Final Score
Monmouth (6-6, 3-3 CAA) – 14
Fairfield (4-10, 1-5 CAA) – 11
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth University Men's Lacrosse secured a historic milestone Saturday at Kessler Stadium, defeating Fairfield 14-11 to clinch its first-ever CAA postseason berth.

The Hawks also reached six wins for the first time since 2021 and recorded their first season with three conference victories since joining the CAA prior to the 2023 campaign.

Ty Caffarelli made history early, scoring his first goal of the game in the second quarter to break the program's single-season record with his 35^th tally. He finished with three goals and an assist, recording his fifth hat trick of the 2026 season and 18^th of his career. His final goal came in the closing seconds while man-down, marking Monmouth's first short-handed goal of the season and sealing the win.

After falling behind 1-0, Monmouth responded with a three-goal run in the first quarter and carried a 4-3 lead into the second. The Hawks extended the margin to 8-6 at halftime before Fairfield battled back to tie the game at 8-8 midway through the third.

Connor Gorman answered with back-to-back goals to regain control, part of a dominant second half in which he scored all four of his goals. Gorman recorded his third hat trick of the season and seventh of his career.

Monmouth maintained its edge in the fourth quarter, with Caffarelli's goal at 8:27 proving to be the game-winner. Matt Porazzo added two goals and two assists, while Riley Chester scored twice.

Freshman Kevin Ring led the defensive effort with a career-high three caused turnovers, and five different Hawks recorded at least three ground balls. As a team, Monmouth caused a season-high 12 turnovers and scooped up 31 ground balls.

Dylan Cadigan earned the win in net, making six saves and holding off the late push by the Stags.

Quotes
"Proud of our guys and happy to extend our season and play a few more days. We've faced our fair share of adversity this year, and I'm just really glad we were able to get the job done today.
 
I saw great resiliency from our guys today. Even when they started to get hot down the stretch, we preached staying even keeled and to keep battling, and we did." – Head Coach Brian Fisher

"We were resilient down the stretch, gave it our all, and we saw a good result because of that. In the timeouts late, the message was just get the job done, there was no other option for us. We know who they are, we know their style of play. We saw them a few weeks ago, and I thought we matched up well. As a team, we came out a little flat the first time we played them, but I think this time it might be different." – Senior attacker Connor Gorman on the win and drawing Towson in the CAA Semifinals on Thursday

Notes & Numbers
- Monmouth clinches its first ever CAA postseason berth.
- Six wins is the most by MU since 2021.
- Fairfield still leads the all-time series, 3-1.
- Ty Caffarelli broke the MU single-season record with 35 goals on his first of the day.
- Caffarelli had three goals, notching his 18th career hat trick, and second career hat trick versus Fairfield.
- MU's 12th goal of the game was Caffarelli's first GWG of the season
- Caffarelli's final goal of the game was MU's first goal this season on the man down.
- Gorman had a hat trick in the second half alone. It was his 7th of his career and third of season.
- At the end of the regular season, Ryan O'Rourke leads the Hawks with 13 assists. He has 34 career assists, which ranks fourth in program history.
- MU caused 12 turnovers, tying a season best.
- Kevin Ring caused a career high three turnovers.
- Five Hawks recorded at least three ground balls.
- Fairfield had more shot attempts, 39-36.
- Monmouth landed more shots on goal, 24-17.
- Monmouth scooped up more ground balls, 31-28.
- Monmouth was 1-of-3 on the man up, while Fairfield did not cash in going 0-of-3.
- The Stags controlled the faceoff circle, 17-11.
- MU successfully cleared 22-of-26 attempts, while Fairfield went 16-of-17.
- There were a combined 30 turnovers: Monmouth – 11, Fairfield – 19.

Up Next
The Hawks will play in their first CAA Championship tournament beginning Thursday, April 30, at 4 p.m. Monmouth will take on the top-seeded and nationally ranked Towson Tigers on their home turf in Maryland. The game will be broadcast live on FloCollege and tickets can be purchased here.