FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse kicked off a new season and a new era on Saturday afternoon, taking the field for the start of the 2020 campaign and first game led by Head Coach Andrew Baxter. Despite falling behind the Seawolves by a 5-0 count less than 10 minutes into the contest, the Stags regrouped, rallied and came away with an 18-16 victory.
 
"I'm super proud of the guys," said Baxter, who earned his first win as a collegiate head coach. "We obviously showed some nerves in the first half going down 5-0. But I challenged them to go out and play our brand of lacrosse, and they responded."
 
The response was sparked by Dylan Beckwith, who netted all five of his goals in the first half to get the Fairfield offense rolling. Beckwith also doled out three assists to cap an eight-point day. In the process, the senior moved into a tie for 10th on Fairfield's all-time scoring list with 128 points (60g, 68a). Beckwith also became only the fourth Stag in program history with 60+ goals and 60+ assists in his career.
 
Taylor Strough also fired home five goals on the afternoon, and two Stags had three points apiece in their respective collegiate debuts as Trent Moran posted a hat trick and Bryce Ford scored two goals with one assist.
 
With Beckwith filling out the statsheet to the tune of eight points, his cohorts of Fairfield's starting attack were the club's top facilitators. Brian Reda handed out four assists to go along with a goal of his own, and Patrick Drake doled out three helpers.
 
To round out the scoring, Travis Ford and Frankie Labetti each potted a goal, and Cole Barnard picked up one assist.
 
While Fairfield trimmed the 5-0 deficit down to a single goal on three occasions in the first half, the Stags never pulled even and ultimately headed into the locker room trailing, 9-7.
 
The ensuing third quarter proved to be the game's turning point as the Stags outscored Stony Brook – the defending regular season champions of the America East Conference – 7-0 in the frame to take a 14-9 lead. The period included four goals by Strough, two from Moran and one for Bryce Ford. The Stags defense kept the Seawolves off the board in the period thanks to two saves for James Corasaniti as well as two successful penalty-kills.
 
In total, Fairfield's run grew to eight straight markers and saw Stony Brook held scoreless for a stretch of 19:41 of game time. The Seawolves made a final run with four consecutive goals in the fourth quarter before Labetti shifted the momentum with a FOGO goal off the restart. The Stags also went man-up on the score, with Bryce Ford converting the opportunity to extend the Fairfield lead back to 18-14 with 3:18 left.
 
Stony Brook would tack on a pair of late scores, but the Stags' prior flurry was enough to keep Fairfield on top, 18-16, at the final horn.
 
In addition to his goal, Labetti went 16-of-35 at the faceoff X and gathered a game-best 10 ground balls. Beckwith added five ground balls to keep the Stags on the attack.
 
The defensive effort was paced by co-captain Jake Tymon with four caused turnovers and four ground balls from the LSM spot.  The defense pressured Stony Brook into 16 turnovers, including a pair of shot-clock violations. James Corasaniti made 11 saves to earn the win in the cage.
 
Stony Brook, which opened its campaign on Tuesday with an overtime victory over St. John's, was led by five-points (3g, 2a) from Tom Haun and four goals by Caleb Pearson. 2019 All-America East Second Team goalkeeper made 11 saves for the Seawolves in three quarters. Anthony Palma completed the effort for Stony Brook and made one stop.
 
It will be a quick turnaround for the Stags, who stay home on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium to host Merrimack on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Warriors, who enter the Division I ranks in 2020 following back-to-back Division II National Championships, are 0-2 on the young season with close losses to Holy Cross and Dartmouth.
 
Tickets for every Fairfield Men's Lacrosse home game this season at on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.