June 15, 2006
As time moves on from the 2006 men's lacrosse season at Fairfield University the scope of what was accomplished will be seen. With high hopes entering the campaign, after making a trip to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the Stags suffered some growing pains, as they moved up the lacrosse food chain. Fairfield made the move into the ECAC Lacrosse League, an eight-team league, which is among the highest ranked leagues in the nation.
The 2006 campaign goes down as perhaps the toughest schedule in the 14-year history of the Fairfield men's lacrosse program. Nine of the Stags opponents received votes in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll at some point during the season, with four being ranked in the top-20 on the day of the game.
Fairfield hosted Georgetown on April 8, when the Hoyas were ranked second in the country, marking the highest ranked opponent the Stags had played and hosted in the history of the program.
Over the course of the season the Stags battled four opponents ranked in the top-20 on the date of the game, and four others who were receiving votes in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. A quarter of the NCAA Tournament field also appeared on the Stags 2006 schedule, including three at-large qualifiers. Add to that a close game at Massachusetts, which the Stags dominated for 58:54, before falling to the eventual national runner-up Minutemen.
The Stags fared well against the high level of competition, posting a 6-7 overall record and going 4-3 in the program's first season as a member of the ECAC Lacrosse League.
The season ended on an upswing as the Stags went 2-1 over the final three contests. The highlight was the program's first-ever win over Loyola, 13-12. Things looked bleak early as the 16th ranked Greyhounds jumped out to a 7-2 lead on Lessing Field. However, Fairfield would not fold, closing the half on a 4-0 run, and opening the second half with a 3-0 run, to take a 9-7 lead. Loyola did not score for 15 minutes during the Stags run.
Loyola would answer however and knotting the score at 9-9 as the final quarter began. Greg Downing gave Fairfield a 10-9 lead 29 seconds into the final stanza, which the Greyhounds promptly answered. Downing gave Fairfield the lead back with 11:34 to play, and Dan Boudreau put the Stags up to stay with a man-up goal with 5:52 to play. Josh Thornton answered the Greyhounds goal for the game-winner. Downing and Travis Nelson both had four goals and an assist in the win.
 Travis Nelson scored five points in each of the Stags last three contests.  |
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With the Loyola win under their belts, the Stags rode that momentum into a key ECAC match-up at UMass, then ranked 10th in the nation. Fairfield dominated the contest for 58:55, holding a 6-4 advantage. However, the Minutemen scored with 63 seconds to play, and tallied three goals in a 29 second span, to stun the Stags, 7-6. Nelson again led the Stags with a five-point effort, on two goals and three assists. Mike Kruger was stellar in net as he was peppered by 47 shots. He recorded 16 saves in the game, including eight in shutting out the nations fifth ranked offense, in the first quarter.
A road win over St. John's was the result of the season finale. The Stags overpowered their hosts for a 12-7 victory. The Stags jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, and then just answered each Red Storm charge. Nelson netted three goals and had two assists, his third straight five-point scoring effort.
The season opened on a high note, as the Stags traveled to Worcester, Mass., and unleashed their offensive power. Fairfield won that season opening game 19-4, behind the five-goal effort of Downing and a five-assist effort from Mike Bocklet.
Offense was something that Fairfield did not lack the entire season. The Stags finished the year with 130 goals in the 13 games, ranking second in the ECAC in offensive firepower, 10 goals per game, and 13th nationally.
The Stags home opener came on March 4, as 18th ranked Dartmouth visited, in what turned into an offensive shootout. The Stags trailed 7-5 early in the third quarter, but rallied with five straight goals to take what seemed to be a commanding 10-7 edge with 3:13 left in the third. Dartmouth netted three straight goals, the last with 14:15 to play to knot the score 10-10. Fairfield responded with two goals in a 58 second span to take a 12-10 edge, but could not hold on, as Dartmouth scored four goals in the final 4:11, for the 14-12 win.
Fairfield returned to the road, and its winning ways, with an historic outing against Rutgers. The game marked the first-ever ECAC Lacrosse League game for the Stags, one which they dominated throughout, winning 11-7. Fairfield flexed its offensive muscle early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead and taking a 5-1 advantage after the first quarter, and did not allow the Scarlet Knights to get closer then four goals, after taking an 8-3 edge midway in the third quarter.
