It has been said it's easy to decipher a team that wins regularly when compared to one that doesn't.

A winning team distinguishes itself by having the ability to close out games when leading late.

This was supposed to be a weekend in which the Penn State men's lacrosse team would revert back to playing fundamentally sound lacrosse.

And for almost three quarters, it did.

But the Nittany Lions surrendered five unanswered goals to end the game on Saturday, en route to losing in overtime to Fairfield, 11-10.

"We have to believe more. You look into a lot of the guys eyes and I'm not so sure we believed that we were going to win or believed that we want to win," senior captain Mike Jacober said.

The Lions held an 8-6 advantage over the Stags going into halftime, but it took 10 minutes in the third quarter before either team scored.

Nate Whitaker scored an unassisted goal at the 4:51 mark followed by a Brian Boyle goal that gave the Lions a 10-6 lead late in the third.

The Lions seemed primed to seal the deal on a victory after losing back-to-back games and three of four entering Saturday.

But it appeared as if the Stags switched gears late in the third and practically controlled the remainder of the contest.

Fairfield scored two goals in the final 47 seconds of the period to pull within two. From thereon the Stags were the aggressors, shutting out the Lions the rest of the way.

"They handled, ran, and carried the ball. They made us play a lot of defense and we got tired," Penn State coach Glenn Thiel said.

The stat sheet will say Penn State dominated the game as nine different Lion players tallied points and the Lions also dominated in ground balls and face-offs.

But when the Stags gained possession of the ball, they rarely gave it up.

"We never had the ball in the second half and when we did, we threw it away," Thiel said.

"It goes right back to what we said during [the week], the fundamentals of catching and throwing and we started from the opening play of the game slopping the ball around the field and we can't win like that," he said.

The Stags controlled the crucial opening face-off in overtime and drove into the Lions zone.

With 2:36 left, Josh Thornton of Fairfield shot a low liner past goalkeeper Chris Courteau to win the game.

To say the Lions were dejected would be an understatement, especially after blowing a comfortable lead so late.

"I'm not sure we really believe, when we're out there, that we're going to win the game," Jacober said.

Penn State returns to action at noon Saturday, when it visits the University of Massachusetts.

The Nittany Lions' next home match is at 7:30 p.m. on April 5 against Mount St. Mary's.