FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team will makes its 2016 television debut on Saturday afternoon. The Stags will host No. 4 Yale at 1 p.m. on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium in a game set to be televised live on SportsNet New York (SNY) and broadcast over the Internet on ESPN3.
The game will be produced by the Fairfield University Media Center, which recently completed its 10th season of presenting Fairfield Basketball on television. The Media Center began producing Fairfield Lacrosse last season, airing the Rafferty Stadium Dedication Day doubleheader on SNY and ESPN3.
Gameday Promotions (2016 Promotions Schedule)
Saturday is High School Lacrosse Day at Rafferty Stadium. High school teams will be granted free admission to the game. Per NCAA regulations, all teams must have submitted a roster of all attendees to the Fairfield Athletics Ticket Office by Thursday, March 10 at 1 p.m.
In addition, all of the Stags' home games in the month of March are Lil' Stags Club Games. All Lil' Stags Club members will receive four (4) tickets to the game. Please RSVP to lilstagsclub@fairfield.edu by Friday, March 11 at 1 p.m.
Fairfield's Last Time Out
Led by four goals apiece from Colin Burke and TJ Neubauer, the Fairfield University men's lacrosse team knocked off host Georgetown, 13-9, on Tuesday afternoon on Cooper Field in our nation's capital. Neubauer also dished out an assist to round out a five-point performance.
Neubauer and Burke were two of a season-high seven Stags to score goals as Liam DaRos, Charlie Horning, Jake Knostman, Joe Rodrigues and Charlie Schnider each added a marker. Rounding out the Stags' attack, Dave Fleming dished off two assists and Horning served up one.
On the other end of the field, Tyler Behring made 14 saves in the cage. Andrew Eidenshink led the defense in front of the junior goalkeeper with two ground balls, and long-stick midfielder J.B. Smith collected three.
Scouting Yale
Ranked No. 4 in both the USILA and Media Polls this week, the Yale Bulldogs improved to 4-0 on Tuesday night after squashing an upset bid by St. John's. Yale trailed 7-1 in the third quarter before netting 12 of the contest's last 13 goals to claim a 13-8 victory over the Red Storm.
The Bulldogs' signature win of the season is an 8-5 victory over then-No. 4 Maryland, and Yale has also posted 10-goal routs of UMass Lowell (17-7) and Bryant (14-4).
Ben Reeves leads the Elis' offense in goals (11), assists (9) and points (20) in his sophomore campaign. Eric Scott adds seven goals to the Yale attack, and Jeff Cimbalista has sent home six markers.
Goalkeeper Phil Huffard is currently the NCAA leader with a 5.86 goals-against average, and his .581 save percentage ranks third in the nation. Huffard has started all four games and played 222:01 in the cage with Hoyt Crance (6 goals, 4 saves) making two appearances totaling 17:59.
Stags vs. Bulldogs
The Stags will challenge Yale for the third straight season and 10th time in program history. Fairfield's 12-11 overtime win in 2014 was the first victory for the Stags in the series after seven consecutive losses. Yale returned the favor with a 9-8 overtime win at Reese Stadium in 2015. The rivalry between the in-state foes dates back to the Stags' first-ever MAAC Championship season of 1996.
Last season's meeting was the fourth one-goal decision in the series and the sixth meeting between the clubs decided by three goals or fewer.
Up Next
The Stags are back in action next Saturday, March 19 for a noon contest at Colgate. The Raiders, who are currently 3-2 on the season, will visit Patriot League opponent Boston U. on Saturday and host Cornell next Tuesday before welcoming the Stags to Andy Kerr Stadium.
Fairfield returns to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium on Tuesday, March 22 to host in-state foe Quinnipiac under the lights at 7 p.m. The Bobcats stand at 2-1 with games against Hartford and Marquette on tap before their trip down I-95 to challenge the Stags.
