STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Trailing 15-10 heading into the fourth quarter of Saturday's Colonial Athletic Association clash at Stony Brook, Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse scored three goals in 48 seconds to cut the deficit to 15-13 with 11:10 to go. However, the host Seawolves made their early stand up, scoring two goals down the stretch to hold on to a 17-14 final. Jack McKenna and Max Paparozzi paced the Stags with four points apiece.
The loss moves Fairfield to 4-9 overall and 2-4 in the CAA. Stony Brook improves to 7-6 on the year and 4-2 in league play.
McKenna netted a hat trick to run his team-best total to 32 goals and also dished out an assist to reach the 40-point mark for the second straight season. Paparozzi scored one with three helpers to round out his four-point day. The Stags also got two goals apiece from Will Consoli and Jake Gilbert with single tallies coming from Bryce Ford, Rob Moore, Ryan Lancaster, Davis Allen, Rory Thompson and Luke Okupski. Hank D'Ambrogi played facilitator in the midfield with a pair of assists.
With his goal, Ford maintains the team lead with 47 total points (29 goals, team-high 18 assists).
The Stags stayed on the attack with a 20-for-33 day from Dylan Smith at the faceoff X. Smith corralled 10 ground balls, with Lancaster nabbing a career-high seven from the wing and on the defensive end. The close defense was sparked by four caused turnovers from Zack Antoniou and three ground balls for Daniel Wilson.
In the cage, Will Snyder made 13 saves.
Stony Brook was led by five goals and an assist from Dylan Pallonetti, who entered the day as one of the nation's leading goal scorers. Jonathan Huber and Matt Anderson each contributed a hat trick for the Seawolves. Jamison MacLachlan made six of his 15 saves in the game's final 10 minutes to pick up the win in goal.
Up next, the Stags will celebrate Senior Day at Rafferty Stadium next Saturday, April 29 prior to a noon faceoff with Hampton. The contest will be Fairfield's first ever against the CAA newcomer.
Tickets for the regular season finale are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.