After a disappointing 19-5 loss to Yale in Florida on the program's annual spring trip, Fairfield went to Boston to take on Harvard. Kruger
 Mike Kruger made 20 saves in the Stags win over NCAA Touranment participant Harvard. |
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Once again the Stags rebounded and showed their resilience with an April 1 win over ECAC Lacrosse League foe Hobart. Fairfield jumped out on the Statesmen, scoring five straight to break a 1-1 tie during the first half. Hobart rallied to close the halftime score to 8-5, as Mike Bocklet netted a goal with 3:15 left in the half. He started the scoring in the second half as well, sparking the Stags to the victory.
Fairfield would again find its resiliency tested after the Hobart win as they lost their next three contests. The Stags lost 11-10 on the road in overtime to Providence, 10-5 to Georgetown at home and 18-9 on the road to North Carolina.
The Stags never quit against the highly ranked league opponent before falling to the eventual NCAA Tournament quarterfinalists. Fairfield struck first as Bocklet scored late in the first quarter, the only goal of the first stanza. The Hoyas scored four straight, but Josh Thornton stemmed the tied with 48 seconds left in the first half, and the Stags trailed 4-2 at the intermission. The teams traded goals to start the third quarter, but the Hoyas scored three straight to end the period ahead 8-3. Both teams scored twice in the fourth quarter, for the 10-5 final. Despite the three-game losing streak, the Stags remained focused, and were well prepared as they looked to close the season on a high note, starting with the Loyola contest.
The Stags received strong play from the players that they expected to receive them from, as well as from those who stepped up and made a name for themselves. Two of the known players who played well on the year were Downing and Mike Bocklet, both juniors. The duo finished the year with 114 and 107 career points respectively, and in the process became only the second set of classmates to both eclipse 100 points in program history.
Downing continued to shine and prove himself among the nations best midfielders and one of the top offensive threats in the nation. He was named an STX/USILA All-America Honorable Mention for the second consecutive year, the first player in program history to earn All-America honors twice in their career. He was also voted to the NEILA Division I All New England First Team and was selected ECAC All-League First Team.
Despite missing two games, Downing finished the year with a team-best 26 goals. He averaged 2.36 goals per game, tops in the ECAC and 11th nationally. Downing also dished out nine assists, to finish third on the roster with 35 points. His 3.18 points per game ranked him 23rd in the country.
Bocklet, who recorded a five-goal, one-assist game against Hobart, was the team's second leading scorer. He had 22 goals, and led the team with 14 assists, good for 36 points. Bocklet ranked 36th in the country with 2.85 points per game and was 44th in the nation with 1.15 assist per contest.
 Mike Bocklet finished second with 36 points, including a team-leading 14 assists. |
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Travis Nelson was also honored by the ECAC coaches, earning ECAC All-League Second Team honors. Nelson ended up leading the team with 37 points on the year. He finished the season with a three-game streak of scoring five points per game. He tallied 25 goals on the year and dished out 12 assists. He was one of three Stags nationally ranked in points per game, finishing the year 45th with 2.77 points an outing.
Mike Kruger backstopped the Fairfield defense this season, starting every game the team played. The junior stopped 140 shots during the season, for a .543 save percentage, 31st in the country. His goals-against-average was 10.02, which ranked him 40th in the nation at the Division I level.
Charlie Keinath was once again the Stags top face-off man on the year. He won 52.7 percent, 106-201, of the face-off's he took, ranking 24th nationally in face-off winning percentage. Keinath also had three points on the year, with a goal and two assists.
Trevor Kelly and Josh Thornton also received accolades as they completed their senior seasons. Both student-athletes were selected to play in the NEILA East-West game. while Kelly was named an NEILA Scholar-Athlete. Thornton finished with 24 points, on 13 goals and 11 assists, while Kelly was an important part of the Stags defensive efforrt.
The 2006 men's lacrosse season at Fairfield will go down as a success, with six wins, a winning record in its first season of ECAC Lacrosse League membership, and numerous individual accolades.
