WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – In a game of runs on Saturday at Kessler Stadium, Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse made the second half surge it needed, and then held off the late response from host Monmouth to leave the Shore with an 11-10 victory. Bryce Ford scored four goals in the victory, and Jake Coleman racked up five points with two goals and three assists.
 
With the win, Fairfield improves to 6-6 on the season and 3-2 in the CAA. Monmouth slides to 5-6 on the campaign with a 2-3 conference mark.
 
After conceding a goal just 47 seconds into the game, Fairfield made the contest's first run. Ford opened up the surge with a natural hat trick – getting three goals in just over three minutes – followed by back-to-back markers from Will Consoli and a Coleman goal assisted by Consoli. Coleman also distributed to assists during the run with Braden Lynch also handing out a helper with the long pole.
 
The Stags, however, would not score again in the first half. Host Monmouth rebounded from its nearly 20-minute drought with five in a row to tie the game at 6-6 early in the third frame. The deadlock lasted just 70 seconds as Julian Radossich ripped home his first career goal, followed by Shane Elliott getting his first career marker to double the lead to 8-6 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The fourth frame began with Ford getting his fourth tally of the day. Monmouth's Matt Dollive responded to bring the margin to 9-7, but that goal represented the Hawks' only score for a span of more than 18 minutes. Coleman and Luke Okupski rattled the cage for the Stags during that stretch to put Fairfield on top, 11-7, midway through the fourth quarter.
 
Monmouth's final push saw Nick Teets score twice in 31 seconds to immediately pull the Hawks back within two, 11-9 with 7:32 left. The last goal of the contest was a Luke Cole strike with 2:20 to play. Dylan Smith won the ensuing faceoff and the Stags ran the clock under one minute remaining before Monmouth earned a final chance at the equalizer. Owen Hirsch made his 12th and final save to protect the one-goal margin, and the Hawks' final heave sailed wide as time expired on an 11-10 Fairfield victory.
 
Ford's four-goal showing was his third straight hat trick and his sixth of the season. He leads the Stags and ranks fourth in the CAA with 31 goals this spring and slots sixth in the conference with a team-high 43 points. Coleman matched his career with five points, repeating his two-goal, three-assist performance from the February win over Wagner.
 
Defensively, Radossich added two caused turnovers and five ground balls to his first career goal. Ryan Lancaster also had a pair of caused turnovers in the defensive midfield, while Rory Thompson nabbed four ground balls and Danny Manning came away with three.

The Stags' defense was fortified by keeping Monmouth off the board on all four of its extra-man opportunity. Hirsch made one save and Fairfield forced three turnovers while playing shorthanded.
 
Fairfield Men's Lacrosse wraps up the home schedule next Saturday, April 20 with a visit from Stony Brook. Opening faceoff in the CAA encounter is set for 1 p.m. The Seawolves are 4-8 overall and 2-3 in the CAA after a 16-12 loss today at Delaware.