The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team enters the postseason as top seed and host of the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Championship. The Stags will meet fourth-seeded Massachusetts in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 30 at Rafferty Stadium.
Fairfield won a 10-9 contest at UMass on April 4 as a part of the CAA regular season slate.
The other side of the bracket will feature second-seeded Drexel and third-seeded Towson in action at Rafferty Stadium at 4 p.m.
All-CAA Honors: Led by Rookie of the Year Will Fox and Coach of the Year Andy Copelan, the Stags were well represented on the All-CAA teams, as announced on Wednesday evening. Click here to view a complete rundown of Fairfield's All-CAA honorees.
Fairfield's Last Time Out: The Stags scored the first five goals of their regular season finale against visiting Hofstra on April 24, and the defense made the early run stand up in a 5-4 win on Senior Night at Rafferty Stadium.
With the victory, Fairfield clinched a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title. The Stags won the outright crown the following afternoon via Drexel's home win over Towson.
Five different Stags scored as Fairfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first quarter: Tristan Sperry, Jake Knostman (Drew Federico assist), Joe Rodrigues (Sperry assist), TJ Neubauer (Colin McLinden assist) and Dave Fleming.
Fairfield's defense put forth one of its strongest efforts of the season, including two scoreless quarters. Tyler Behring made 11 saves for the Stags to improve to 6-1 as a starting goalkeeper.
Scouting Massachusetts: The Minutemen from the University of Massachusetts enter the postseason with a record of 4-9 overall and 2-3 in the CAA. UMass most recently lost a last-second decision to Delaware, 10-9, in Amherst to conclude the regular season on April 24.
The CAA's top-scoring offense with 9.92 goals per game is led by Second Team All-CAA attackman Nick Mariano. Mariano has racked up 21 goals and 16 assist, leading the Minutemen in both categories. Peter Lindley adds 25 points (16g, 9a) and Gianni Bianchin has contributed 24 (12g, 12a).
Two All-CAA performers head the defensive unit in First Team defenseman Kyle Karaska and Second Team midfielder Ryan Izzo. The UMass defense ceded a CAA-worst 11.08 goals per game on the season as a whole, but did not allow more than 10 goals in a CAA game (Fairfield, Delaware) this spring.
Zach Oliveri spent the majority of time in goal for the Minutemen, compiling a 10.67 goals-against average and a .496 save percentage.
UMass leads the all-time series with the Stags, 7-3, but Fairfield has picked up a victory over the Minutemen in each of the last two seasons. The 2014 meeting renewed a series that had been dormant since 2009.
The Nation Takes Notice: After clinching the CAA regular season title with Friday's win over Hofstra, the Stags re-entered the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division I Coaches' Poll this week at No. 19.
Fairfield previously held a national ranking on April 6, claiming the No. 20 spot in both the USILA poll and the Inside Lacrosse Cascade/Maverik Media Poll on the heels of a five-game winning streak.
The Stags have earned a USILA national ranking in each of the last four seasons under Head Coach Andy Copelan.
Consistency Is Key: Tristan Sperry and Colin McLinden have both tallied at least one point in every game this season. Not surprisingly, the duo also ranks among the Stags' scoring leaders. Sperry has piled up a team-best 43 points (20g, team-high 23a) while McLinden has amassed 32 points (12g, 20a).
Spanning back to 2014, McLinden is in the midst of a 17-game streak with at least one point, while Sperry has notched at least one point in 15 consecutive contests.
The team leader in goals for the second straight season is TJ Neubauer, who has scored 29 markers from the Stags' midfield. Neubauer, who scored a team-best 33 goals en route to 38 total points during the 2014 campaign, has also doled out three assists this spring. In addition, his 44 ground balls are among the most by non-faceoff specialists in the CAA this season.
Becoming a 'Regular' Occurrence: The 2015 CAA regular season championship marks the Stags' second consecutive regular season title. Fairfield won the 2014 ECAC Lacrosse League regular season crown in the league's final year of existence.
Since joining the NCAA Division I varsity ranks in 1993, the Stags had not won a conference regular season title prior to 2014.
Rookie Recognition: Will Fox's CAA Rookie of the Year nod comes after the freshman faceoff specialist was named the Association's Rookie of the Week on a league-high five occasions in the 2015 regular season.
Fox, who was also named Second Team All-CAA, CAA All-Rookie and the Fairfield Athletics Male Freshman of the Year, owns a win percentage of .576 (106-of-184) at the faceoff 'X' to rank second in CAA and 15th nationally. His average of 3.43 ground balls per contest ranks him fifth in the CAA and 65th among all Division I players. In the Stags' five CAA outings, Fox won 43-of-73 (.589) draws and scooped up an average of five ground balls per game.
