FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse hits the road for only the second time this season, trekking to Smithfield, R.I. to challenge Bryant on Tuesday, March 12 at noon. The Stags are 2-3 this season and 1-0 on the road, while the Bulldogs are 2-4 overall with a 2-1 home mark.
Last Time Out
In their first meeting with a nationally-ranked team this season, the Stags were upended by #16/18 Georgetown, 19-6, on Saturday afternoon at Rafferty Stadium. Fairfield got goals from six different players in the effort, and
Dylan Beckwith continued his strong season as a facilitator with three assists.
Fairfield saw
Cole Barnard,
Brendan Dreyer,
Travis Ford,
Frankie Labetti,
Brian Reda and
Taylor Strough all net goals against the Hoyas. Strough added an assist to round out a multi-point day.
In addition his goal, Labetti also turned in another solid day on the dot for Fairfield, posting a 14-for-24 mark with eight ground balls.
Liam Lynch added a pair of wins on the draw as the Stags went 16-of-29 to win the possession battle.
Adam Riestis also did his part in the possession game, collecting a career-best four ground balls in the midfield.
In the cage,
James Corasaniti came away with nine saves. The effort in front of him saw Labetti,
Jake Tymon,
Kendall Keahey and
Lucas Pedersen each force a Georgetown turnover.
Scouting Bryant
Bryant stands at 2-4 on the season in the midst of the three-game losing streak. The Bulldogs are paced by attackman Marc O'Rourke - a 2018 First Team All-NEC pick and the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year - who leads the team in both goals (13) and assists (8) for 21 points. Mason Balch adds 11 points with give goals and six assists, and 2018 All-NEC Second Team midfielder Trevor Weingarten has totaled 10 points with eight markers and a pair of helpers.
While Bryant has only reached double-digit goals once in six games this spring, the Bulldogs' hallmark thus far has been defense, as they have also only ceded 10 or more goals in one outing thus far. In total, Bryant is allowing an even 9.00 goals per game, to ranks eighth in the nation in scoring defense.
Rookie goalkeeper Luke Caracciolo has been stellar in the cage with a .592 save percentage (fifth in the nation) on 71 saves with only 49 goals allowed. His 14.20 saves per game rank seventh in all of Division I and his 9.80 goals-against average is 19th.
All-Time Series vs. Bryant (Fairfield leads 3-1)
The Stags are 3-1 all-time against Bryant with their last meeting resulting in a 8-6 road victory in 2013. Neither team has reached double figures in any of the four clashes between the two.
Up Next
The Stags return to Rafferty Stadium on Friday, March 15 for their inaugural meeting with first-year Division I program Utah. Faceoff under the lights is set for 7 p.m. with all of the action set for broadcast live on the Lax Sports Network.
The Utes, who will play at #2 Duke on Tuesday, are currently 4-3 on the year and riding a three-game winning streak.
