Editor’s note: after this week’s paper was published the team beat Providence 9-5 on Wed 4/6
If ever a Fairfield team has blown past its expectations, it’s this year’s men’s lacrosse team.
Coach Ted Spencer’s up-start Stags pulled off another stunning upset Saturday, winning at 10th ranked Hobart, 11-8, and bursting into the nation’s top 20.
The Stags’ 6-2 start is the best in their 13-year history.
“They were the best team we’ve ever faced,” goalie Michael Kruger ’07 said of Hobart. “Coach said it was the biggest win in the program’s history.”
After Hobart took a 2-0 lead after goals by Chris Scanlon and Nate Hill, the Stags scored three unanswered goals to finish the first period. The scoring rush began when Matt Castele ’08 scored two, each with the man-advantage. Kyle Herman ’06 finished the first period with an even-strength goal to put the Stags ahead 3-2.
Fairfield continued their scoring rush when Mike Bocklet ’07 scored to put the Stags up two goals in the second period.
Hobart tied the game midway through the second on goals by Mike Conklin and Daryl Veltman, but the tie didn’t last long. A minute later the Stags scored the first of three consecutive goals, and would build up what would prove to be an insurmountable 9-5 lead.
Hobart attempted a comeback, scoring once in the third and twice in the fourth, but each goal was answered with another Fairfield score.
Freshman Matt Castele and Josh Thornton ’06 led the Stags, each with a pair of goals.
“A lot of our young guys have stepped it up especially in Hobart,” said Bocklet. “All of them played really well.”
Fairfield has had a stellar season, beginning with wins against Holy Cross and St. John’s. The Stags had a minor setback, losing two close games on their spring break trip to Florida against cross-town rival Sacred Heart and Yale.
But even after superstar midfielder and team captain Tom Werney ’05 went down with an ACL injury that could end his season, and furthermore, his career, the team began to take it to opponents like they never have in the program’s history,
With Werney leading the pre-game team huddles and inspiring his teammates from the bench, they came out of spring break with an upset victory over then No. 20 Harvard at Alumni Field.
This was the first of many games in which the presumably overmatched Stags rose to the occasion, much to the delight of Spencer. The coach said at the time that team unity, among other things, lifted the team to victory.
Next up was Great Western Lacrosse League foe Air Force, whom the Stags edged out 10-9 in the league opener, and setting up a rematch with nationally renowned Penn State, whom the Stags beat for the first time last season.
The Stags, in dramatic fashion, went into University Park, Penn. and beat the Lions 11-10 in overtime on a Thornton game-winner.
The win sparked more momentum and lifted the team a step closer to the point it is at today.
Fast forward to Tuesday, when after upsetting Hobart, the Stags received a National Ranking of No. 20 by the Geico/STX Coaches Poll.
The awards continued to roll in this week for the team.
Kruger, who turned away nine Hobart shots on Saturday, was named the GWLL Player of the Week and Spencer received CSTV’s (College Sports Television) Coach of the Week.
“We feel good right now. We think we can play with any team and make the NCAA tournament,” Kruger said.
Even more impressive is the Stags success as a very young team. Nearly half of the 47 man roster is freshmen.
“Even though we are a young team, we fight hard,” said freshman goalkeeper Jeff Cilente. “The team sticks together.”
Kruger said he is not the least bit bothered by the team’s youth.
“I think we’re still pretty damn good,” he said.
Last season, the team finished off with a five-game losing streak, finishing the overall season at 5-9.
“We’re just looking to win the rest of our games and the conference and move on from there to the championships and take care of business,” said Bocklet.
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