PDF version of game notes is updated to reflect Richmond's Friday afternoon win over Towson
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse makes its longest trip of the 2023 regular season for a Sunday, Feb. 26 trip to Richmond. Opening faceoff between the Stags and Spiders is set for 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Ten different players recorded a point and the defense conceded just five goals as Fairfield rolled past visiting Sacred Heart, 17-5, on Wednesday evening on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium.
Will Consoli,
Bryce Ford and
Jack McKenna each posted five points in the Stags' home opener.
The 10 Fairfield goal scorers were paced by
Will Consoli, who netted four and dished out an assist for the most productive day of his young collegiate career. McKenna added a hat trick with two helpers, and
Bryce Ford scored twice and distributed three assists.
Max Paparozzi also scored two goals and posted an assist, while the quartet of
Jake Coleman,
Kevin Dolan,
Rob Moore and
Reilly Sullivan each had a goal and an assist. Rounding out the onslaught,
Jake Gilbert and
Cam Barisano scored one goal apiece.
The Stags saw another strong debut on the opposite end of the field as
Will Snyder got the start in goal and made nine saves to earn the victory. The defense in front of Snyder included four ground balls for
Matt Rice, three ground balls by
Zack Antoniou and two grounders and a caused turnover by
Eli Adams.
Keeping the Stags on the attack was
Dylan Smith, going 16-for-22 at the faceoff X with eight ground balls.
A RAFFERTY ROUT
The Stags' 17-5 win over Sacred Heart marks both the largest margin of victory and fewest goals allowed by a Fairfield team since an 18-5 win at NJIT on March 19, 2019. The 12-goal differential was also the Stags' largest margin of victory ever on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium, which opened in 2015.
THE RICHMOND UNIVERSITY SPIDERS
Entering a Friday afternoon game against Towson, Richmond will begin its weekend at 1-1 overall. The Spiders opened with a 15-4 loss to defending National Champion Maryland then bounced back last Saturday with an 18-5 thrashing of Bucknell.
The Spiders are the preseason favorite in the inaugural Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll. Richmond won the final SoCon Championship in 2022 as a part of an 11-5 overall mark that ended with an overtime loss at third-seeded Penn in the NCAA Championship First Round.
Luke Grayum leads Richmond with eight points (4g, 4a), all of which came against Bucknell after being blanked by the Terps. Derrek Madonna and Dalton Young have chipped in six points apiece. Jared Chenoy has taken the majority of the faceoffs for Richmond at a 28-for-44 (.636) clip with 14 ground balls. Zach Vigue has started both outings in the cage and owns a .514 save percentage with 18 saves and 17 goals allowed.
Young, Chenoy and Vigue were all All-SoCon Second Team picks in 2022.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield is 0-2 all-time against Richmond, falling in back-to-back season openers at Rafferty Stadium in 2016 and in Virginia in 2017.
The Spiders are the second of four teams on the 2023 slate that the Stags have never defeated, joining Lehigh and first-time opponents Monmouth and Hampton.
SINGLE DIGIT DEFENSE
Prior to the recent wins over Wagner (14-7) and Sacred Heart (17-5), the Stags had not held consecutive opponents under 10 goals since defeating Utah (10-9 in OT) and NJIT (18-5) in the 2019 season.
The 12 total goals allowed in the current two-game stretch is the best back-to-back defensive stand since defeating Hofstra by an 11-8 count in the 2016 CAA Championship Semifinals before falling to Towson, 4-2, in the CAA Championship Game.
UP NEXT
The Stags visit Providence on Saturday, March 4 before returning to Rafferty Stadium for the only back-to-back home outings of the campaign against Bryant (March 7) and Binghamton (March 11).
