FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse carried a 2-2 tie into the half with visiting #10/11 Yale on Saturday afternoon at Rafferty Stadium. However, the nationally-ranked Bulldogs broke the deadlock with a 6-1 advantage after the intermission to exit Conway Field with an 8-3 decision. Sean McKee made 10 saves in the cage for the Stags.
 
With the loss, the Stags fall to 2-5 on the season. Yale improves to 4-1 with its fourth consecutive victory.
 
McKee's 10 saves marked the fifth time that the first-year starting goalkeeper has reached double figures in seven outings. He also collected four ground balls with a caused turnover. The defensive effort in front of McKee was highlighted by three ground balls picked up by J.B. Smith and one caused turnover apiece for Nick Panara, Andrew Murrow, Jake Tymon and Spencer Noonan. Yale's eight-goal output, which was boosted by an empty-net tally in the closing seconds, was its lowest of the season.
 
Colin Burke led the attack, playing a role in all three Fairfield scores with a goal and two assists. McKay Sheahan added a man-up marker for his second goal of the year and Jack Brennan posted his seventh tally of the spring.
 
Yale was led by a goal and three assists from Ben Reeves and five-point performance with three goals and two assists for Joseph Sessa. Jack Starr made 10 saves for the Bulldogs to earn the win in the cage. All-Ivy League faceoff man Conor Mackie went 15-for-15 on the dot with 11 ground balls to keep Yale on the attack.
 
Yale got on the board just seven seconds into the game as Mackie came away with the opening faceoff and started the Bulldogs on the run. The ball found the crosse of Jackson Morrill, who connected with Matt Gaudet for the game's first goal.
 
After that initial outburst, the teams played scoreless lacrosse for nearly 14 minutes. The Stags ended that drought with Sheahan finishing a feed from Burke to capitalize on an extra-man opportunity and end the first quarter with the score knotted at 1-1.
 
Once again, the second quarter saw the Bulldogs score first followed by a Fairfield response. For Yale, it was Lucas Cotler converting a feed from Jack Tigh. The Stags' answered with Burke getting free on a pick set by Joe Rodrigues to uncork his fourth goal of the season.
 
Yale struck early in the third quarter on a Sessa goal assisted by Reeves, and the tally remained at 3-2 in favor of the Bulldogs until the closing seconds of the stanza. The Stags appeared to have quelled a late Yale threat when Morrill's shot rang off the post, but the Sessa elevated to grab the rebound and send in home in one motion, extending the Bulldogs' cushion to 4-2 with 8.7 seconds left in the period.
 
Yale widened the gap 31 seconds into the final quarter on Reeves' lone goal of the day, but Fairfield was quick to answer as Brennan got loose in front and sent home a pass from Burke to cut the deficit to 5-3 with 13:09 to go.
 
The Stags would not score again, however, as Tigh added a pair of fourth-quarter markers and Sessa scored on the vacant cage with 62 seconds left to round out the final at 8-3 in favor of the visiting Bulldogs.
 
Yale held a 40-23 advantage in shots and a 30-20 lead in ground balls. The Stags forced 16 Bulldogs' turnovers while committing 11 giveaways. Both teams were nearly perfect on the clear with Fairfield converting 22-of-23 attempts and Yale posting an 18-for-19 mark.
 
"We continue to be a work in progress, but I thought the guys were ready to play today," said Head Coach Andy Copelan. "We played very hard, but as the game wore on our execution deteriorated a bit, and we have to fix that."
 
The Stags continue their six-game residency at Rafferty Stadium with a visit from #20 Penn State on Saturday, March 17. Opening faceoff on Conway Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. with all of the action set to air live on the Lax Sports Network.
 
The Nittany Lions are 4-3 on the season following a 9-7 loss to Cornell this afternoon.