The Fairfield Stags men’s lacrosse team opened up their Colonial Athletic Association regular season with a nail-biting win at Hofstra University, taking the win 12-11 on March 18. Like the final score, the box score reflected the tight contest with the only advantages being the Stags scooping up 31 ground balls to the Prides’ 20 and Hofstra’s four man-up opportunities to Fairfield’s two according to the game’s official recap.
The game started off hot for Fairfield with the Stags jumping out to a 5-2 lead with Will Consoli ‘26 and Jake Gilbert ‘26 each finding the back of the net in the first two minutes of the game. Hofstra then quickly battled back, tying the game at two apiece. Fairfield quickly snapped back with Bryce Ford ‘24 kicking off a three-goal run for the Stags with Consoli netting his second and Jack McKenna ‘25 getting the Stags a 5-2 lead. After the Stags took this lead, they did not give it back, with Hofstra getting within one goal four separate times but never being able to take the lead.
With 9:04 left in the game, the Stags were up 10-9 and scored to get a two-goal lead with Consoli finding the back of the net for the fourth time on the day. Fairfield then would win a faceoff, kill some clock and Ford scored his sixth point of the day with his third goal with just 5:56 left in the game.
The only change to the score would be with less than a minute to go when Hosftra managed to score two goals and garner a third possession. However, the Stag’s defense stood tall and held Hofstra one goal short of tying the game. The combination of Ford, Consoli and McKenna combined for ten goals and five assists totaling 15 points on the day. In addition, Max Paparozzi ‘23 also scored and Rob Moore ‘25 had two assists.
Furthermore, redshirt Sophomore Dylan Smith aided the Stags, going 13 for 26 from the faceoff X and contributing nine ground balls. The close defensive unit garnered 13 ground balls and goalie Will Snyder ‘26 had seven saves in his first CAA win.
On Saturday, March 25, the Stags continued their in-conference play at Towson University where they dropped to a .500 record in the conference at 1-1. The Stags lost 11-7 and were outshot 37 to 32, went 8 for 22 on the faceoff X, had two more man-up opportunities and were out-ground balled 48 to 33 according to the game’s official recap.
The Stags went down 2-0 early in the first quarter but managed to close the lead to 2-1 with 4:10 left in the first. Towson then rattled off two goals before Paparozzi netted one of his own with just nine seconds left in the first quarter making the score 4-2 in Towson’s favor. The second quarter saw Paparozzi score his second on the day to close the gap to a one-goal game. Towson then managed to score two goals in the final minute of the first half giving them a 6-3 lead going into the break.
Coming out of the half, McKenna opened up the scoring followed shortly after by a Towson goal and then rounded out with a goal from Ford ending the third 7-5 Towson. The final quarter opened up with a goal from Consoli, making it once again a one-goal game before Towson managed to put the game away. The Tigers scored four straight goals, making it an 11-6 game until Ford scored the Stag’s final goal and the final goal of the game with 2:31 left on the clock making it 11-7.
Snyder had 10 saves in net in the Stags’ losing effort and Ford got another hattrick. Other goal scorers included McKenna and Consoli, who each scored one, and Consoli, who contributed with two assists, with Paparozzi scoring two of his own to round out the Stag’s scoring efforts.
The loss dropped the Stags to a 3-6 record and 1-1 in the CAA. Up next the Stags will host Drexel University on April 1st at 12:00 pm. For more information visit fairfieldstags.com.
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