Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse begins the 2022 season on Saturday, Feb. 12 at Stony Brook. Opening faceoff on the third season for Head Coach Andrew Baxter is slated for noon from LaValle Stadium with all of the action broadcast live on ESPN3.

STROUGH ABOUT THAT?
In the lead-up to the 2022 campaign, fifth-year Stag Taylor Strough has been named Preseason All-CAA. Strough ranked second on the Stags last spring with 19 goals, including a team-best four man-up tallies, and distributed four assists en route to All-CAA Second Team laurels.

The graduate student has been a four-year contributor to the Stags, starting his career with a CAA All-Rookie Team nod and earning Second Team All-CAA honors in both 2019 and 2021. For his career to date, he has compiled 78 goals and 18 assists for 96 total points as a Stag.
 
IN THE BEGINNING
The Stags are 16-13 in season openers in their 29 prior varsity campaigns.

Fairfield is opening the year on the road for the second straight season for the first time since the 2013 (W, 8-6 at Bryant) and 2014 (W, 18-8 at Delaware) campaigns.

The first game of the spring has not always been an accurate indicator of the season that lies ahead. In the 14 varsity seasons in which the Stags finished above .500, the club has started eight of them at 1-0 and six of them at 0-1.

THE STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY SEAWOLVES
Stony Brook opens its 2022 campaign on the heels of an 8-6 overall record and a 6-3 tally in America East last season. The Seawolves were the third-seeded team in their conference tournament, falling to second-seeded Vermont in the semifinals.

Tabbed for second in the America East Preseason Poll, the Seawolves will not be eligible for the conference postseason due to their impending exit to the CAA.

LAST MEETING: FAIRFIELD 18, STONY BROOK 16 (2/15/2020 at Rafferty Stadium)
Fairfield kicked off the 2020 season and the Andrew Baxter era on Feb. 15, 2020 with an 18-16 win over Stony Brook at Rafferty Stadium. 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 the victory.
 
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.
 
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 distributed three helpers.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield's win in the 2020 opener snapped a four-game Stony Brook winning streak in series. The Seawolves hold a 5-4 advantage on the all-time ledger, including wins in all three prior meetings on Long Island. Every game in the series has been decided by three goals or fewer with an average margin of just 2.1 goals.

The series also includes a scheduled 2013 meeting that was canceled due to snow.

SEE YOU LATER
The series between the Stags and Seawolves will likely become an annual affair beginning in the spring of 2023, as Stony Brook is set to join the CAA as a full member on July 1.

THE CAPTAINS
Bryce Ford, Dean Ford and Trent Moran – a trio of junior midfielders – will lead the Stags on the field this spring.

BRYCE IS BACK
Bryce Ford was one of the top freshmen in the nation in 2020 – earning a spot on the College Crosse All-Freshman First Team as a midfielder. In that seven-game slate, Ford netted 16 points and nine assists. Among freshmen, he led the CAA and ranked sixth in the nation with 3.57 points per game. Ford did not suit up for the Stags in 2021 due to injury.

FAMILY MATTERS
The 2022 Fairfield roster boasts three sets of brothers. Brady and Taylor Strough and twins Bryce and Dean Ford return to the Stags this spring, while Notre Dame transfer Mike Drake came to Fairfield as a graduate student, joining his brother Patrick on the attack.

UP NEXT
The Stags take to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium for the first time in 2022 next Saturday, Feb. 19 for a 1 p.m. visit from Wagner.