With the brand new men’s lacrosse season peeking over the horizon, Fairfield University team has been making the final preparations necessary to take home a victory in their first game of the season against Providence College on Wednesday, March 3.
After a rugged fall and winter of seemingly endless stops and starts, the team will finally be able to hit their stride during their upcoming season. Each and every player has been yearning for a normal season, and it seems like that dream will become a reality.
Graduate student and returning captain Jake Tymon is particularly ready to get going, even if it means starting the season with an away game. “On the road or at home doesn’t matter all too much. I’m just excited to be able to get out there and compete,” Tymon said.
Captain Taylor Strough ‘21 feels a similar sentiment to Tymon, he went on to say, “I know our team would be eager to play wherever the game was set to take place.”
Coming off of a smooth preseason, the team hopes to transition this energy into the regular season and eventually the Colonial Athletic Association playoffs. “We’ve been having good flow,” Tymon said. “There haven’t been any disruptions as of yet, and we’re going to try to keep it that way.”
According to Tymon, the team is fully ready to take the field, as they have had ample time to hone the smaller details of the game. “Everyday, our team is striving to be the best version of ourselves,” Strough agreed.
However, the pandemic has made comradery much more difficult for the team, one item that the captains hope to focus on as the season progresses. With gathering size restrictions and student-athletes being scattered around residence halls and beach houses, it has been extremely difficult to make the normal face-to-face connections between upperclassmen and new players.
Captains Tymon, Strough and George Elmquist ‘21 are very confident that as the country begins to heal again, they will be able to continue creating these connections with their teammates. For now though, they will have to settle for proving the CAA wrong and working to take home a championship.
Among the class of 2024, there are many faces that have and are hoping to continue making a huge impact on the team. “Those guys are sometimes the most dialed in during our mental performance sessions, and they ask really great questions,” Tymon said. The young nature of this team is destined to not only provide a fresh set of legs, but a fresh set of eyes into the strategic side of lacrosse.
This is key heading into the March 3 bout against the Providence Friars, who are undoubtedly working just as hard to face our Stags. The team’s day-by-day philosophy, constructed by none other than head coach Andrew Baxter, is now in full swing.
The next workout, practice and film session are the most important events to the team; there is no point in worrying about a game that is weeks away. Come gametime, each player will be in the correct headspace to be the best they can be.
Before taking on the Friars, the Stags must focus and make the finishing touches to their gameplan. “By hitting our details, it will put us in a position to be successful,” Strough said.
This upcoming game is the culmination of everything that the team has worked for over this long, sports-less winter season. Although the game is taking place in Providence, R.I., the Stags will be stepping onto the Conway Field turf at Rafferty Stadium on March 6 to take on the University of Delaware Blue Hens.
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