They’re not quite the Mannings, but the Adams were synonymous with lacrosse success long before their yongest son, Brent, made a visit to campus as an All-State midfielder at Norwalk High School.
Older brother, Owen, a standout midfielder at Stonybrook, recently tried out for the Boston Cannons after a’ four-year stint with the Sea Wolves.
His eldest brother, Greg, was Wesleyan’s only three-time All-American and played for the Long Island Lizards a season ago.
The allure of following in siblings’ footsteps was strong, but Adams chose a different path.
‘When I chose to come here it was a no-brainer,’ Adams said. ‘I had been to campus before, and Coach Spencer was a really nice guy. He offered me a scholarship so it was an easy choice.’
A few months later, now under the direction of first-year head coach Andy Copelan, Adams has established himself as worthy of his lineage and his stunning season – Adams led the Stags with a 27 points and 11 assists on the year – is just a glimpse into the prospects of Fairfield lacrosse’s future.
Adams was at his best in the season’s final week, highlighted by a two-goal performance in the team’s 17-5 win against St. John’s on Senior Day at Lessing Field.
Adams, who was honored as the Eastern Coastal Conference (ECAC) Rookie of the Week for the effort, was quick to deflect praise.
‘Coming off of the four-game losing streak, (Saturday’s win) was a big accomplishment to play as well as we did,’ Adams said. ‘We had great senior leadership this whole year, so we really wanted to win this game for them.’
Despite an impressive first season by any standards, Adams admittedly went through a difficult transition to the college game.
‘Individually, I didn’t think I’d be able to contribute this much early on,’ Adams said. ‘I definitely didn’t think I was going to start. In fall ball I just wasn’t playing like I was going to be getting a lot of time. Then the first game comes around, I score, and it sort of lifted a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I got back to playing lacrosse, and I wasn’t really nervous anymore.’
‘But I worked hard, and it all worked out,’ he added.
Adams was not the only freshman to turn heads this season. Attackman John Snellman tied with senior midfielder Chris Ajemian for the team lead in goals, and goalkeeper Charlie Cipriano garnered the ECAC Rookie of the Week award three times this season for his play in net.
‘Hopefully the next couple of years our young guys will get better and we’ll have good senior leadership when we’re there in a few years,’ Adams said of his class.
As for his coach’s expectations, Copelan is counting on Adams and Snellman to continue to develop and evolve into one of the conference’s elite offensive talents.
‘They’re both going to be monumental, to be honest with you,’ Copelan said. ‘For as good of lacrosse players as they are, I think they are even better people. They came in here freshman year with just a fearless attitude ready to compete for a starting position and it didn’t take a whole lot of time before they earned a starting role.’
‘Now hopefully, I think in sophomore year you often see a dramatic jump and hopefully that translated to those guys, too,’ he added.
Adams is counting on a sophomore surge and much more, adding that he believes that the Stags’ future is as bright as ever.
‘I think we have a great opportunity,’ Adams said. ‘We can either go two ways: we can be regular Fairfield lacrosse, or we can actually strive and become one of those big, forceful teams in the ECAC and make it to the championship and the NCAA Tournament.’
As for the reasoning behind his bold prediciton, or for his rapid improvement, Adams couldn’t help but smile.
‘Just confidence,’ he said.
The lineage is alive and well.
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