FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse opened the CAA portion of the 2024 slate with 12-11 win over visiting Hofstra on Saturday on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Will Consoli scored four goals, and Jake Gilbert added a hat trick in the league win.
 
With their third straight victory over the Pride, the Stags even their record at 4-4, while Hofstra slips to 3-5.
 
Consoli scored three of his four goals in the second half, while Gilbert's hatty included two goals as the Stags turned a 6-5 deficit midway through the second quarter into a 9-6 lead early in the third frame. Dean Ford posted two goals and an assist, and Keegan Lynch scored a pair. Reilly Sullivan added one to round out the scoring.
 
Bryce Ford was the Stags' top facilitator with three assists, while Luke Okupski dished out two. Gilbert, Dean Ford and Jake Coleman each delivered one assist as eight different Stags contributed to the scoring.
 
The effort in the cage was split between Will Snyder and Owen Hirsch. Snyder drew the start and made three first-half saves, while Hirsch turned away seven of the 12 shots he faced after the intermission.
 
In the midfield, the Stags were matched up against Hofstra's Chase Patterson and his .598 win percentage at the faceoff X. Fairfield finished just one draw under .500 at 13-for-27, with Dylan Smith going 13-for-25 with seven ground balls.
 
On the defensive end, Braden Lynch had two caused turnovers and three ground balls, and Eli Adams also collected three grounders. Rookie LSM Julian Radossich continued his strong start with two caused turnovers, and Rory Thompson picked up a pair of ground balls.
 
Hofstra was led by four goals for Sam Lufti, a John Madsen hat trick, and a two-goal and four-assist showing by Griffin Turner.
 
After Lufti started the scoring, the Stags went back-to-back with Sullivan and Dean Ford getting the finishes to go in front, 2-1. Madsen would quickly tie it up with his first of the day, but Fairfield responded with a pair once again as Lynch and Consoli rattled the cage. Consoli's marker came with just six seconds left in the quarter to stake the Stags to a 4-2 lead after the opening 15 minutes.
 
A man-up goal each way opened the second quarter, with Gilbert as the Fairfield finisher, before Hofstra strung together three in a row to take a 6-5 lead with 8:55 left before halftime. However, that Lufti marker as the Pride's last goal for a span of 18:52 as Fairfield grabbed the lead it ultimately would not relinquish. The run started with a Gilbert goal, followed by Dean Ford's second of the day to send the Stags into the locker room in front, 7-6.
 
The momentum carried through the intermission, with Gilbert converting on an EMO in the opening minute of the third quarter and Consoli adding a marker less than two minutes later to extend the lead to 9-6. After the Pride got one back to cap the third quarter scoring, Consoli potted two more in a one-minute span to rebuild a four-goal cushion at 11-7 with 9:54 to play.
 
Hofstra made a final charge, scoring three goals in just 56 seconds to close the gap 11-10 with 6:07 to go. The Pride came away with the ensuing faceoff, but the Stags got the stop with Hirsch making a save and Braden Lynch collecting the ground ball to put Fairfield on the attack. Keegan Lynch made good on the opportunity, finishing a Luke Okupski pass to double the margin to 12-10 with 3:25 left.
 
Hofstra again won the pivotal draw, but Hirsch came up with another clutch save. The Stags ran another minute off the clock but came up empty, and the Pride capitalized with a Turner goal with 1:27 left to trim the margin back to 12-11. Hofstra earned one more chance to net the equalizer, but Hirsch's final save of the day proved to be the biggest as the Stags cleared the ball out of harm's way and ran out the clock on a one-goal win.
 
Action remains at Rafferty Stadium next Saturday, March 23 with a 1 p.m. visit from Towson. The Tigers opened their conference slate with a win at Drexel this afternoon to move to 5-3 overall and 1-0 in the CAA. The Stags will celebrate Senior Day prior to the game.