FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The 2023 season of Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse begins on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Lehigh. Opening faceoff on the Mountain Hawks' Goodman Campus in Bethlehem is set for 1 p.m. with Marco Socci on the call for ESPN+.
THE 2022 SEASON AT A GLANCE
Fairfield posted a 7-7 overall record in 2022 -- a five-win improvement from the prior spring. The Stags also went 2-3 in the CAA, snapping a 16-game conference losing streak. In true CAA fashion, the top three teams posted a 3-2 league mark, while the bottom three all finished 2-3.
The Stags were recognized on the All-CAA teams by First Team midfielder
Taylor Strough and a trio of Second Team picks in attackman
Jack McKenna, midfielder
Mike Drake and defenseman
Braden Lynch. McKenna was also named the CAA Rookie of the Year, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Team alongside defenseman
Zack Antoniou.
PRESEASON PLAUDITS
On the heels of their All-CAA campaigns in 2022, Lynch and McKenna were both tabbed as Preseason All-CAA entering this spring. Lynch earned a spot on the Preseason All-CAA defense, while McKenna was an Honorable Mention on attack.
MCKENNA'S ROOKIE RAMPAGE
Jack McKenna posted one of the most productive offensive seasons in Fairfeld history as a rookie in 2022. The reigning CAA and ECAC Rookie of the Year and also collected All-CAA Second Team laurels as an attackman. He scored 43 goals with three assists, leading the CAA and becoming the first-ever Stag to average a hat trick for a season with 3.07 goals per game. McKenna scored multiple goals in all 14 games with 14 of his tallies coming in conference play.
McKenna's 43 goals were three off the Fairfield freshman record set by Colin Burke with 46 markers in 2016. The overall single-season mark is 48 goals racked up by Spencer Steele en route to a program-record 75 points in 1999.
THE LEHIGH UNIVERSITY MOUNTAIN HAWKS
Finishing at 8-7 overall and 5-3 in the Patriot League in the 2022 season, the Mountain Hawks have been ranked fifth of X teams in the league's preseason poll coming into this spring.
Lehigh is led by Mike Sisselberger, a fifth-year faceoff specialist, who has been named the Patriot League Preseason Faceoff Specialist of the Year and earned Preseason All-America laurels from USA Lacrosse and Inside Lacrosse. Sisselberger was 226-for-360 for a .628 winning percentage on the spot in 2022 and ranked second in the nation in ground balls per game with 9.40.
Joining Sisselberger on the Preseason All-PL squad is junior Scott Cole. Cole led the 2022 Mountain Hawks midfield, starting in all 15 games en route to 30 goals and 10 assists and an All-Patriot League First Team slot.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Stags and Mountain Hawks have met just once before with Lehigh claiming a 15-11 win in Hilton Head, S.C. on March 12, 1997.
IN THE BEGINNING
Including last season's one-goal loss at Stony Brook, the Stags are 16-14 all-time in season openers. However, a setback in 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 those campaigns at 1-0 and six of them at 0-1.
UP NEXT
Fairfield returns to action next Saturday, Feb. 18 at Wagner. The Stags are playing four of their first five games away from Rafferty Stadium, with the lone February home date coming on Feb. 22 with a visit from crosstown foe Sacred Heart.
