PHILADELPHIA - The Stags went 17-of-21 from the face-off to dominate possession as the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad dropped its season opener to Fairfield, 11-6, on a chilly Saturday afternoon on Sweeney Field. With the loss, the Hawks drop to 0-1 while the Stags improve to 1-1.

In his return to the field after being sidelined by injury last season, graduate student attackman Mike Rastivo scored twice. Senior midfielder Kyle Cain led all Hawks in scoring with three points on two goals and an assist while, in his collegiate debut, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mike Adler (0-1) made 10 saves in the full-game effort.

"I did not think that we played particulary well," said head coach Taylor Wray following the game. "We knew we were going to be in for a battle at the face-off . . . Early in the game, I think we played way too much defense, and when you play defense against a quality opponent like that, it's hard to get the stops you need to keep it close. They got some separation in the first half, and I thought our guys battled hard in the second half and tried to create some ground balls in the middle of the field. But in the end, it wasn't enough."

After Fairfield opened the game with back-to-back goals (10:22, 9:07), Cain found senior midfielder Hayes McGinley, who rocketed his first goal of the season into the back of the net at the 7:12 mark. Rastivo then put away an unassisted score with 3:24 to go, but Fairfield's Drew Murray (1:54) and Brendan Quinn (0:44) combined for two more for the Stags to close the first quarter with a 4-2 edge.

The Stags expanded on ther lead with four consecutive goals to begin the second quarter, closing out their six-goal run at the 6:47 mark for an 8-2 advantage. Senior midfielder Jason Kelly found Cain (5:19) and then scored one of his own, an EMO assisted by senior attackman Chris Blewitt, with 1:09 to play to cut SJU's deficit to four goals, 8-4, heading into the halftime break.

Fairfield's Colin Burke (8:40) scored and then assisted on an EMO goal of Taylor Strough's (5:38) to open up the lead back up to six, but Rastivo hit the back of the net again with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter to bring the Hawks to within five entering the final 15:00.

Brendan Quinn completed his hat trick for the Stags just under five minutes into the final quarter to extend Fairfield's lead back out by six, 11-5.

Cain, assisted by Blewitt, put away his second of the day with 5:34 to play, but that 11-6 score would stand as time expired.

For the game, Fairfield owned a slight 37-34 edge in shots, despite the Hawks outshooting the Stags 14-7 in the fourth quarter. Fairfield earned a 29-21 advantage in ground balls, led by face-off specialist Will Fox, who earned 14 ground balls in a 17-of-21 effort from the circle. Senior defenseman Brendan McNicholas scooped up a new single-game, career-high five ground balls and senior long stick midfielder Austin Smith added four as the veteran duo combined for over a third of SJU's ground balls.

"Our inability to be clean on the ground, to create possessions, is something that we need to correct," added Wray. "We will work on that this week as we prepare for the next one."

The Stags also earned a significant advantage in the EMO game, going 2-of-4 in man-up opportunities and holding the Hawks to one man-up goal in five attempts.

Saint Joseph's returns to action next Saturday, February 24 at Providence. Opening face-off at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I. is slated for 1:00 p.m. Providence (2-1) is on a two-game winning streak after defeating Bryant (Feb. 17) and Holy Cross (Feb. 10).

Photos (Sideline Photos, LLC) from today's game will be made available at PhotoShelter.com.

GAME NOTES: Graduate student midfielder Will McNamara made his SJU debut... Eight Hawks made their collegiate debuts in freshman attackman Thomas Halm, who got the starting nod, freshman face-off specialists William Jardeleza and Tyler Green, freshman midfielders Jack Anderson, Evan Campbell, and Sean Cunningham, freshman defenseman Teo Domic, and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mike Adler, who got the start in net... With his two goals, graduate student attackman Mike Rastivo passed Drew Scott '00 (105) to move into a tie for third, with former teammate Ryan McGee '15, on SJU's list for all-time career goals on Hawk Hill, with 107... With two points, Rastivo remains seventh on SJU's list for all-time career points on Hawk Hill, with 155... With six shots, Rastivo passed Andrew Four '06 (276) to move into sixth on SJU's list for all-time career shots on Hawk Hill, with 279... With two assists, senior attackman Chris Blewitt moved into a tie for 10th, with current teammate Mike Rastivo '18, on SJU's list for all-time career assists (58). 

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