FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The No. 20 Fairfield University men's lacrosse team trimmed a three-goal deficit to just one in the fourth quarter of Saturday's CAA clash with No. 16 Towson, but the visiting Tigers held off the Stags to claim an 8-7 decision at Rafferty Stadium. Seven different Stags accounted for Fairfield's seven tallies in the loss.

Fairfield (7-5, 2-1 CAA) sees its five-game winning streak come to an end after its fifth one-goal loss of the spring. Towson (9-3, 3-0 CAA) stands as the only team with an unblemished CAA record.

The Stags' seven goals came from Charlie Schnider, Dave Fleming, Joe Rodrigues, Tristan Sperry, Colin McLinden, TJ Neubauer and Jake Knostman. Fairfield also got assists from Neubauer, McLinden, Sperry and Drew Federico.

Schnider's goal extended his streak to 11 consecutive games with a marker. Sperry, Schnider and McLinden have all tallied at least one point in every game this season.

Will Fox went 8-for-16 at the faceoff 'X' to keep the Stags' offense on the field. The three-time CAA Rookie of the Week also collected six ground balls in the midfield.

Goalkeeper Tyler Behring made nine saves for Fairfield. Also on the defensive end, Matt Borda and Conor Barr each caused two Towson turnovers.

Leading the way for the Tigers were Max Siskind scored two goals and Tyler White with 12 saves between the posts.

In a matchup featuring two of the top five defenses in the nation, the scoring was furious in the opening quarter. Schnider started the action with a goal at 12:35, and the clubs traded goals for the remainder of the period. Fleming and Rodrigues also got on the board in the first frame, and Sperry capped the stretch with a marker in the final minute of the period to knot the game at 4-4.

The defensive style of play that many expected to see on Conway Field started in the second quarter. Towson would net a man-up tally just 42 seconds in the period, but that goal marked the only scoring in the period as the Tigers carried a 5-4 edge into the intermission. Behring made two saves and White stopped four shots in the frame.

Coming out of the locker room, neither team would score for nearly 10 minutes in the third before McLinden netted the equalizer at 5:18 to run the score to 5-5.  The Stags' defensive unit was less than five seconds away from posting a scoreless quarter for the fifth straight game, but Towson's Justin Mabus scored just before the horn in the third to put the Tigers back on top, 6-5, entering the fourth quarter.

Mabus' goal ended a drought of 29:14 for Towson – the fourth-longest stretch put together by the Fairfield defense this spring.

The Tigers went on a run to open the final quarter, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the period to open up an 8-5 lead – the first multiple-goal advantage for either team in the contest – with 10:36 to play.

However, Fairfield needed just 61 seconds to respond. Towson won the faceoff initially, but Neubauer caused a turnover and Sperry picked up the ground ball to stake the Stags with a possession in their attacking zone. Neubauer finished off the play at 9:35, burying his team-leading 26th goal to cut the deficit to 8-6.

More than six minutes ticked off the clock before the next goal, with a save from each keeper and a turnover each way accounting for the scoring drought. The spell was broken by Knostman, who fired home a man-up tally from a Sperry assist, trimming the margin in half to 8-7 with 3:17 to go.

Fox would come away with the ensuing faceoff, and Fairfield possessed the ball for all but the final few seconds of the contest. However, Towson would fight off a 60-second man-up opportunity for the Stags, and White made two saves in the last minute of play as the visitors escaped Rafferty Stadium with an 8-7 decision.

Fairfield outshot Towson, 32-25, and the Tigers held a 24-21 edge in ground balls. The Stags won 8-of-19 faceoffs and committed 11 turnovers while pressuring Towson into 10 giveaways.

Fairfield continues a three-game homestand on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium with a visit from Delaware on Saturday, April 18. The Stags conclude the regular season against CAA preseason favorite Hofstra on Friday, April 24.