Fueled by 16 saves from goalkeeper Tyler Behring, the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team earned an 11-4 win over No. 20 Villanova on Dedication Day at Rafferty Stadium. TJ Neubauer led the Stags’ offense with four goals in the victory, which was broadcast live to a nationwide audience on ESPN3 and SNY.
With its third consecutive victory, Fairfield (5-4) has now defeated at least one ranked opponent (in the USILA Coaches’ Poll) in each of Head Coach Andy Copelan’s seven seasons at the helm.
Behring’s 16 saves mark a career high as well as the most by a Fairfield goalkeeper since Jack Murphy turned away 17 UMBC offerings on March 2, 2013. The sophomore netminder also collected three ground balls. After falling behind 2-0 early in the first quarter, Behring and the Stags’ defense kept Villanova (5-3) off the board until two minutes into the fourth frame – a span of 40:43 of game time. Matt Borda led the unit in front of Behring with a career-best nine ground balls to go along with two caused turnovers.
Neubauer’s four goals extended his team-leading total to 19 on the season. Tristan Sperry, who leads the Stags with 30 points, scored two goals and distributed two assists this evening while gathering four ground balls Charlie Schnider added three points with a goal and two helpers.
Seven Stags scored in total in the contest with Drew Federico,Colin McLinden, Jake Knostman and Joe Rodrigues each adding single tallies in the win.
Villanova’s first two goals came within the first 6:17 of play as the Wildcats grabbed a 2-0 lead with 8:43 left in the opening frame. The Stags responded with Schnider goal that started the team on what amounted to a run of eight consecutive markers. Fairfield carried a 5-2 lead into the half and an 8-2 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Jack Curran finally ended the drought for Villanova with a goal at 13:00 in the fourth quarter, but the Stags’ defense remained on point and the 8-3 advantage held through the midway point of the stanza. Neubauer completed his hat trick at 6:54 and, after the Wildcats snuck one more through, Neubauer and Rodrigues capped the effort with two goals in a span of 32 seconds to round out the 11-4 final score.
The Stags were outshot by the visitors, 40-28. Fairfield held a 27-21 advantage in ground balls and committed 15 turnovers while pressuring the Wildcats into 11 miscues.
The day began with a 12-3 win for Fairfield women’s lacrosse over Manhattan in the Stags’ 2015 MAAC opener. The official blessing and dedication of Rafferty Stadium – a new state-of-the-art facility at the University – was held in between ends of the doubleheader.
Up next, Fairfield begins CAA Lacrosse play for the first time next Saturday, March 28 at defending champion Drexel. The Stags will also play at Massachusetts on Saturday, April 4 before beginning a three-game, regular-season-ending homestand against CAA Lacosse foes with a visit from Towson on Saturday, April 11th.
