Men’s lacrosse will travel to Hempstead, New York, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. after a disappointing loss to Stony Brook over the weekend. Fairfield comes into this game 4-6(1-2) after dropping some tough games throughout the season. The Stags will look to turn their season around with a win against a struggling Hofstra.
Hofstra comes into this one 2-7(0-2) after dropping three straight games against Monmouth, Stony Brook, and 20th-ranked Sacred Heart. This is a crucial game for both teams, especially in the Colonial Athletic Association standings, with Fairfield in fifth and Hofstra in sixth.
This season, Hofstra has only beaten the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Iona, both of which came earlier in the year. These wins came off the backs of some of their leaders on the team, whom Fairfield will have to keep in check. That includes the goal scoring leader, redshirt senior midfielder Trevor Natalie, who has 20 on the season.
Other standouts include senior attackman Anthony Mollica, who leads the team in assists with 11, and is tied for the lead with Natalie in points with 26. On the faceoff crew for the Pride, they’ve been led by first-year Nico Ghicas, who has a faceoff percentage of .395 so far.
On the defensive side for the Pride, their most impactful player is redshirt senior Blake Cooling, who leads the team in groundballs and caused turnovers with 38 and 21, respectively. The Pride have had just one person anchor them in net all season, with redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Shea Kennedy, who has a 10.98 goals allowed average and a .495 save percentage per game.
Fairfield is coming off a tough loss against the Stony Brook Seawolves over the weekend, where it lost 16-10. There were many goal scorers for the Stags in this game, but senior attackman Jake Gilbert was the most effective with two goals and an assist on the day.
Even though the Stags didn’t get the result they wanted, there’s still something they can look to take advantage of in their future games: the depth and effectiveness of their faceoff crew.
Players for the Stags say guys have stepped up in the absence of junior faceoff Daniel Davis, who has struggled with injuries.
“Daniel has been awesome all year. [The faceoff crew] call themselves the sandbox, but he went down, and [Johnathan Lewis] been playing great in his absence.” Gilbert said.
During the Stony Brook game, Lewis, a senior, was one of the only bright spots, going 15-25 on faceoffs, stepping up big time in the spot that the Stags need to be effective. Graduate goalkeeper Owen Hirsch and junior goalkeeper Landon Whitney also split time evenly during the game.
For the Stags, sophomore attackman Devin Lampron leads the team in goals with 21.
“Dev is a great player, and he’s going to continue to grow. Obviously, he’s super skilled and a great finisher, he’s fun to watch and also play with,” Gilbert said.
Senior midfielder Will Consoli leads the team in assists and points with 14 and 31. On defense, junior defender Julian Radossich is still having a great season, leading the team in caused turnovers with 29.
The two goalkeepers for the Stags have been splitting time recently, with Hirsch having an 11.71 GAA and a .440 save percentage, and Whitney having an 11.94 GAA and a .386 save percentage.
Fairfield continues CAA play on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. away at Hofstra University.
