FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the first time this season, Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse will be in action under the lights on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium when Utah comes to town on Friday, March 15. Opening faceoff with the Utes is slated for 7 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets for Friday's game are on sale now at
FairfieldStags.com/TIX. Admission is free for current Fairfield students, faculty and staff for all regular season home games in all sports (with a StagCard).
Town of Fairfield Night
Discounted tickets for Fairfield residents will be on sale at the ticket window on gameday. Adults will be asked to present a valid driver's license, ID or other proof of residence. Children accompanied by an adult resident do not need to provide proof of residence.
Lil' Stags Bring-a-Friend Night
All Lil' Stags Club members receive free youth admission for themselves AND a friend. A Lil' Stags Club membership card must be presented to redeem.
Youth fans (eighth grade and younger) can join the Lil' Stags Club for exclusive benefits throughout the 2018-19 school year
Parking & Tailgate Information
Parking for fans is available on a first come, first served basis. Fans may be directed by Public Safety personnel to designated parking areas. Fans are asked to observe all parking signs as they relate to handicapped, reserved or restricted parking.
Campus Map
Please note that the Walsh Athletic Center/Rafferty Stadium parking lot is closed to the general public during men's and women's lacrosse home games. Tailgating is limited to the Loyola gravel lot (Fairfield) and the Dolan East lot on Mooney Road (Utah). Tailgating activities are prohibited in all other academic and residential parking lots and in the Kelley Center parking garage. Fans are reminded that academic activities at Fairfield University and Fairfield Prep may be in session when they arrive to campus.
Consistent with the Athletic Department Policy, alcohol is NOT permitted inside Rafferty Stadium. The athletic department
strongly discourages the consumption of alcohol at tailgate events while in the presence of student athletes, both pregame and postgame and regardless of age. In accordance with Connecticut State Law, there shall be
NO UNDERAGE DRINKING. Tailgate lots will be monitored by security and policies will be enforced.
Handicapped parking is available in all lots for those with proper permits on a first come, first served basis. Those in need of additional assistance are encouraged to contact Fairfield Athletics at 203-254-4000 ext. 2208 to ensure that proper accommodations are met.
The follow items are not permitted inside Rafferty Stadium:
• Alcohol of any kind
• Outside food and drink
• Glass bottles, cans, frozen drinks, coolers, thermoses or ice chests
• Seat cushions measuring larger than 18" and contain zippers, pockets or concealable areas
• Any animal with the exception of a service animal (must provide certification upon request)
• Weapons (including knives), any item that may be used as a projectile or one that is deemed dangerous by Stadium management
• Any other item deemed inappropriate by Stadium management
Last Time Out
Taylor Strough scored the equalizing goal for Fairfield with just nine seconds remaining in regulation on Tuesday at Bryant, sending the contest into an extra session. The sophomore then punctuated his career day with his sixth strike of the afternoon, netting the game-winner to propel the Stags to a 12-11 victory.
The Fairfield offense also saw
Dylan Beckwith and
Patrick Drake each post two goals and two assists. Rounding out the goal scoring was
Travis Ford with two markers and one assist, while
Brendan Quinn racked up five points in the midfield without the benefit of a goal as he distributed a career-best five assists.
On the defensive end,
Brian Cosgrove got the call for his first career start as a defenseman and collected a team-leading and career-high five ground balls.
George Elmquist added a pair of new career highs with four ground balls and four caused turnovers. In the cage,
James Corasaniti made eight saves and collected three ground balls.
Scouting Utah
The Utah Utes are currently 4-4 in their inaugural NCAA Division I season. Utah's four wins are already the most by a first-year squad since Richmond went 7-10 and won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament to earn an NCAA postseason berth in 2014. The Utes have earned victories over Mercer, Air Force, Furman and Bellarmine with losses coming at the hands of Vermont, Hofstra, Denver and Duke.
2018 MCLA First Team All-American Josh Stout leads Utah with 28 goals and 31 total points, with James Sexton adding nine goals and a team-best nine helpers to amass 18 points through eight games. In total, the Utah attack is averaging 8.75 goals per game. The effort to keep the Utes' offense on the field is led by Seth Neeleman with 34 faceoff wins (.333) and Donny Stock with 22 (.355).
In the cage, Liam Donnelly has played the majority of the minutes. He owns an 11.86 goals-against average and a .533 save percentage with 91 goals allowed and 104 saves in 460:20 of action. Donnelly spent the last two seasons on the roster at Rutgers, though he did not see game action for the Scarlet Knights.
While the Utes are in the midst of their first season in the NCAA Division I ranks, Head Coach Brian Holman's team is not a typical "first-year" program. As a member of the highest division of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association, Utah went 17-1 in 2018 and spent three weeks ranked as the #1 team in the nation.
Josh Stout was a First Team All-America attackman for the Utes at the MCLA level with Seth Neeleman, August Colonna, Jacob Stout, Chris Belcher and former Stag Daniel Costa all collecting Second Team All-America laurels. Five of those six honorees are a part of the Utes' active roster in 2019, with Colonna transitioning to an assistant coach role for Utah after exhausting his eligibility last spring.
On the Air
Friday night's game will be available for free on the Lax Sports Network at
laxsportsnetwork.com and on the LSN app with Travis Eldridge and Joe Keegan on the call.
Up Next
The final midweek game of the season brings the Stags to Newark, N.J. on Tuesday, March 19 to meet NJIT. The 6 p.m. game on will be played on the campus of Rutgers-Newark. The Highlanders, who will visit Saint Joseph's this weekend, are currently 1-6.
Action returns to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium next Saturday, March 23 for a visit from #19 Villanova. The Wildcats (3-3) will play at #6 Maryland this weekend before coming to Fairfield to challenge the Stags.
