FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Travis Ford and
Brian Reda each scored a pair of fourth quarter goals as Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse overcame a two-goal deficit in the final frame to upend host Sacred Heart, 12-11, on Saturday afternoon.
Dylan Beckwith guided the attack with two goals and a career-high five assists.
Fairfield takes the first meeting with their crosstown foe since 2005 to improve to 1-1 on the young season. The Pioneers drop to 1-3.
Three of Beckwith's five helpers came on Fairfield's final three goals of the afternoon – as the Stags tied the game at 10-10 then netted two markers within 35 seconds to open up a 12-10 advantage. Dating back to last spring, Beckwith now owns a 10-game point streak, including five consecutive outings with a goal.
Patrick Drake followed up his two-goal debut last Saturday with four tallies and an assist today. Reda netted a hat trick, and Ford handed out an assist in addition to his two fourth-quarter markers.
Taylor Strough added a goal and an assist, and
Brendan Quinn and
Tyler Wuchte rounded out the attack with one assist apiece.
Doing his part to keep the attack on the field was
Frankie Labetti, who went 21-for-26 at the faceoff 'X'. His 21 wins tied the Fairfield program record established by Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer Peter Vlahakis '04, who also went 21-for-26 against Harvard in 2004. In today's game, Labetti also set a new Fairfield record with 15 ground balls, passing the mark of 14 set by Vlahakis in 2002 and matched by
Will Fox '18 last season.
At the far end of the field,
James Corasaniti made his first career start in the cage. The freshman recorded 18 saves – the most by a first-year Stags' goalkeeper since Michael Kruger '07 made 18 saves in two games during his rookie year of 2004. Corasaniti also picked up five ground balls to secure his first collegiate win. Four of Corasaniti's 18 stops came in the fourth quarter.
The Fairfield defense – led by starting trio of
Andrew Murrow,
Sean Sweeney and
George Elmquist – limited Sacred Heart All-America midfielder Max Tuttle to just one goal on eight shots. Joe Saggese paced the Pioneers' attack with two goals as the only multi-goal scorer on the day Sacred Heart. He also doled out three assists to cap a five-point afternoon. Brooks Dutton made 10 stops in the home cage.
After overcoming a 6-4 halftime deficit en route to victory this afternoon, Fairfield earns a win after trailing at the half for the first time since netting six fourth-quarter goals to rally past Delaware in CAA action on April 29, 2016.
Up next, the Stags return to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, March 2, for a 1 p.m. visit from #18/19 Rutgers live on the Lax Sports Network. The Scarlet Knights dropped to 2-2 this season after a 13-7 home loss today to #1/1 Loyola.
