FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse opens the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) portion of the 2022 schedule this Saturday, April 2 with a visit from Hofstra. Opening faceoff on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
- Tickets – Tickets are on sale at fairfieldstags.com/tix and at the Rafferty Stadium ticket office on gameday. Rafferty Stadium is a preferred cashless venue.
- FREE Student Tickets – Admission is free for current Fairfield University students by presenting a valid StagCard.
- Concessions – Concessions inside Rafferty Stadium are preferred cashless. The concessions menu now includes beer, wine, and seltzer (ID required) in addition to classic gameday favorites.
- Parking – Parking is available in the Kelley Center parking garage and all non-residential lots on campus. The Rafferty Stadium/Walsh Athletic Center parking lot is not open to the public on gameday.
- Tailgating – Tailgating is only permitted in designated areas. Tailgating activities are not permitted in the Kelley Center parking garage or in any academic or residential parking lots.
LAST TIME OUT
Mike Drake scored a man-up goal in the waning seconds of the third quarter on March 22, sending Fairfield into the fourth frame tied with visiting St. John's, 11-11. But the Red Storm put together a 6-0 run to open the stanza, keeping the Stags off the board for over 12 minutes, to leave Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium with a 17-14 decision.
Jack McKenna paced the attack with a four-goal outing. McKenna has scored at least two goals in every game of the campaign and now leads the Stags with 29 markers to his name.
Max Paparozzi,
Mike Drake and
Kyle Borda all had multi-goal games with two apiece.
In addition to dishing out an assist,
Frankie Labetti also kept the Fairfield offense on the field with an 18-for-29 day on the draw. He came away with 13 ground balls as a part of his performance at the X.
FRANKIE ON THE FACEOFF
Frankie Labetti continues to climb the all-time ledger as one of the top faceoff men in Fairfield history. With 445 faceoff wins, Labetti has surpassed Michael Roe (2012-14) for third all-time. He has also nabbed 258 ground balls in his career, trailing only the 290 collected by NCAA and MLL faceoff legend Peter Vlahakis from 2001-04. With a .548 win percentage on the draw, Labetti is chasing the second-place mark of .555 set by his predecessor and former teammate, Will Fox. Vlahakis owns that mark as well with a .627 win percentage en route to his program best 620 faceoff victories.
This season, Labetti leads the CAA with a .567 win percentage and also tops the league at 7.67 ground balls per outing.
THE HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY PRIDE
Hofstra was on the short end of a 10-9 overtime loss at Providence on Saturday to wrap-up their non-conference schedule at 4-6. The Stags and Pride played five common opponents in the non-conference slate. Both clubs defeated Sacred Heart and lost to Villanova while experiencing different outcomes against Binghamton, Providence and St. John's.
Hofstra is led offensively by 24 points from Ohio State transfer Gerard Kane. Kane shares the team high of 14 goals with Dylan McIntosh and currently splits the team lead of 10 assists with Matt Elder.
Defensively, the Pride are the CAA's stingiest unit allowing 10.50 goals per game. Bryan McIntosh leads the lead with 28 caused turnovers and has nabbed 39 ground balls in 10 games. Among NCAA qualifiers, Mac Gates tops the conference with a 10.43 goals-against average and .429 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Hofstra leads 8-5 in an all-time series that began in 2002 and has met annually (except for the abbreviated 2020 season) since 2011. Including the Stags' win in the 2016 CAA Championship Semifinals, Fairfield and Hofstra have split eight meetings since becoming CAA league foes in 2015.
The series has traditionally been low scoring. The most recent meeting's 18-14 win for the Pride was the first time in 13 games that both teams scored in double figures. In six of the 13 all-time meetings, neither team reached the 10-goal mark.
THE MAYOR
Fairfield, Connecticut native
Jack McKenna ranks second in the CAA and 18th in the nation with 3.22 goals per game. Among freshmen, he is the nation's second-leading scorer. McKenna is a three-time CAA Rookie of the Week and has scored multiple goals in all nine games this season, including six hat tricks (four consecutive). His 29 goals are the most scored by a Fairfield freshman since Colin Burke netted 46 on his way to 63 points and CAA Rookie and co-Player of the Year accolades in the 2016 season.
UP NEXT
The Stags hit the road for back-to-back CAA Saturdays at Drexel (April 9) and UMass (April 16). Action returns to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, April 23 for a 3:30 p.m. visit from Towson.
