Friends of Fairfield Athletics

On Wednesday May 2nd at 8 PM MST and 10 PM EST, the #16 ranked Fairfield Stags laxmen will play the Ohio State Buckeyes in a rematch of last Saturday’s game.  This will be a ECAC Lacrosse League Championship semi final game.  The Buckeyes have the #2 seed and the Stags are the #3 seed.  Overall the Buckeyes come into the contest with an 8-6 record and a 5-1 record in the ECAC while the Stags have a 11-3 overall record and are 4-2 in the ECAC.

Will not preview the Ohio State’s season in this blog as this was done in the last blog.  Just note that OSU comes into this game with a four game winning streak.  The Buckeyes have scored 128 goals out of 492 shots for a 9.14 goals per game average and a .260 shot percentage while their opponents have scored 100 goals out of 388 shots for a 7.14 goals against average and a .258 shot percentage.  OSU players have been assisted on 88 of their goals this season and have 40 unassisted goals.  Their man up offense has a conversion rate of .333 scoring 14 goals out of 42 attempts.  OSU’s man down defense has allowed 11 goals out of 42 chances for a .262 conversion rate. The best scoring period has been the first quarter with 38 goals and 36 goals in the second quarter.  The offense has gotten 29 goals in the third period and 24 goals in the fourth session.  Ohio State has played one OT game and scored in the first OT period.  The opponents have scored their most goals in the fourth period with 28 goals and 27 goals in the third period.  The second period has seen the opposition score 24 goals and 21 goals in the first period.

Defensively they have scooped up 424 ground balls versus the 404 ground balls credited to their opponents.  OSU has 111 caused turnovers and their opposition has 91 caused turnovers.  In the faceoff X, OSU has won 126 of the 276 faceoffs taken for a .457 winning percentage.  The opponents have won 150 of the 276 faceoffs for a .543 winning percentage. Buckeyes have 211 turnovers this season while the opponents have turned the ball over 237 times.  Officials have penalized the Buckeyes 48 times this season while the opponents have been flagged 46 times.

Logan Schuss, who was named the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, is their leading goal scorer and point getter.  He has 38 goals this season to go along with 17 assists for 55 points.  With 22 points are both Jessie King and Dominique Alexander.  King has 14 goals and 8 assists while Alexander has 11 goals and 11 assists.  Tyler Fredrick has 21 point with 7 goals and 14 assists.  Both Turner Evans and Nick Liddil have 13 points.  Evans has 8 goals and 5 assists while Liddil has 5 goals and 8 assists.  The final two double digit scorers for OSU this season are Brock Sorensen with 12 goals for 12 points and Reegan Comeault with 11 points- 6 goals and 5 assists.  Greg Dutton is their #1 goalkeeper who has a 7 win and 6 loss record for the season.  He has played 746 minutes this season and has allowed 85 goals with a 6.83 goals against average.  He has been credited with 118 saves and has a .581 save percentage.

The Stags offensively have scored 142 goals this season off of 498 shots for a 10.14 goals per game average with a .285 shot percentage.  The opponents have scored 124 goals off of 477 shots for a .260 shot percentage and a 8.86 goals scored per game average.   Fairfield’s attack have been assisted on 67 of the goals this season while 75 of their goals have been unassisted.  The opposition has scored 73 of their goals via the assist and 51 goals unassisted.   The Stags man up unit has a .342 conversion rate scoring 13 goals out of 38 chances.  The man down unit has limited the opposition to 14 goals out of 47 chances for a .298 conversion rate.  The Stags have also scored two man down goals this season with Brent Adams getting both goals and leading the ECAC in this category.  The first period is the Stags most productive quarter with 44 goals being scored with 33 goals coming in the second period.  The third quarter has seen the Stags hit the back of the net 31 times and 30 times in the fourth quarter.  In four OT games this season, Fairfield has scored twice in the first OT period and once in the second and third OT periods.  The opponents have scored 37 times in the fourth period and 33 times in the first period.  Second period has accounted for 28 goals and the third period has seen the opposition score 26 times.

Fairfield’s defense has snagged 398 ground balls while the opponents have gotten to 408 ground balls.  Stags have caused 94 turnovers and the opponents have caused 113 turnovers.  The faceoff X has seen the Stags win 190 faceoffs out of 318 attempts for a .597 faceoff winning percentage.  The opposition have 128 faceoff wins out of the 318 attempts for a .403 winning percentage.  Fairfield has turned the ball over 213 times while the opponents have turned the ball over 201 times.  The Stags have been penalized 50 times this season and the opposition have been flagged 41 times.

Sam Snow leads the team in goals and points this season.  He has 31 goals and 7 assists for 38 points.  Brent Adams has 24 goals and 11 assists for 35 points while John Snellman has 28 goals and 3 assists for 31 points.  Freshman Colin McLinden has 8 goals and 15 assists for 23 points and Eric Warden has 16 goals and 6 assists for 22 points.  Tristian Sperry and Drew Federico both have 16 points this season.  Sperry has 10 goals and 6 assists while Federico has 7 goals and 9 assists.  ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year Charlie Cipriano has played 855 minutes this season.  He has allowed 122 goals with a 8.56 goals against average.  He has been credited with 159 saves for a .566 save percentage.

How can you watch the game?   The ECAC Lacrosse League Championships have a website that offer a live stats link and a live video link.  You can also watch the game on the ESPN3 website.  Here is the ECAC Lacrosse League Championship website link:  http://www.denverpioneers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18600&ATCLID=205419312

Keys to Victory:  The Stags need to win the ECAC Tournament to get the NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier bid.  The loss to Ohio State on Saturday seem to have precluded the Stags from receiving an at large bid for the NCAA Tournament.  Need the big three, Snow, Snellman and Adams, to have big offensive efforts.  I fully expect Michael Roe to rebound have a strong face off effort on Wednesday night.  The defense has played very well in both the Denver and Ohio State games.  Look for Cipriano to lead the defense and shut down the Buckeyes offense.  They held Logan Schuss to two assists last Saturday and will need to have another strong effort on Schuss.  Most importantly, I do not expect the Stags to come out flat for this game.  The players and coaches all know what is at stake.  Look for the Stags to come out with fire and a fast start.  GO STAGS!!  Roger Yergeau ’73