FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team concludes 2017 on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium with a visit from Delaware for CAA action under the lights on Friday, April 28. The Stags will recognize their eight graduating seniors prior to the 7 p.m. faceoff with the Blue Hens live on Lax Sports Network. Senior Night festivities will begin at approximately 6:35 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets for Friday's game are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.
Fairfield University students, faculty and staff are entitled to one free ticket (with a StagCard) for all Fairfield regular season home games!
US Lacrosse Member Discount
US Lacrosse members can purchase discounted general admission $5 tickets here. This special price is only available through online sales.
Stags for a Cure
T-shirts will be sold and donations will be collected to benefit Norma Pfriem Breast Center. A halftime presentation will recognize the year-long partnership between Fairfield Athletics and the Norma Pfriem Breast Center.
Fairfield's Last Time Out
Tyler Behring made 17 saves and Joe Rodrigues netted a hat trick to lead Fairfield to a 9-8 win over No. 15 nationally-ranked Towson last Saturday on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Colin Burke also recorded a three-point day with two goals and an assist in the Stags' first CAA win of the spring.
Behring's 17 saves marked a season high for the senior netminder, who also scooped up a pair of ground balls. He set the tone for his day in the cage with 12 stops in the first half, including two saves to thwart a pair of Towson extra-man opportunities.
Scouting Delaware
A 14-9 loss at Drexel last Saturday officially eliminated the Delaware from CAA postseason contention as the Blue Hens fell to 7-7 overall and 0-4 in league play. Tonight's game will be the final contest in the 39-year tenure of Bob Shillinglaw as Delaware's head coach.
The Blue Hens are ranked second in the CAA offensively with 10.79 goals per game while ranking third in the conference at 10.07 goals allowed per contest. The attack has been led by Andrew Romagnoli with 34 goals and 15 assists. Charlie Kitchen (26g, 13a) and Will Hirschmann (16g, 17a) have also cracked the 30-point plateau for Delaware. In CAA play, Romagnoli and Steve DeLargy have tallied a team-best 11 points, with DeLargy potting a team-best nine goals against conference competition.
Matt Deluca has stepped in the as the Blue Hens' starting goalkeeper in his freshman campaign. The rookie ranks third in the CAA with goals-against average of 10.00 and a .528 save percentage (111 goals allowed, 124 saves).
The Blue Hens are just a shade over .500 on the draw at 170-of-338 (.503). Jake Hervada is 86-of-174 (.494) with a team-best 43 ground balls, and Crosby Matthews is 69-of-127 (.453) with 32 ground balls at the faceoff dot.
April 29, 2016: Fairfield 10, Delaware 5
The Stags clinched a share of their second consecutive CAA regular season title with a 10-5 win at Delaware last April. Colin Burke scored four goals in the victory.
Nico Panepinto also racked up four points with two goals and two assists. Charlie Schnider and Joe Rodrigues each added a goal and an assist, and Conor Dalton handed out two helpers. Rounding out the scoring were TJ Neubauer and Jake Knostman with one goal apiece and Charlie Horning with one assist.
Tyler Behring made 12 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter as the Stags pulled away to a victory. Will Fox controlled possession from the faceoff 'X', where he went 12-of-17.
All-Time Series vs. Delaware (Fairfield leads 4-3)
The Stags have won the last four meetings between the two clubs to take a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. Fairfield's win streak over the Blue Hens began with the first game of Andy Copelan's tenure with the Stags on Feb. 21, 2009.
Fairfield vs. Ranked Opponents
Following Saturday's win over No. 15 Towson, Fairfield has defeated at least one ranked opponent (in the USILA Coaches' Poll) in eight of Andy Copelan's nine seasons at the helm of the Stags. Highlighted by a win at then-No. 1 Denver during the 2013 season, the Stags have recorded 10 victories over ranked foes, including four wins over top-10 programs, during the Copelan era.
Fairfield challenged six USILA nationally-ranked opponents in 2017, the most since playing six ranked foes in 2005.
Climbing the Charts
Still in his sophomore season with the Stags, Colin Burke is establishing himself among the elite scorers in Fairfield history. Burke's 69 career goals tie him for 13th in program annals with Eric Warden '14, while his 98 total points through 30 games rank at 17th in Stags history. He is five goals shy of joining the all-time top 10 and two points away from becoming the 16th Stag in the team's NCAA varsity history to score 100 career points.
If Burke tallies at least two points on Friday night to reach the 100-point mark in his 31st career game, he will be the fourth fastest to the milestone in program history. Only Matt Callaghan '98, J.T. Groarke '99 and Spencer Steele '00 - the only three Stags to record 200 career points - hit the century mark in 30 games or fewer.
Defense Does It
Sparked by 17 saves from Tyler Behring, the Stags kept Towson off the board for several extended stretches during Saturday's 9-8 win at Rafferty Stadium. The Tigers were kept off the board for the first 10:16 of the game and then did not score again for another 16:29 en route to Fairfield building a 6-2 halftime lead.
Towson also came up empty for a stretch of 20:05 in the second half as the Stags grew their lead to 9-5. The scoreless spells by the Tigers ultimately factored heavily in the result as the visitors heated up late and scored three goals in the final 1:36 to close the final margin to 9-8 in favor of the Stags.
