OPENING FACEOFF
#17 Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse returns to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, March 8 to close out the non-conference portion of the campaign against UMass Lowell. Opening faceoff is set for noon with Grant DelVecchio calling the action for the Stags Sports Network live on YouTube.
LAST TIME OUT
Eighteen different Stags contributed at least one point as #17 Fairfield rolled to a 20-8 victory over host St. John's on Tuesday afternoon in Queens.
Jake Gilbert paced the scoring with five goals, while
Keegan Lynch netted a hat trick and dished out three assists.
Fairfield led wire-to-wire for the second consecutive game. The Stags struck exactly 60 seconds into today's game and scored the first five markers en route to the decisive victory. Last Saturday, Fairfield needed just 58 seconds to take a lead it would never relinquish in the 15-7 win over Providence.
Jason LaMay Jr. also had a multi-point day with two goals and an assist, and the duo of
Will Consoli and
Devin Lampron netted two goals apiece.
Two Stags scored their first career goals as
Chris Adornato and
Hunter Moriarity each found the back of the cage.
Nico Nassar,
Jeremiah Wade and
Shane Elliott also recorded their first career assist, and
KJ Delane also notched a helper for his first point as a Stag.
In addition to scoring his third goal in the last four games,
Daniel Davis went 8-for-14 at the faceoff X with four ground balls.
Jonathan Lewis was nearly perfect in relief with a 10-for-11 day that included six ground balls.
A trio of goalkeepers split the 60 minutes in the cage.
Owen Hirsch started and made three stops to record the win – the 10th of his career.
The defense in front of the cage pressured St. John's into 25 turnovers, with 11 different players earning a caused turnover on defense or during the Fairfield ride.
SERIES HISTORY
Fairfield is 4-0 all-time against UMass Lowell. The Stags challenged the River Hawks in their first three varsity seasons from 2015-17 and renewed the series last spring in Massachusetts.
STARTING STRONG
Fairfield Men's Lacrosse is 6-0 for the first time since 2012, when Fairfield ran off a program-best seven straight wins en route to a 12-4 final mark. With a win on Saturday, the Stags would not only match the best start in program history but also the longest overall winning streak of seven, set in 2005 and matched in both 2012 and 2014.
ON THE BALLOT
Checking in at #17, the Stags are ranked in the USILA Poll for the first time since slotting at #20 in the preseason edition of the 2017 rankings. Fairfield's #17 position is its best in the coaches' poll since ranking #14 in the penultimate poll of the 2014 campaign. The Stags' best ever national ranking is #11, also achieved in 2014.
The Stags also moved up one spot to #17 in this week's Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and remained at #20 in the USA Lacrosse Top 20.
JULIAN FOR TEWAARATON
After a standout start to the season,
Julian Radossich has been added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
Radossich leads the CAA with 18 caused turnovers, ranking second in the nation at 3.00 caused turnovers per game. He has also scooped up 14 ground balls and also scored a goal in Fairfield's overtime win over Sacred Heart. Radossich had a program-record seven caused turnovers in the season-opening victory over Lehigh – one short of matching the NCAA Division I record.
As a unit, Fairfield ranks second in the nation and eighth nationally with 7.67 goals per game allowed. The Stags have limited five of six opponents to date to eight goals are fewer.
UP NEXT
The Stags open the 2025 CAA slate next Saturday, March 15 at Hampton.
Action returns to Rafferty Stadium on the following Saturday, March 22, for a noon faceoff against Drexel. The Stags will celebrate Senior Day prior to the game.
