FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team opens its home slate and makes its Lax Sports Network debut this Saturday, Feb. 25 with a visit from No. 14 Rutgers. Faceoff between the Stags (1-1) and Scarlet Knights (2-0) from Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium is slated for noon as the first game of a doubleheader that also features Fairfield women's lacrosse challenging Hofstra on FairfieldStags.TV at 3 p.m.
The Stags are looking for their second consecutive win overall and fourth straight victory at Rafferty Stadium dating back to last spring. Rutgers is in search of a 3-0 start for the second consecutive season.
Fairfield's Last Time Out
Twelve different Stags contributed at least one point as Fairfield topped host Bucknell, 13-12, last Saturday. Colin Burke led the scoring effort with four goals and two assists. Fairfield also got two goals apiece from Jake Knostman and Dave Fleming. Travis Ford netted a goal for the second straight game, while Alex Wagner, Kendall Keahey, Joe DeLasho and Matt Sharpe all converted the first goal of their respective careers. Dylan Beckwith, Jack Brennan and Joe Rodrigues each handed out two assists, while Wagner and Drew Murray contributed one assist apiece.
DeLasho helped the Stags control possession from the faceoff 'X', where he won a career-best 16 draws on 26 attempts. He also came away with a game-high and personal-best 10 ground balls. Will Fox aided the effort with a 2-for-2 day on the draw.
In the cage, Tyler Behring made 14 saves while going the distance to earn the win. In front of Behring, Andrew Eidenshink and Riley Peters each scooped up three ground balls.
Scouting Rutgers
The first nationally-ranked opponent (in the USILA Coaches' Poll) to challenge Fairfield this season, Rutgers comes to Rafferty Stadium slotted at No. 14 in the nation after wins at St. John's (16-8) on Feb. 11 and at home against Army West Point (12-10) on Feb. 18. The Scarlet Knights went 11-5 last spring in a campaign that ended with a loss to Maryland in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Through two games this season, 2016 First Team All-Big Ten attackman Jules Heningburg leads Rutgers with seven goals, sharing the team high in points with Connor Murphy (4 goals, 3 assists). Nine different players contributed goals for the Scarlet Knights in the wins over the Red Storm and Black Knights.
Max Edelmann is in his first season starting in the cage for Rutgers, though he did start and play the first three quarters of the team's 12-6 win over Fairfield last season. Edelmann holds a .581 save percentage (25 saves, 18 goals allowed) and 9.00 goals-against average after playing all 120 minutes in goal for the Scarlet Knights to date.
Rutgers is without the services of reigning Big Ten Freshman Player of the Year Adam Charalambides, who will miss the 2017 campaign due to injury.
Feb. 27, 2016: Rutgers 12, Fairfield 6
Charlie Schnider registered his second five-point game (2g, 3a) of the season and Colin Burke and Drew Murray also scored two goals apiece, but the Stags were topped by host Rutgers, 12-6. Fairfield made a run in the second half, eventually cutting a six-goal deficit in half at 9-6 with 12:35 to play, but the Stags would not score again as Rutgers tacked on three late markers to round out the 12-6 final tally.
Will Fox returned to form in the faceoff 'X', winning 14-of-22 draws on the day. He also collected a game-high six ground balls. Schnider added four ground balls to the Stags' transition effort.
Tyler Behring got the start in the cage and made 11 saves with three ground balls. Logan Williamson led the defensive effort in front of the goalkeeper with two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
Rutgers was led by six points (1 goal, 5 assists) from Scott Bieda and a four goal, one assist outing by Jules Heningburg. Max Edelmann made seven saves with five goals allowed in three quarters of work in the cage with Kris Alleyne stopping three shots and ceding one goal in the fourth for the Scarlet Knights.
Lucky 13
Fairfield's 13 goals scored at Bucknell on Saturday matched the Stags' 2016 season high attained in the wins over Georgetown and Quinnipiac. The last time Fairfield scored more than 13 goals was a 15-4 home win over Manhattan on Feb. 21, 2015 – the Stags' first-ever win on the newly constructed Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium.
Sharing the Scoring
Prior to Saturday's win at Bucknell, the last time at least 12 Stags scored in a game was on April 3, 2010, when 13 different players notched at least one point in a 13-4 win at Bellarmine. John Snellman and Sam Snow led the attack in that ECAC Lacrosse League road win with three points apiece.
Around the CAA
Fairfield, Towson and Hofstra all earned their first wins of the spring this past Saturday, vaulting the Stags back into the USILA mix as "unranked but receiving votes" and positioning Towson at No. 13 nationally. Hofstra's triumph was an 11-9 win over Monmouth, which was coming off of an upset of then-No. 16 Villanova.
All six CAA teams will be in action on Saturday, highlighted by the Stags hosting No. 14 Rutgers and Drexel welcoming No. 12 Albany. The CAA is a combined 5-5 thus far in 2017.
Up Next
The Stags begin a three-game road swing on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at UMass Lowell. After trips to Stony Brook at No. 8 Yale, Fairfield returns to Rafferty Stadium to host Cleveland State on Wednesday, March 15 at 3 p.m. on FairfieldStags.TV.
