The men’s lacrosse team (1-0) stormed into the 2026 season with a 10-8 win against Fairfield University (1-2) this Saturday. Five different players scored goals for Brown, including a remarkable four by attacker Jeremy Hopsicker ’26. The first-years also brought firepower, with attackers Baden Brown ’29 and Jameson Steele ’29 both scoring their first goals for the Bears.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Head Coach Jon Torpey said in an interview with Brown Athletics. “This was a total team win.”
The Stags struck early with a goal in the fourth minute of the game. But a little over two minutes later, Hopsicker tied up the score with a deft strike to the lower right corner of the net.
Midfielder Marcus Wertheim ’26 saw his chance to push the Bears into the lead just after the 10-minute mark. After receiving a pass in front of the midfield line, Wertheim raced down the right flank, weaving around the Stags’ defense to score and bring Brown to 2-1.
Despite outshooting the Stags 4-1 after their second goal, the Bears stayed at one throughout the remainder of the first quarter.
But in the second quarter, the team was hungry to widen the gap. The Bears passed the ball around from the back of the goal, which settled into Wertheim’s pocket. With the Stags scrambling, Wertheim dodged around a defender and, flanked by two more, delivered a high shot into the back of the net just 15 seconds into the quarter extending the lead to 3-1.
Over the next 10 minutes, the Bears continued to dominate. Hopsicker completed a hat trick with another pair of goals, and Baden Brown snuck in a low goal despite three defenders bearing down on him.
With around two minutes left in the quarter, Fairfield narrowed the lead to 6-2. But just over 40 seconds later, attacker Luke Dellicicchi ’26 raced around from behind the goal and delivered a rapid strike, bringing the Bears back to a 5-point lead.
While the Stags managed to pick up the first two goals of the third quarter, Steele quickly spotted an opening. Centered on the goal, he made a long shot that found the top right corner of the net — marking an impressive first career goal with the Bears.
But Steele wasn’t done yet. After five minutes of back-and-forth play, he unleashed a second long shot past the Stags’ defense to further Bruno’s lead to 9-4. Playing a man-up while the Bears served a penalty, Fairfield slipped another ball past the defense, sending the game 9-5 into the final break.
In the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Stags kept their momentum with another goal, narrowing Bruno’s lead to three.
But Brown didn’t let Fairfield dictate the game for long. Baden Brown delivered a long pass to Hopsicker, who waited just outside the crease to shoot a quick goal over the head of the Fairfield goalie.
Desperate to catch up, the Stags continued to push — scoring another pair of goals and bringing the score to 10-8 in Bruno’s favor.
In the final minute, Fairfield was looking for a chance to stay in the game — and if it wasn’t for goalie Connor Foley ’27, they may have found it. After Fairfield’s midfielder John Okupski delivered a close high shot above Foley’s head, the Brown goalie deflected the shot in a show of quick reflexes, marking his 14th save of the game and securing the 10-8 win for the Bears.
“It felt awesome to be back out there and playing with my team,” Hopsicker wrote in an email to the Herald. “It was truly a total team effort.”
In order to continue their success in coming weeks, Hopsicker said the team will “stay disciplined, trust one another and continue building on the things that worked.”
Next Saturday at noon, the team will face Providence College in the first Ocean State Cup matchup, looking to defend their 2025 cup title.
