FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Three days after a double overtime win against Sacred Heart, Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse turned in another dramatic display on Saturday afternoon against visiting Manhattan. Keegan Lynch scored the equalizing goal with 27.8 seconds left to send the game into overtime, and Devin Lampron got the game-winner 33 ticks into the extra session to propel the Stags to an 8-7 victory.
 
With the win, the Stags improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2012 – when Fairfield began the campaign with seven consecutive triumphs. Manhattan falls to an even 2-2 win the loss.
 
"Very similar to Wednesday, I think our resolve has been great. Manhattan's goalie was outstanding with 19 saves, and we just had to keep finding our shots and chipping away," said Head Coach Andrew Baxter. "I don't think it was our best day in terms of execution – we looked like a team that played three games in eight days – but our response to adversity kept us moving forward and eventually got us the win."
 
Fairfield's last instance of back-to-back overtime games was in 2019 when the Stags defeated Bryant and Utah in consecutive overtime affairs.
 
"This experience is going to help us tremendously. We're going to be ready for CAA lacrosse as well as postseason lacrosse, if we earn that opportunity," said Baxter of this week's overtime outings. "Any time you face adversity, especially early on, you're going to learn from it and grow from it."
 
Goals were at a premium on Saturday with Owen Hirsch posting 12 saves for the Stags and Manhattan's Connor Hapward turning aside 19 shots. Hirsch also scooped up four ground balls with one caused turnover on the day. The defensive in front of him was highlighted by three caused turnovers apiece for Austin McClintic and Rory Thompson also with four ground balls for SSDM Matt Rice.

With both defenses and netminders wreaking havoc, the Fairfield and Manhattan offenses battled their way to a 6-6 deadlock after 45 minutes of action. The Jaspers struck first in the fourth quarter with what would be their last goal of the day and their only marker over the final 19:09 of action as Sean Shelko completed his hat trick to push the visitors in front, 7-6, with 9:20 left.
 
As the Stags' defense held Manhattan at bay for the remainder of the day, the attack continued to find opportunities but were stifled by the Jaspers' defense as well as three late saves from Hapward. Manhattan regained possession with under two minutes to go and played keep-away to keep the clock winding before McClintic came away with the turnover that Fairfield needed to earn a final shot at the equalizer. Andrew Kasten's transition attempt was blocked on its way to the cage, and Lynch swooped in for the loose ball and finished through contact with 27.8 seconds remaining to knot the game at 7-7.

The goal not only tied the score but merited an unnecessary roughness call on Manhattan that put the Stags on the man-up. The Jaspers won the ensuing faceoff and attempted to sit on the ball, but Nate Livingston forced a turnover in the scrum and earned the clear. This afforded Fairfield with the opportunity to let time expire and retain possession with a man-advantage at the start of the overtime period.
 
Fairfield needed just 33 seconds to end the contest. Lampron's first shot went wide, but his second – on a Luke Okupski feed – stung the back of the net to send the Stags to victory, 8-7.
 
In addition to the dramatic Lynch and Lampron goes the Stags got two goals and an assist from Rob Moore – the hero in Wednesday's double overtime win – as well as two markers from Jake Gilbert.
 
Fairfield utilized three faceoff men en route to a 12-6 advantage at the X. Davis went 8-for-12 with four ground balls, Dylan Smith was 3-for-4 with two grounders, and Jonathan Lewis won one of his two opportunities on the restart.
 
For Manhattan, Shelko had a four-point day with three goals and an assist. Drew Hiner added one goal and one helper.
 
Up next, the Stags wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, March 1 with a visit from Providence. Opening faceoff at Rafferty Stadium is set for noon. The Friars, who will visit Merrimack on Tuesday, are 2-2 on the season after a 7-6 loss at Brown this afternoon.
 
Tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.