NEWARK, Del. – A goal with just 3:12 remaining was the difference as Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse was on the short side of an 11-10 final in its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener this afternoon at Delaware. Joe Rodrigues led the Stags with a hat trick and an assist.
 
Fairfield (3-8, 0-1 CAA) drops a one-goal decision on the road for the second straight week after falling in overtime 13-12, to then-#7/8 nationally-ranked Villanova last Saturday in Pennsylvania.
 
After his four-point day, Rodrigues furthers his position as the Stags' leading scorer for this spring with 26 goals and 31 total points. Travis Ford followed up a four-goal performance at Villanova with two markers this afternoon. Fairfield also got goals from Drew Murray, Jack Brennan, Colin Burke, Dylan Beckwith and Kendall Keahey. Murray and Brennan also each handed out one assist.
 
On the other side of the field, Max McGuire made nine saves in his second career start in the Fairfield cage. Andrew Murrow returned to action and led the defense with two ground balls and a caused turnover, and Jake Tymon snatched up four ground balls from the LSM spot.
 
Will Fox went 11-for-25 on the faceoff X with seven ground balls. He now ranks eighth on the Fairfield single-season list with 72 ground balls collected this spring.
 
Delaware (4-5, 1-0 CAA) was led by four goals, including the game-winner, from Charlie Kitchen. Dean DiSimone also had a four-point performance with two goals and two assists. Matt DeLuca made 10 saves to earn the win in the cage.

The squads traded goals for much of the first half as Keahey and Rodrigues provided the early tallies for the Stags. Ford would add a marker in the middle of the stanza and Rodrigues added his second goal in the closing seconds of the period as Fairfield took a 4-3 lead after 15 minutes of play,
 
Delaware buried the first two goals of the second quarter, keeping the Stags off the board for nearly 11 minutes in the frame. However, Fairfield made up for lost time with three goals in a span of just 1:39 to surge back in front. Ford and Murray scored in rapid succession, then Beckwith picked off an outlet pass from DeLuca, turning a seemingly empty trip into a Burke goal as the junior juked a defender and the keeper to rattle the cage. Kitchen added a goal in the final minute, and DeLuca kicked away a good look from Brennan as time expired to send the Stags into the intermission with a 7-6 lead.
 
Beckwith started the second half scoring, opening up an 8-6 advantage, before a 3-0 run for the Blue Hens put the hosts in front, 9-8. Rodrigues provided the Fairfield response, completing his hat trick with 42 seconds left as the contest reached the fourth quarter knotted at 9-9.
 
Delaware struck first in the final frame to take a fast 10-9 lead. Just over five minutes later, Rodrigues connected with Brennan for the equalizer, tying the game at 10-10 midway through the quarter. However, the last tally of the afternoon went to the Blue Hens as Kitchen's fourth of the day with 3:12 remaining sent the hosts to the 11-10 victory.
 
The Stags return to action next Saturday, April 7 for their annual meeting under the lights with Hofstra. This year's edition will emanate from Shuart Stadium on Long Island at 7 p.m.
 
CAA play comes to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium for the first time in 2018 on the following Saturday, April 14. The Stags will host Drexel at noon as the front-end of the annual Fairfield Lacrosse Military Appreciation Day doubleheader. Tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.