Men's Lacrosse Beats Fairfield for First Win of the Season

Wednesday, February 21

Fairfield, Conn.

7:00 PM

Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics

1-3

Fairfield University

0-3

Fairfield

Sacred Heart

Photo by: Greg Vasil

Men's Lacrosse Beats Fairfield for First Win of the Season

2/21/2024 10:39:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

Morgan O'Reilly led SHU with three goals

FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Morgan O'Reilly scored three goals to lead the Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team to its first win of the season on Wednesday evening, 13-9, against Fairfield University under the lights of Campus Field. The Pioneers picked up their first win over Fairfield since 2005.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 1-3
Fairfield: 0-3

Top Performers:
Morgan O'Reilly: 3 goals
Jake Ward: 2 goals, 1 assist
Michael Moreschi: 2 goals, 1 assist
Alex Pazienza: 11 saves

Of Note:
Sacred Heart opened the game with a quick three-goal lead within the first five minutes of the game with goals from Michael Moreschi and a pair of back-to-back tallies from O'Reilly. Fairfield got on the board with 2:44 left in the opening quarter, but SHU led 3-1 heading into the second.

Jake Ward and Moreschi scored two goals within 35 seconds of each other to kick off a high-scoring second quarter, extending the Pioneers lead to 5-1 within the first two minutes of the frame. The Stags answered with a pair to cut their deficit to two, but Ryan Rooney tallied his first as a Pioneer, followed by a man-down goal from Ward to put SHU ahead 7-3.

After two more for Fairfield, SHU ended the half with three straight goals, including a highlight reel goal from defenseman Jake Candelino, giving the Pios a 10-5 lead at the halftime break.

Fairfield scored twice in the third quarter to cut their deficit to three, but Tucker Spencer opened the fourth with a quick man-up goal to give SHU another four-goal lead. Will Moulton and Carson Spooner added two more for the Pios in the fourth, and the Stags scored one more in the final minute, but Sacred Heart was able to clinch the home victory for the team's first win of the season.

The Pioneers dominated the face-offs as Luke Romanek picked up 20 wins, while the Stags had just five face-off wins in total. Romanek also picked up a game-high 14 ground balls.

Senior goalkeeper Alex Pazienza made 11 saves to backstop the Pioneers in the win.

Up Next:
The Pioneers will be home on Sunday, February 25, to take on Le Moyne at 12:00 pm at Campus Field.