The Hofstra University men’s lacrosse team lost in a heartbreaking game to the Fairfield University Stags 12-11 in their first match of Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play on Saturday, March 16, at Rafferty Stadium.
The Pride and Stags have produced several great matches in recent years and this past encounter was no different. Only four goals have separated the two teams in their last three meetings with Fairfield taking the win in each of them.
Sam Lutfi led the Pride with a season-high of four goals, bringing his total to 10. John Madsen added in three of his own, the fifth time he’s recorded a hat trick this year. Griffin Turner had a team-high of 6 points on two goals and four assists.
Fairfield’s 12 goals came on the back of Will Consoli finding the net four times against the Pride. Jake Gilbert scored a trio of goals while Keegan Lynch and Dean Ford each contributed two for the Stags. Bryce Ford led his side with three assists throughout the game.
Consoli gave Fairfield their largest lead of the day with a pair of goals to open scoring in the fourth, putting Hofstra in an 11-7 hole with just under 10 minutes to work with.
The Pride roared back, rattling off three goals in quick succession, turning the Stags’ four-goal cushion into a one-goal game in just 56 seconds.
Madsen connected on the first goal to complete his hat trick with around 7 minutes left. Turner and Lutfi got in on the action scoring their goals just 28 seconds apart from each other with Hofstra looking to force overtime.
Turner scored his second goal with about a minute and a half left in regulation, but Fairfield’s Owen Hirsch came in clutch in the final minutes.
Hirsch only played the second half but had seven saves. None bigger than the three he had in the final 6 minutes to deny the Hofstra comeback.
Lutfi only needed 58 seconds to get on the board with an unassisted goal to give Hofstra an early lead, but the Pride knew they were in for a dogfight as Fairfield responded 7 minutes later with two scores of their own. Reilly Sullivan’s eighth goal of the season tied the game before Dean Ford took the lead just 55 seconds later.
The Pride fought back after Turner found Madsen a few minutes later to tie it up, but Lynch and Consoli gave the Stags a two-goal advantage by the end of the frame.
Both teams picked up the pace in the second quarter, scoring seven goals in the period. Hofstra’s Sean Henderson had 15 saves on the day, with five coming in just the second quarter to keep the Pride within striking distance.
Madsen found his second goal within the first minute, just for Gilbert to answer back 23 seconds later.
Turner showed off his teamwork with Justin Sykes, finding the graduate student for back-to-back goals. Lutfi continued the momentum with another goal to regain the lead for the Pride 6-5.
The Stags slipped two past Henderson with Gilbert tying things up before Ford gave Fairfield the advantage going into halftime.
An unnecessary roughness call on Blake Cooling just 14 seconds into the second half set the table for Gilbert to earn his hat trick less than a minute after returning from the break. Consoli tacked on his second goal two minutes later to extend the Fairfield lead to three.
Lutfi was set on ending Fairfield’s 4-0 run, scoring Hofstra’s first goal in nearly 20 minutes to bring the Pride within two with about 5 minutes left in the third.
Lynch scored with under 3 and a half minutes remaining with his second on the day, ultimately being the difference in the match as Hofstra could not capitalize on their scorching run earlier in the fourth.
The loss means Hofstra’s record drops to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in CAA play while Fairfield improves to 5-3, earning their first win in conference play.
The Pride will continue CAA play when they hit the road to take on the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens on Saturday, March 23, from Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium. The opening face-off is set for noon.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Lee S. Weissman
