THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 16, Fairfield 11
RECORDS: Hartford (1-2); Fairfield (1-3)
LOCATION: Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium (Fairfield, Conn.)
 
THE LEAD:
 
The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team stormed back to defeat the Fairfield Stags, 16-11, on Tuesday afternoon at Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Freshman Alex Smith, who sparked a decisive 5-0 run that gave the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish in the third quarter, led all scorers with five goals while senior Justin Huggins added four scores.
 
Dylan Beckwith, who finished with a game-best six points, netted four goals to pace the Stags in the losing effort.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• The Hawks fell behind early to the Stags, as Fairfield jumped out to a three-goal advantage at 5-2 in the opening minutes of the second quarter behind Dylan Beckwith's second goal of the afternoon.
• Hartford answered, using three consecutive goals within a 3:30 stretch from Rion Davison, Will Dulin and Huggins to knot up the game for the first time since opening faceoff at 6-6 with 3:30 to go until halftime.
• Fairfield would not relinquish its lead, though, as Charlie Curran used a feed from Beckwith to put the Stags back ahead by one, 7-6, at the break.
• Hartford regrouped during the intermission and came out of the gates firing in the second half. Netting five-straight goals in the first 6:15 of the half, the Hawks wiped away their deficit and took an 11-7 lead with 8:45 remaining in the third. Smith, who sparked what proved to be the game's decisive run with a goal 39 seconds into the half, also netted his third and fourth goals of the game during that stretch.
• A goal by Joe Rodrigues ended Fairfield's drought, but Hartford was not done. Scoring for the fifth time with three seconds remaining in the third, Smith ignited a 4-0 Hartford run that expanded the Hawks' lead to 16-9 with 3:56 remaining.
• Fairfield ended the game with two unanswered scores, but the damage had already done by Hartford as it came away with the impressive, five-goal victory.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE & NOTES:
 

• Senior Griffin Feiner dished out two goals and added a pair of assists to finish with four points.
• Jinks, who added three points (two goals, one assist), is two points shy of becoming the third 100-point scorer on Hartford's current roster.
• Nicholas Vazquez went 6-of-12 to pace the Hawks on faceoffs. Fairfield held the edge at the X, winning 18-of-31 duels.
• Ryan Vanderford registered 10 saves between the pipes, including a slew of clutch stops in the second quarter, for his first win of the season. With 25 on his career, he is five shy of the program record, held by Rorke Green.

 
NEXT ON TAP:
The Hawks' longest road trip of the season continues with a stop at Harvard on Saturday afternoon. Openieng faceoff is slated for 1 p.m. from Cambridge, Mass.