PHILADELPHIA – The sixth lead change in Saturday's CAA clash between Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse and host Drexel proved decisive as the defending CAA Champion Dragons outlasted the Stags, 19-18, in Philadelphia. Taylor Strough matched his career high with six goals for the Stags.
 
After the decision at Vidas Field, the Stags and Dragon both stand at 1-1 in the CAA. Fairfield is 6-5 overall while Drexel evens its tally at 5-5.
 
In addition to Strough's six goals, Mike Drake added a five-point day with two goals and three assists. Max Paparozzi notched two goals and two helpers, and Jack McKenna potted his seventh hat trick of the season. In his return to the attack, Bryce Ford scored two goals with one assist. Kyle Borda was Fairfield's top facilitator with three assists.
 
The defensive effort was led by a strong showing from the man-down unit, which held Drexel scoreless on five man-up opportunities. Braden Lynch corralled four ground balls with a caused turnover on close defense as the Stags pressured the Dragons into 24 turnovers.
 
After a 2-2 start featuring goals from Strough and Trent Moran, The Stags made the game's first run midway through the opening quarter. Strough's second goal, a Paparozzi man-up tally and McKenna's first of the afternoon accounting for the stretch, which propelled Fairfield to a 5-2 lead. Drexel responded in kind, however, scoring the next four of the day to carry a 6-5 edge into the second quarter.
 
The second stanza began with Fairfield jumping back on top. First, Paparozzi netted the equalizer off a feed from Patrick Drake. The go-ahead goal was Fairfield's first "pole goal" of the year as Jon Wheat collected a ground ball and took it to the house to stake the Stags to a 7-6 advantage. Once again, Drexel answered with four straight to surge to a 10-7 lead, before Frankie Labetti won the ensuing faceoff and scooped and scored his seventh goal of the year. Strough then completed his hat trick just 36 seconds later to trip the margin to 10-9.
 
Each team got one more down the stretch in the second quarter, with Strough's fourth capping the scoring as the Stags headed to the locker room facing an 11-10 deficit.
 
Drexel struck first out of the locker room before Drake and Ford each got on the board to knot the game up at 12-12. Ryan Genord put the Dragons back in front, 13-12, but the Stags responded with their longest run of the game – a 4-0 span to take a 16-13 lead with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter. The stretch consisted of goals for Strough and Drake followed by back-to-back McKenna goals. Two goals in just nine seconds for Drexel trimmed the lead to 16-15 before Ford scored in the closing minutes of the period to send the Stags into the fourth quarter in front, 17-15.
 
After 32 goals in the first 45 minutes of action, neither team scored in the fourth quarter for more than eight minutes. The Dragons ended the stretch, again scoring two successive goals in only 31 seconds to tie the game at 17-17 with 6:10 to go. The Stags broke the tie just about one minute later as Strough fired home his sixth goal of the day and team-best 36th of the season to make it an 18-17 Fairfield lead with 5:07 left.
 
The lead lasted just six seconds as Liam Rosato won the ensuing faceoff and fed Sean Donnelly for a goal to tie the game at 18-18 at the 5:01 mark in the fourth quarter. The game was scoreless for nearly three more minutes. The fortuitous game-winner came at the 2:06 mark when Jon Wheat delivered a textbook stick check to dislodge the ball from Jack Mulcahy's crosse, but the loose ball caromed to Aidan Coll right on the doorstep, and the Dragons' attackman dunked it home to put Drexel in front, 19-18.
 
Despite Drexel coming away with the pivotal faceoff, the Stags forced a turnover to regain possession with 34 seconds to play. But Fairfield was unable to put a shot on the target in the final seconds as time expired on the 19-18 final tally.
 
Max Semple scored a team-best six goals for the Dragons, while Mulcahy rang up seven points with two goals and five assists. Coll scored four goals and dished a pair of assists.
 
Up next, the Stags close out the road portion of the five-game CAA slate with a Saturday, April 16 visit to #20 UMass. Opening faceoff from Garber Field in Amherst is slated for 3:30 p.m.