The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team plays the first Colonial Athletic Association game in program history on Saturday, March 28 with a visit to the league's defending champion, Drexel. Opening faceoff from Philadelphia is slated for 4 p.m.
The Stags (5-4) enter CAA play riding a three-game winning streak, while the Dragons (4-5) have won four of their last five contests following an 0-4 start to the 2015 season.
Behring Down: Tyler Behring was called into action this week for the first two starts of his collegiate career, and the sophomore goalkeeper responded with an outstanding week between the posts. Behring posted a 3.56 goals-against average with a .759 save percentage in two victories last week en route to being named NCAA.com Division I Defensive Player of the Week, Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week and CAA Player of the Week.
Behring turned away 22 shots while ceding just seven goals in addition to collecting 10 ground balls last week. His efforts led the Stags to a road win at Massachusetts-Lowell on Tuesday, March 17 and a Saturday, March 21 victory over nationally-ranked Villanova at Rafferty Stadium.
Fairfield's Last Time Out: Fueled by 16 saves from Tyler Behring, Fairfield earned an 11-4 win over No. 20 Villanova on Dedication Day at Rafferty Stadium.
Behring's 16 saves mark a career high as well as the most by a Fairfield goalkeeper since Jack Murphy turned away 17 UMBC offerings on March 2, 2013. The sophomore netminder also collected three ground balls.
After falling behind 2-0 early in the first quarter, Behring and the Stags' defense kept Villanova (5-3) off the board until two minutes into the fourth frame – a span of 40:43 of game time. Matt Borda led the unit in front of Behring with a career-best nine ground balls to go along with two caused turnovers.
TJ Neubauer led the Stags' offense with four goals in the victory, which was broadcast live to a nationwide audience on ESPN3 and SNY. Neubauer's quartet of markers extended his team-leading total to 19 on the season. Tristan Sperry, who leads the Stags with 30 points, scored two goals and distributed two assists this evening while gathering four ground balls. Charlie Schnider added three points by way of a goal and two helpers.
Seven Stags scored in total in the contest with Drew Federico, Colin McLinden, Jake Knostman and Joe Rodrigues each adding single tallies in the win.
The Stags were outshot by the visitors, 40-28. Fairfield held a 27-21 advantage in ground balls and committed 15 turnovers while pressuring the Wildcats into 11 miscues.
Scouting Drexel: The defending CAA Champions from Drexel enter league play with a record of 4-5. The Dragons began the season at 0-4 but have since won four of their last five outings to climb back toward .500.
Ryan Belka and Cole Shafer share the team lead with 18 goals apiece. The duo has scored nearly 45 percent (36-of-81) of the team's goals this spring. Belka, a two-time First Team All-CAA performer and 2014 All-America Honorable Mention, has also doled out a team-leading 15 assists to account for his 33 total points.
Jimmy Joe Granito, a Loyola transfer in his first active season at Drexel, has started in goal for the Dragons during their current string of wins. He has posted a 7.42 goals-against average and a .526 save percentage in 299:14 between the posts.
Drexel leads the all-time series with the Stags, 3-0. The clubs have not met since Fairfield's first three seasons as a varsity program from 1993-95.
Fairfield vs. Ranked Opponents: Following Saturday's win over No. 20 Villanova, Fairfield has defeated at least one ranked opponent (in the USILA Coaches' Poll) in each of Andy Copelan's seven seasons at the helm, including an overtime triumph at No. 1 Denver in 2013.
In addition to topping the Wildcats this spring, the Stags were clipped by then-No. 6 Yale in overtime and knocked off a previously-ranked Colgate squad that had slipped to the “others receiving votes” column at the time of the encounter.
Defense Does It: A common thread between the Stags' five victories this spring has been keeping their opponents off the board for an extended stretch of time. Most recently, Fairfield held No. 20 Villanova scoreless for 40:43 of game time - a span that included the entirety of both the second and third quarters - in an eventual 11-4 win.
Previously during Fairfield's current three-game winning streak, the Stags held Massachusetts-Lowell scoreless for a stretch of 29:53 and Colgate went 26:44 between goals.
Earlier this season in the Feb. 18 win at Providence, the Stags' six unanswered goals in the third quarter to break a 4-4 tie in the Feb. 18 win at Providence were supplemented by a defensive effort that kept the Friars off the scoreboard for 21:59 of clock time.
Manhattan endured the shortest drought of Fairfield's five wins - going “only” 17:51 of game time between goals - but the Jaspers were limited to only four total markers by the Stags.
A Rafferty Residency: The Stags will conclude the 2015 season with three straight CAA contests played on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Fairfield begins the residency at its new home venue with a visit from Towson on Saturday, April 11. The Stags also host Delaware on Saturday, April 18 and conclude the regular season against CAA preseason favorite Hofstra on Friday, April 24. Tickets for all three contests are available for purchase at FairfieldStags.com/tix.
Up Next: The Stags continue CAA action and conclude the road portion of their regular season schedule next Saturday, April 4 with a visit to the University of Massachusetts.
