Following a crushing defeat to North Carolina, things were not going well for the Stags.
Despite playing well in losing efforts against strong opponents, including two one-goal losses to Hobart and Georgetown, one glaring fact remained: the team had still dropped four straight games.
“That seems to be the story of our year; a couple of bounces didn’t go our way,” said goalkeeper Mike Kruger ’07.
All the way, though, head coach Ted Spencer always mentioned one post-game feeling, regardless of the outcome: “pride in their effort.”
Then came a 19-2 rout at the hands of Loyola (Md.), giving the Stags their fifth consecutive loss and eliminating them from a post-season berth.
Loyola dominated the game from the start, totaling five straight goals in a period of six minutes and 20 seconds to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
Senior Mike Bocklet’s lone goal in the second half was merely an aberration, as the Greyhounds would reel off another eight goals in a row to add to an already-impressive offensive onslaught.
While the majority of the Stags’ losses this season this year have been close contests, the loss in Baltimore may have been the breaking point.
“The Loyola loss hurt a lot. It did hurt our morale,” said midfielder Greg Downing ’07.
A season that began in perfection seemed destined to end in disarray.
The Stags were once ranked as high as 13th in nation, the highest ranking in school history.
Fairfield had its chance at redemption against UMass on Tuesday afternoon and battled from the very beginning.
Downing scored just 27 seconds into the game to put Fairfield on top quickly.
Unfortunately for Fairfield, that was the only lead of the game.
Despite a back-and-forth contest that saw the largest lead at a mere three goals, the Stags ultimately fell to the Minutemen 10-7.
The Stags cut the lead down to 8-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Bocklet tallied two goals.
But, it was not enough, as the Minutemen scored twice more to finish the game.
“Rebounding off of a game like we had at Loyola, our kids played as well as we could today,” said Spencer. “It’s a tough situation. These were the national runner-ups.”
The loss dropped the team to a sub-.500 record at 5-6, as well as lowering its ECAC in-conference record to 1-5 and a last-place standing.
“We had a few tough breaks – playing down three minutes after the stick check (penalty),” said Spencer. “But our kids fought through it.”
Penalties were not the only problem, as the Stags’ defense struggled against two of the nation’s premier offenses.
Bocklet scored two goals in the UMass game and also added a goal in the Loyola game to move his team-high total up to 24 goals and increasing his points lead to 36 points.
For the second consecutive game, the Stags allowed an opponent to have two players score three or more goals. For Loyola, Dan Bauer contributing three goals and Greg Leonard contributing four goals had huge outings.
Three days later, Jim Connoly and Andrew Recchione both had three apiece for the Minutemen.
Despite the totals, Spencer felt Kruger was fantastic in net, following the Loyola game in which he was pulled in favor of back-up Piet Dudley ’10.
Even in the face of a devastating losing streak, the team says it has maintained their composure.
“I think we played great [against UMass],” said Downing. “A few bounces the other way and it could’ve gone to us.”
Another motivating factor is the fact that Sunday’s season finale against St. John’s is Senior Day, something not lost on the minds of the Stags.
“As seniors, you’re always going to remember your last game,” said Kruger.
“At 5-6, we don’t want to have a losing season. We want a win.”
For Kruger and his fellow seniors, it’s now more than just wins and losses; it’s about pride.
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