FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse makes its second straight Saturday road trip to begin the 2023 campaign. This week, the destination is Staten Island, N.Y. for a visit to Wagner College. The Stags enter the 1 p.m. game at 0-1, while the Seahawks are making their season debut on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
Jack McKenna scored five goals to account for half of the offense for Fairfield in the 2023 season opener last Saturday at Lehigh. However, the host Mountain Hawks rode a strong day from All-America faceoff man Mike Sisselberger and a 10-point outing for Christian Mule' to a 20-10 decision on Frank Banko Field.
McKenna's five goals tie his career high, which he reached three times during his 2022 CAA Rookie of the Year campaign. He scored two of the Stags' four man-up markers, with fellow starting attackmen
Bryce Ford and
Max Paparozzi each adding one on the advantage. Paparozzi also dished out three assists to round out a four-point day.
The Stags also had a pair of first-time goal scorers in
Will Consoli and
Jake Gilbert, with the final Fairfield goal coming from the crosse of
Luke Okupski.
Josh Demko and
Christopher DeBellis each netted an assist to complete the scoring effort.
Dylan Smith shouldered the load against Sisselberger and went 11-for-31 at the X with a pair of ground balls.
Ryan Hamburger won both of his draws in relief.
Colin Consoli started and went the distance in the cage, making 15 stops. The defensive unit in front of him included four ground balls by
Zack Antoniou and three grounders with two caused turnovers by
Braden Lynch.
With Sisselberger winning 19-for-30 draws with 12 ground balls to keep Lehigh on the attack, the Mountain Hawks capitalized with four goals from Mule' – along with six assists to complete his career day.
THE WAGNER COLLEGE SEAHAWKS
Wagner went 3-9 during the 2022 season, including a 1-6 record in the NEC. The Seahawks are opening their first season as a part of the MAAC for men's lacrosse, where they have been tabbed 10th in the preseason poll.
Defenseman Brendan Higgins was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team after leading the Seahawks with 13 caused turnovers. Danny Brady started all 12 games in the cage last season and earned All-NEC Second Team recognition. Brady led the NEC in save percentage (.591) as a junior last year.
The Seahawks graduated 45 of their 88 goals between Aidan Dwyer and Stephen Dwyer, with Jack Brady leading the 2023 returners after netting nine goals in 2022.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Last season's 16-9 win for the Stags at Rafferty Stadium was the first meeting between Fairfield and Wagner.
IN THE BEGINNING
Including this season's loss at Lehigh, the Stags are 16-15 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 makes its 2023 Rafferty Stadium debut on Wednesday, Feb. 22 for a 7 p.m. visit from crosstown foe Sacred Heart.
