FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Eric Lagos scored twice and Kahveh Zahiroleslam tallied the game-winner late in the second half to lift the defending Ivy League champion Yale men's soccer team to a season-opening 3-2 win at Fairfield.
 
"We have been waiting a very long time for this and it means more than just any game," said Kylie Stannard, the 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "I am incredibly proud of our guys tonight, and not just because of the win, but more about how they have handled themselves over the past year. We still have a long way to go, but this one feels extra good after the long wait."
 
Goalkeeper Elian Haddock made six saves for the Bulldogs, who played their first match since 2019.  Yale held an 8-3 edge in corners and played aggressive throughout.  
 
Sigfus Arnason set up Lagos to open the scoring shortly after Yale's second corner kick in a 42-second span.
Fairfield tied the match seven minutes later.  
 
Lagos also opened the scoring in the second half, assisted by TJ Presthus. 
 
Fairfield's Jonathan Filipe used a penalty kick to tie the match at the 70:31 mark.
 
Zahiroleslam's goal with less than 10 minutes left came off an assist from Paolo Carroll.
 
"This was a bit of a roller coaster tonight, and I give our guys a lot of credit for keeping their composure after losing the lead a couple of times," Stannard said. "We didn't panic and that allowed us to stay composed and keep going. We saw a lot of new players play their first college minutes tonight, which is always exciting. We will need to lean on a lot of guys this season as the games start to come quickly."
 
The Bulldogs return to action on Monday when they play at Villanova. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.