Toward the end of the third quarter a comeback looked to be in the making for the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team, but it was too little too late. The Minutemen (4-7, 0-3 Colonial Athletic Association) cut Fairfield’s five-goal lead down to two but never made it closer than that, as the Stags (7-6, 3-0 CAA) held on to win their third CAA game, 8-6.

Following last season’s heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Towson in the Colonial Athletic Associate championship game, rising seniors Bob Fahey, Kevin Porzelt, Kyle Karaska and Kurt Hunziker were set to be next in line to lead the Minutemen in their final season. A class that started with 14 freshmen back in the 2012-2013 was down to its final four.

Noah Barnes, of Frontier Regional, hits a foul ball against Easthampton, Monday in Easthampton. He earned a walk during this at-bat. Bailey Powers, right, of Frontier Regional, steals second, against Shy Torres, of Easthampton, Monday in Easthampton. Kade Gewanter, top, of Frontier Regional, comes down with a catch, but Dawson Wolcott, of Easthampton, makes it safely to first Monday in Easthampton.

The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse season is coming down to the wire and with three games remaining on the schedule, UMass is still winless in conference play. Towson’s 11-8 victory was the Minutemen’s sixth loss of the season, Saturday. The Tigers (10-1, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) came into Garber Field ranked No. 6 in the country, riding a four-game winning streak with their last loss came at the hands of Johns Hopkins on March 12.

The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team is one win away from matching last year’s win total and it will have an opportunity to pick up that win this Wednesday against Delaware. The Blue Hens are an easy team to overlook. They are 3-7 – the worst record in the Colonial Athletic Association – and are at the bottom of many offensive and defensive categories in the conference.

Ever since its upset victory over at the time No. 11 Ohio State, the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team had been receiving votes to be nationally ranked in Inside Lacrosse’s Top 20 polls. UMass’ (4-4) back-to-back victories against No. 10 North Carolina and No. 20 Penn State were enough to convince the committee to rank the Minutemen as the 18th ranked team in the country.

Massachusetts men’s lacrosse coach Greg Cannella was a man of few words after Tuesday’s game against No. 15 Albany. Those three words summed up the afternoon for the Minutemen (2-4) who fell to the Great Danes 16-4 at Garber Field. Heading into the locker room following the first half, UMass found itself already down 8-0 with nothing to show for its 18 shots.

Fueled by a disappointing loss last Saturday to Harvard, the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team responded with its biggest win of the season on short rest in an 11-3 victory over Hartford Tuesday. Rather than being hung up on last weekend’s 10-9 overtime loss to the Crimson, UMass posted its second-best point total of the season and limited the Hawks to a season-low three goals allowed to get back in the win column despite the quick turnaround.

The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team entered the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game with a 9-6 lead. However, Harvard slowly crawled its way back over the next 15 minutes and finished it off with a 10-9 win in overtime. UMass (1-2) had played exceptional lacrosse at many spots throughout the game, however it allowed the Crimson (3-0) back in when it mattered most.

The Amherst Regional hockey team had already clinched the Fay-Wright title and a spot in the playoffs. The only thing left on the schedule before the playoffs began was a game against Belchertown on a night dedicated to the seniors. The Hurricanes held off a late-game comeback by the Orioles and secured the 4-3 win, Wednesday at Amherst College’s Orr Rink.

Another Atlantic 10 championship plaque will be coming to Amherst, as the Massachusetts men’s swimming and diving team took first place in the A-10 tournament this weekend for the second consecutive year and the 16th time in program history. The win was just the latest in a streak of A-10 dominance for the Minutemen, who have won 16 of the last 21 conference championships.

GAZETTE FILE PHOTOBelchertown twins Breanne, left, Brittany Moreau, shown prior to the start of the 2013 high school soccer season, have joined the UMass women's soccer team after two seasons at UConn. GAZETTE FILE PHOTOBelchertown twins Breanne, left, Brittany Moreau, shown prior to the start of the 2013 high school soccer season, have joined the UMass women's soccer team after two seasons at UConn.

Last weekend’s loss to Army in the season opener looked all too familiar to the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team. In 2015 it began the same way and went on to lose the next four games, starting their year off at 0-5. Well, any notion that the Minutemen (1-1) would repeat that infamous start was quickly put to rest when they defeated No. 11 Ohio State 16-9 at Garber field for the home opener Saturday afternoon.

After a slow 0-5 start to the 2015 season, the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team came back around and scraped its way into the Colonial Athletic Association championship game, before falling to Towson 9-8 at Rafferty Stadium in Fairfield, Connecticut. Now, UMass is days away from starting a 2016 season that holds many questions yet to be answered.