FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A 5-1 second-quarter for visiting Binghamton proved to be decisive as Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse concluded the non-conference portion of the 2023 season with a 14-9 loss on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium.
Jack McKenna paced the Fairfield attack with a hat trick, while
Bryce Ford racked up four points with a goal and three assists.
Fairfield wraps up non-league play with a record of 2-5. Binghamton improves to 4-2 on the season.
McKenna's hat trick runs his team-leading total to 19 goals. Ford owns the team high of 25 points after netting his 15th goal and running his assist total to a team-best 10 with today's four-point effort. Rounding out the starting attack,
Max Paparozzi scored a pair of goals.
In the midfield,
Will Consoli recorded a goal and an assist, with
Rob Moore and
Dean Ford – seeing his first action since the season opener one month ago – each tallying a goal.
Will Snyder was at an even 50 percent in the cage with 14 saves. The defense in front of him included two ground balls and two caused turnovers for
Zack Antoniou with
Ryan Lancaster picking up four grounders with three caused turnovers with the short stick.
Binghamton was led by a six-goal day from Matthew Keegan, four goals by Quinn O'Hara, and a two-goal, four-assist performance from Thomas Greenblatt. The Bearcats kept the pressure on with face-off duo Ross Chazanow and Matthew DeSouze going 10-for-13 and 10-for-14, respectively, on the draw.
Connor Winters made 11 saves to seal the win for the guests.
"We're still trying to figure out who we are from a personnel standpoint. Individually and collectively, we're going to keep learning about ourselves and what works and how to maximize every moment," said Fairfield Head Coach
Andrew Baxter. "The positive is that we still have the whole season in front of us. We just need to continue to work hard and get better."'
Fairfield begins CAA action on Saturday night, March 18, at Hofstra at 7 p.m. The Pride start the week at 2-4 on the season, with Syracuse coming to Shuart Stadium on Tuesday evening before Saturday's conference opener.
