FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse hits the road for the first time in 2018 with a trip to Saint Joseph's this Saturday, Feb. 17. The Stags are looking to even their record on the young campaign at 1-1 while the host Hawks will be opening their season this Saturday in Philadelphia. Faceoff is scheduled for noon with all of the action set to broadcast live on
NEC Front Row.
Last Time Out
Fairfield began the spring on the short side of a 12-5 decision to visiting Vermont last Saturday, Feb. 10, at Rafferty Stadium.
Joe Rodrigues netted two goals to pace the five Stags that registered points on the day. Joining him in the scoring column were
Travis Ford,
Drew Murray and
Spencer Noonan with one goal apiece, while
Dylan Beckwith handed out an assist.
Will Fox handled the duties at the faceoff X, starting his senior campaign with a 14-for-21 showing with a team-leading seven ground balls. Beckwith and
Adam Riestis each added three ground balls in the midfield.
Sean McKee and
Sam Gindhart split the effort in the cage for the Stags, both making their collegiate debuts in the contest. McKee made three saves in the opening half of action and Gindhart turned away six shots after the intermission.
Scouting Saint Joseph's
The Saint Joseph's University Hawks start their seventh season under Head Coach Taylor Wray this Saturday. The Hawks went 5-9 last spring with a 2-4 mark in the Northeast Conference and have been tabbed for fourth of seven teams in the 2018 NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Saint Joseph's returns a pair of 2017 First Team All-NEC honorees in attackman Chris Blewitt and long stick midfielder Austin Smith. In addition, the Hawks regain the services of two-time NEC Offensive Player of the Year Mike Rastivo, who missed all of last spring due to injury. A USILA All-America Honorable Mention in 2016, Rastivo has racked up 105 goals and 153 total points in three active seasons with the Hawks and has recorded at least one point in each of his last 38 games played.
All-Time Series vs. Saint Joseph's
The Stags are 6-2 all-time in a series that dates back to the first NCAA varsity game and win in Fairfield Lacrosse history. The clubs most recently met in the semifinals of the 1999 ECAC Tournament with Fairfield winning 17-9 behind seven goals and 10 total points from Hall of Famer Spencer Steele '00.
Saturday's game is the first time that the Stags have challenged the Hawks since Fairfield and Saint Joseph's were Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foes from 1997-99.
Scoring Streaks
After netting two goals last Saturday,
Joe Rodrigues has scored a goal in six straight games dating back to last spring. That stretch includes five multi-goal efforts, highlighted by a career-best five markers racked up in last April's CAA clash at Drexel.
The longest active point streak for a Stag is a 12-game run for
Dylan Beckwith. Beckwith posted at least one goal or assist in each of the final 11 games of 2017 and kept the streak alive with an assist on Saturday against the Catamounts.
Up Next
Fairfield Men's Lacrosse wraps up a two-game road swing next Saturday, Feb. 24, with a noon visit to Rutgers. After challenging the Scarlet Knights, the Stags begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday, Feb. 27 against in-state foe Hartford.
Fairfield Lacrosse fans can
purchase a $40 LaxPass for admission to all eight remaining regular season home games. Single-game tickets are also on sale now at
FairfieldStags.com/TIX.
