Finally, in the sixth game of the season, the Penn State men's lacrosse team found some room to breathe.

In their last game, the Nittany Lions had their breath taken away after a barnburner, an 11-10 loss to Stony Brook in the home opener. That was the margin Penn State had already found fruitful in two road wins -- each by one goal.

So they traveled once again, stopping in Fairfield, Conn., and found Alumni Field a welcome sight. It was Fairfield's first ever game at home in the ECAC. But the Lions smothered the Stags on their own stomping grounds 11-6 on Saturday.

The game was 5-5 going into the third period, as all 1,168 rabid Fairfield fans roared for a win in its conference home opener. Then Penn State slowed the game down, relaxed and silenced the raucous student body in attendance.

"We quieted them all," senior tri-captain Nate Whitaker said.

Penn State (3-3, 1-1 ECAC) got back to .500 with five points from 5-foot-7 senior attacker John Eremus. His four goals and one assist in a 10:12 span in the second half opened the game up and took the air out of the fans' lungs.

Eremus said whenever he raised his hands in the air, the loudspeakers and the trash talking subsided.

"It felt unbelievable," Eremus said. "It was great to put my arms up and shut those guys up."

Add freshman goalie Drew Adams' season low for goals allowed, and the Lions were rewarded with their greatest margin of victory all season. Adams stoned Fairfield's shots in the second half, making nine of his 11 saves in the third and fourth quarters.

The defense in front of the cage lost some of its bulk from the absence of senior defenseman Keith Benjamin, who sat out with a high ankle sprain. From the sideline Benjamin said he cheered over the deafening crowd for his teammates to pull together.

"From what I could tell, we were walking out there with a swagger that we didn't have up until this point," Benjamin said.

After two shorthanded goals by Fairfield in the first quarter, the Lions' defensive unit solidified. What Benjamin witnessed was not another close game, but a tight-knit group on the field -- a family.

Behind the play of juniors Matt Mulqueen and Dan Saltsman, sophomore Tommy Zichelli and freshman John Stuckey, the pressure was off Adams, who didn't find the Stags (3-3, 1-1) breathing down his neck late in the game en route to a career performance.

"We knew we were in a dogfight, with a very hostile crowd," Benjamin said. "I had all the confidence in the world in those guys."

Now the whole team could breathe a little easier. The pressures and the fans were off the Lions' back as they picked up the pace towards the finish.

"It was weird because it usually comes down to the last second," Whitaker said. "This time we ran away with it."