goal of the season and the fifth of his career. Nguyen was credited with the assist.
After Fairfield jumped ahead by one with just under four minutes left to play, the Black Knights found pressure in the offensive zone but couldn't quite find the decisive game tying goal. The Stags played the final 10 minutes of the night down a man after Jordan Blunschi received his second yellow of the game, resulting in a red card.
Army recorded 14 shots, three on target, while Fairfield had 13 shots, including four on goal. Blair Camargo made two saves for the Black Knights.
In other miscellaneous stats, Army had five corner kicks compared to Fairfield's two. The Stags had 19 fouls, while the Black Knights recorded eight.
Coaches Corner: Brian Plotkin
"I thought the first 35-40 minutes we were excellent at being on the ball. Outside of 10–15-minute window tonight, I thought we had the ball where we wanted to be. Credit to Fairfield. They made an elite play to create their second goal. But overall, a lot of positives."
Up Next
Army returns to action on Sunday night as it welcomes Big Ten foe Penn State to Malek Field. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. with the match being broadcast on ESPN+.
Follow the Black Knights
Follow Army men's soccer on X @ArmyWP_MSoccer and on Instagram @armywp_msoccer. Fans can also like Army West Point Athletics on Facebook and learn more about men's soccer and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.
Team Stats
FAIR
Army
Goals
2
1
Shots
13
14
Shots on Goal
4
3
Saves
2
2
Corners
2
5
Fouls
19
8
Scoring Plays
Alex Vaz (1)
GOAL by FAIR Vaz, Alex.
11:03
Jubril Bamgbala (1)
Assisted By: Jacob Nguyen
GOAL by Army Bamgbala, Jubril Assist by Nguyen, Jacob.
31:20
Sean Albritton (1)
GOAL by FAIR Albritton, Sean.
51:14
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Soccer
G
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
M
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