FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Colgate's furious fourth-quarter rally made it interesting, but Fairfield held on for a 13-9 win over the Raiders here Saturday.
 
Colgate scored five unanswered goals over a seven-plus-minute stretch of the final period to draw the Raiders within 12-9. Matt Clarkson and Chase Wittich tallied two goals each during the comeback, and Cameron Williams added the other.
 
But the clock was winding and Fairfield settled it with a goal one minute from time.
 
Fairfield (3-4) led 10-3 at halftime after scoring six in the first quarter and four in the second. It was still 11-4 heading to the fourth in favor of the Stags, who entered Saturday with all four of its losses by one goal.
 
Colgate (4-2) lost its second straight game and has a Tuesday night visit to No. 9-ranked Cornell next on the schedule. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
Bottom Line
• Fairfield 13, Colgate 9
 
Won-Lost Records

• Colgate dropped to 4-2.
• Fairfield improved to 3-4.
 
Facts & Figures
• This series is now tied 4-4 after Colgate's first-ever loss at Fairfield (3-1).
• Fairfield's 10-3 halftime lead marked the most goals allowed by the Raiders in the opening 30 minutes this year.
• Colgate's fourth-quarter dominance helped turn most of the statistics toward the Maroons.
• Shots favored the Raiders 36-27 (18-5 in the fourth), and ground balls did as well 31-27 (10-6 in the fourth).
• Colgate won the faceoff battle 13-12 and committed 14 turnovers to Fairfield's 19 (seven in the fourth).
• Colgate was 15-of-16 on clears to Fairfield's 19-of-22.
• There were only two penalties in the game, both in the fourth quarter and one for each side. The Raiders cashed in on their man-up chance when Clarkson scored with 2:20 remaining to make it 12-8.
• Fairfield did not score in the man-up opportunity.
• Two separate five-goal runs were the difference for the Stags.
• The first turned a 1-1 game to 6-1 by the 1:56 mark of the first quarter.
• Colgate's Kevin Adams drew one back and Ryan Walsh made it 6-3 early in the second, but Fairfield put four more in a row on the board for its 10-3 halftime advantage.
• The Stags then scored the first goal of the second half for their largest lead of the game at 11-3 with 5:03 remaining in the third.
 

More Key Info
• Matt Clarkson's four-point game led the Raiders offensively. He scored two goals and now has eight for the season, and his two assists gave him 14. Clarkson leads the team in assists and in points with 22.
• Chase Wittich posted the second two-goal game of his young career, while Adams, Walsh, Anthony Abbadessa, Peter Donato and Cameron Williams also found the net.
• In addition to Clarkson, Colgate assists went to Abbadessa for two and Walsh and Matt Reyes-Guerra-Dunn for one apiece.
• Matt Yeager caused a career-high three turnovers. That number matches the Connor Murphy total of last week (also a career-high) for best on the team this season.
• Peter Marchetto was 11-of-22 on faceoffs and picked up four ground balls. Collin Orr added a 2-of-3 effort on faceoffs.
• Abbadessa and Strecker Backe set career-highs with three ground balls apiece, while Murphy and Leo Stouros also finished with three. Stouros added two caused turnovers.
• Brandon Burke returned to the starting lineup in goal and made six saves. Jake Danehy played the final 3:51 as the Raiders emptied their net to try to force turnovers.
• Fairfield was led by four goals from Alex Corboy. He scored twice in the first quarter and then had consecutive goals in the second to make it an 8-3 game.
 
Turning Point
• Colgate had narrowed a 6-1 Fairfield led to 6-3 on Walsh's goal early in the second quarter.
• But the Stags poured on four straight before the halftime horn and tallied the first goal of the third period to make it 11-3 and out of reach.
 

From the Source
• Colgate head coach Mike Murphy: (On the game) "They are a really good team, and their four losses are by four goals. We knew they were a talented team, and to spot them the lead we did was recipe for failure for us.
"As I said to our team at the half, it's a game of 60 minutes. We played well for 30, but we cannot spot good teams seven- or eight-goal leads and expect to come back to win. We buckled down in the second half, but I've got to find whatever the magic potion is to get us going in the first half the way we were going in the early part of the season. We've got to find a way to put a good 60 minutes together."
(On learning from today's loss) "You always figure something out about your team every time you take the field. To see us compete the way we did in the second half today is a positive. But again, you can't spot a good team these kinds of leads and expect to emerge victorious.
"We've got a short turnaround; that's the great thing about spring break. We get to play a very good Cornell team Tuesday and then we get back into league play next Saturday. We're excited to get back to practice Sunday."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Rafferty Stadium was 812.
 
Up Next
• Colgate plays its final midweek game of the season with a Tuesday night visit to No. 9 Cornell.
• The Big Red are 4-2 after Saturday's 14-7 win at No. 6 Yale.
• Start time from Schoellkopf Field is 7 p.m.