FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A flurry of first quarter goals gave way to a defensive showdown between Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse and visiting Towson on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Jack McKenna accounted for more than half of Fairfield's scoring with five goals in a 12-8 setback to the first-place Tigers.
 
"We know that every CAA opponent is tough, and we pride ourselves on being tough and having a strong presence on the field as well," said Head Coach Andrew Baxter. "I just think today that Towson had a bigger presence than we did. We've just got to learn from that going forward and treat every possession like the biggest one of the day."
 
With the loss, Fairfield stands at 7-6 overall and 2-2 in the CAA. Towson moves to 6-7 and now stands alone in first-place in the CAA at 3-1. The Stags can clinch a CAA postseason berth next Saturday with a win over Delaware or a Drexel victory at UMass.
 
"It will be business as usual for us," noted Baxter. "We'll just focus on ourselves and work hard to be the best version of Fairfield Lacrosse next Saturday."
 
After 11 combined goals in the first 13:31 of the game, the Stags and Tigers only mustered nine markers total – including an empty netter – over the remainder of the contest. James Corasaniti made 13 saves in the cage to help keep the Stags in the hunt, while the defense pressured the Tigers into 16 turnovers. Starting close defensemen Braden Lynch, Caleb McNaull and Zack Antoniou helped lead the effort on that side of the field with two ground balls apiece.
 
The Towson defense, however, also put forth a solid showing led by Shane Brennan's 15 stops. Colby Barsz posted four caused turnovers and three ground balls for the Tigers with short-stick Reece Potter grabbing four grounders.
 
With his five goals, McKenna now ranks second all-time among Fairfield freshmen with a team-leading 41 goals this season, surpassing Spencer Steele's 38 markers in 1997. The rookie record belongs to Colin Burke, who had 46 goals in 2016 as a part of a 63-point campaign en route to CAA Rookie and co-Player of the Year laurels.
 
The Stags also got single tallies from Taylor Strough, Kyle Borda and Max Paparozzi. Bryce Ford dished out two assists working from X, and Mike Drake capped the scoring with one assist.
 
The Towson attack was led by two goals and one assist apiece for Luke Shilling and James Avanzato. Austin Stewart added two goals and Nick DeMaio had a goal and an assist for the visitors.
 
Fairfield wraps up the regular season next Saturday, April 30 at Rafferty Stadium against Delaware. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m. with Senior Day festivities to be held at approximately 12:45 p.m. The Blue Hens are 8-5 overall and 2-2 in the CAA following a 16-15 win at Drexel this afternoon.