The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team dropped a 10-6 decision to Villanova University this afternoon on Alumni Field Saturday afternoon. The loss drops the Stags to 2-2 overall and the Wildcats improve to 3-1 on the season.

Each team scored once in the first-quarter with Matt Plominski putting home a pass from Max Trunz midway through the period to give the Stags a 1-0 lead. Villanova answered 3:37 later with the first man-up goal that Fairfield has allowed this season. 

Both teams got on track offensively in the second quarter, touching net three times apiece. The Stags scored twice 39 seconds apart on tallies from Sam Snow, unassisted, and Jordan Greenfield, on a pass from Eric Warden. The Wildcats responded with a pair of goals of their own, including another man-up tally, to tie the score 3-3 with 3:49 to play before intermission. Trunz picked up his second assist of the game at the 2:05 mark, feeding Doug Kuring for a 4-3 Stags advantage. Villanova would tally the equalizer with 44 seconds to play in the half on Kevin Cunningham's second goal of the day.

Villanova opened the scoring 121 seconds into the second period, with an unassisted goal from Max Hart, but Kuring got the Stags back even at the 7:42 mark. It would be the final time the game was tied however, as the Wildcats scored at the 1:36 mark and with 49 seconds left in the quarter to build a 7-5 advantage. Kuring ended the third quarter scoring 17 seconds later to get Fairfield within a goal, 7-6. The Stags would not score again, while Villanova would tally three goals in the final stanza to earn the win.

Charlie Cipriano had his third 11-save game of the season, allowing nine goals in just under 59 minutes of action for the Stags. Tommy Kralovenec made his season debut and allowed one goal in 66 seconds of play. Billy Hurley stopped 13 shots for Villanova in playing the entire game in goal.

Villanova ended the game with a 34-31 advantage in shots, while the Stags picked up one additional ground ball, 27-26. The Wildcats won 11-18 face-offs on the afternoon, including both in the final quarter. Both teams cleared well, with the Stags going 19-23 and Villanova going 16-18.

Kuring led Fairfield on the offensive side with three goals on four shots. Greenfield had a goal and an assist, while Trunz finished with two assists. Rice led the way for Villanova with three goals, while Cunningham touched net twice.

Fairfield returns to action on Friday night when Air Force visits Alumni Field for the ECAC Lacrosse League opener for both squads. The game is set to face-off at 7 p.m.