FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Visiting Delaware broke open an 8-8 tie with nine of the game's final 10 goals to knock off Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse, 17-9, in the Stags' home and CAA opener on Saturday at Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Taylor Strough paced the Fairfield scoring with a hat trick for the second straight game.
 
With the loss, Fairfield falls to 0-2. Delaware runs off its fourth straight victory to move to 4-1. The Stags opened their season this past Wednesday with a one-goal loss at Providence.
 
"On Wednesday, we played our brand of lacrosse for a little bit longer than we did today. Maybe a quarter or a third of today's game represented who we want to be as a lacrosse team," said Head Coach Andrew Baxter. "We let things slip away from us in every facet of the game over that last stretch."
 
Strough's second consecutive hat trick ran his point total to seven on the year. Matt Chlastawa also had a three-point day, netting two goals with an assist. Travis Ford added a goal and an assist, with individual markers coming from Patrick Drake, Shane Osborne and Frankie Labetti. In addition to his eighth career goal from the faceoff spot, Labetti went 14-of-22 with eight ground balls.
 
Dylan Beckwith's two assists on the day ran his career total to 87, moving into a tie with Colin McLinden '15 for third place all-time. Malcolm MacInnes rounded out the Fairfield scoring today with an assist for his first career point.
 
The Stags went 3-of-4 on man-up opportunities on the day, with Strough netting a pair of power play goals and Drake converting the third.
 
Playing close defense and spending time on the wing, Jake Tymon led the Fairfield pole with five ground balls. Tymon, Jon Wheat, Chlastawa and goalkeeper Colin Consoli also each registered one caused turnover. Consoli made 15 saves in his second start in the Fairfield cage.
 
Tye Kurtz led the high-powered Delaware offense with five goals and six assists, while Charlie Kitchen netted five goals with two helpers. Mike Robinson added four goals and three assists to cap the showing from the Blue Hens' starting attack.
 
Matt Kilkeary went the distance to earn the win in goal, posing nine saves.
 
Another short turnaround and another home game is up next for the Stags when Lafayette comes to Rafferty Stadium this Wednesday, March 10 for a 4 p.m. opening faceoff on the Lax Sports Network.