AMHERST, Mass. - Senior attack Chris Connolly scored three times, 13 Minutemen had at least one point and sophomore goalie Matt Knote tallied 10 saves as Massachusetts men's lacrosse downed Fairfield, 13-9, at Garber Field on Sunday afternoon. The game marked the first for UMass in 368 days, dating back to the 2020 campaign. Three additional Minutemen provided multi-goal outings with two apiece, including graduate student midfielder Billy Philpott, junior attack Gabriel Procyk and freshman attack Dillon Arrant. Philpott and Procyk also dished out one assist each. Graduate student midfielder Jeff Trainor added two points via a pair of helpers while eight additional players earned one point apiece. Sophomore Zack Hochman went 12-for-21 on faceoffs with a dozen groundballs, a caused turnover and his first collegiate goal. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Jake Dulac also scored his first-ever tally in the winning effort. Massachusetts' veteran close defense of graduate student Jackson Suboch, senior Sam Eisenstadt and junior Adam Towey kept the potent Fairfield offense unbalanced throughout much of the game. The trio combined for four caused turnovers and five groundballs, while Suboch chipped in a long-pole to long-pole assist on Dulac's tally. UMass and Fairfield battled to a 6-all tie at halftime as balanced showed throughout the Minuteman lineup; however, back-to-back Stags goals in the final 92 seconds of the frame evened things up before the break. Massachusetts broke through with a five-goal third to pull in front, 11-8. Five different shooters converted in the stanza as Connolly earned his hat trick, Procyk netted his second and Kevin Cutinella, Dulac and Charlie O'Brien totaled their first goals of the season. Massachusetts outshot Fairfield, 39-30 and won the groundball battle, 28-27. The Minutemen played cleaner lacrosse as well, with 14 turnovers to Fairfield's 20. UMass continues its season on Sat., March 20 against Drexel at Garber Field. First faceoff is set for Noon.