The Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team dropped a 7-2 decision to ECAC Lacrosse League foe Penn State University on Alumni Field Friday night.  The Stags fall to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Nittany Lions improve to 4-3 on the year and 1-1 in ECAC play.

The two teams played a scoreless first quarter, with Penn State taking a 7-5 advantage in shots, but none were on goal.  Penn State took control of the game in the second quarter, scoring the games first five goals.  Charley Henneghan put in the first goal at the 14:28 mark, scooping a lose ball, and putting in the man-up goal.  The Nittany Lions then struck twice in a 10 second span, at 9:47 and 9:27, with Henneghan netting what would prove to be the game-winner.

The Stags stopped the 5-0 run as the first half wound down, with a Dan Holub goal with 47 seconds to play.  Max VanArsdale scored Penn State’s lone third quarter goal, at 7:54, which Matt Plominski answered with 3:15 to play in the quarter, making the score 6-2.  Penn State’s Rob Forster would tally his third goal with 13:42 to play in the game, to wrap up the scoring.

Billy Honovich and Matt Scanlon both played well defensively for Fairfield, recording four caused turnovers apiece. Jeff Cilente made his first career start in goal for the Stags, making six stops in 60 minutes.  Adams finished the game with eight saves to earn the win for Penn State.

Fairfield finished the game with a 26-22 advantage in shots, but Penn State had a 13-10 advantage in shots on goal.  Both squads cleared the ball well in the game, with Fairfield at 19-21, and Penn State at 20-22.  The Nittany Lions committed more turnovers 22-18, but had more ground balls, 26-21.  The Stags were 0-3 on man-up chances, while Penn State was 1-4.  

Fairfield will host ECAC foe Hobart on Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m. in its next contest.