The No. 19 Fairfield Stags men’s lacrosse team did all they could to pull off a major upset over No. 5 Georgetown on Saturday, but five second half goals was not enough for the Stags to pick up the win.
The Stags lost 8-7 in Washington, D.C. and dropped to 5-3 on the season and 1-3 in ECAC play. They extended their losing streak to three games, after starting the season 5-0.
Fairfield was led by seniors on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field. Senior goalkeeper Mike Kruger was solid in the net, recording 13 saves. Fellow senior Chris Manley had four assists on the offensive end.
Kruger held the Hoyas to just one goal in the first quarter, while the Stags offense helped him out by scoring two goals, both by senior Mike Bocklet. Bocklet finished the game with three goals, to extend his team high total to 17.
Bocklet’s first goal came at the 10:39 mark, as he received a pass from junior Dan Boudreau and scored. Georgetown’s Trevor Casey scored 2:06 later to tie the game, but Bocklet struck again at the 7:10 mark to make the score 2-1 on an unassisted goal.
The Stags defense lapsed in the second quarter, as they allowed four unanswered goals, to allow Georgetown to take a 5-2 lead heading into half time.
Fairfield came out fast in the third quarter, as senior Greg Downing scored one minute in, off Manley’s first assist. The Stags scored twice more to tie the game off junior Brendan Finnerty and Bocklet goals in the next six minutes.
Georgetown answered back to retake the lead on a Brendan Cannon goal at the 7:55 mark and then extended their lead as the clock wound down on the third quarter, off an Andrew Baird goal at the 0:32 mark.
The Stags came out strong once again to start the fourth quarter and two goals from Boudreau and Downing in less than one minute tied the score again with 12:08 left in the game.
Fairfield locked down on defense, trying not to allow another goal from the potent Hoyas offense. Both goalkeepers kept the ball out of the net for the next 10 minutes, as Kruger made three saves for the Stags and Hoyas goalkeeper Miles Kass recorded two saves.
The Hoyas scored the game winner with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter, off a low shot by Scott Kocis.
The Stags will still have another tough challenge ahead of them, as they return home to face No. 10 North Carolina on April 15.
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