The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team makes its shortest road trip of the season to nearby Yale University for a Saturday afternoon contest. The unbeaten Bulldogs, ranked as high as No. 6 in the national polls this week, welcome the Stags for a 1:30 p.m. contest at Reese Stadium.
Fairfield's Last Time Out: Colin McLinden matched his career high with seven points, but Fairfield was held off by host Stony Brook in a 10-9 contest on Saturday, Feb. 28 on Long Island. McLinden netted a hat trick to go along with four assists for the Stags.
Fairfield also got a pair of goals from Jake Knostman as well as single tallies from Charlie Schnider, TJ Neubauer, Joe Rodrigues and Tristan Sperry. Schnider also dished out an assist.
Will Fox went 13-for-18 at the faceoff 'X' and was later recognized as CAA Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week for his work as the Stags' primary faceoff man.
Neubauer added seven ground balls for Fairfield, and Sperry scooped up five. Brad Nordstrom helmed the net for the Stags and made nine saves.
Will Fox - Two-Time CAA Rookie of the Week: Freshman Will Fox has earned Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week honors for the second consecutive week. The faceoff specialist went 13-of-18 (.722) at the 'X' in the Stags' Feb. 28 outing at Stony Brook.
Fox's 13-of-18 mark was highlighted by a 9-of-10 showing in the second half as the Stags trimmed a four-goal deficit down to a single tally. The freshman also scooped up a pair of ground balls against the host Seawolves.
The previous week, Fox went 16-of-21 (.762) with 10 ground balls in a pair of Fairfield victories to earn his first CAA weekly award of the spring. For the season, he leads CAA Lacrosse and ranks third in the nation with a winning percentage of .708 (34-of-48) at the 'X'.
The Matchup: The Stags will challenge Yale for the ninth time in program history on Saturday. Fairfield's 12-11 overtime win over the Bulldogs last spring was the first victory for the Stags in the series after seven consecutive losses. The slate between the in-state foes dates back to the Stags' first-ever MAAC Championship season of 1996.
Last season's Fairfield win marked the third one-goal decision in the series and the five meeting decided by three goals or fewer.
Scouting Yale: The Yale Bulldogs, ranked sixth nationally by both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse this week, enter the weekend with a record of 4-0. Yale most recently escaped an upset at the hands of St. John's with an 11-10 overtime triumph in Queens on Tuesday, March 3.
The Yale offense is led by Conrad Oberbeck - the second all-time leading scorer in Bulldogs' history - who has compiled 14 goals and three assists through four contests. Ben Reeves adds 14 total points (8g, 6a) for Yale, with Jeff Cimbalista's game-winner against the Red Storm running his total to 12 points (9g, 3a).
Eric Natale is the Bulldogs' primary goalkeeper. To date, he owns a 7.42 goals-against average and .458 save percentage. Natale has started and registered the win in all four of Yale's games thus far in 2015.
Consistency Is Key: Three Stags - Tristan Sperry, Colin McLinden and Charlie Schnider - have tallied at least one point in each of Fairfield's four contests thus far in 2015. Not surprisingly, the trio also leads the Stags in scoring. McLinden has piled up a team-best 15 points (5g, 10a), followed by 14 points from Sperry (8g, 6a) and 11 (7g, 4a) from Schnider.
Wrapping Up the Road Swing: Fairfield concludes its three-game road trip on Tuesday, March 10 at Bucknell. The Stags and Bison will faceoff from Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa. at 3 p.m.
Fairfield's return to Rafferty Stadium will feature a clash with another Patriot League foe as Colgate comes to town on Saturday, March 14 for a 1 p.m. contest.