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Laura Field
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Now the longest-tenured head coach in program history, the 2022-23 season will mark Laura Field’s eighth year at the helm of Fairfield University women’s lacrosse, after taking over as head coach at the start of the 2016 campaign. Prior to her tenure leading the Stags, Field spent her first seven seasons in Fairfield County as an assistant coach with the team.
Under the leadership of Coach Field, a number of players have dominated during their lacrosse tenures as a Stag, including the 2017 Offensive Player of the Year, Riley Hellstein, a pair of Defensive Player of the Year honorees in Megan Beach (2019), and Maggie Reynolds (2021), and most recently the 2021 Midfielder of the Year, Kelly Horning. In all, Field has coached 15 All-MAAC First Team selections, nine All-MAAC Second Team nods, and 11 MAAC All-Rookie bids, while in the postseason 25 players have been named to the MAAC All-Championship team, including four Stags who have been named Championship MVP. Five players have also set new single-season or career program records in her eight years as head coach.
Regional and national recognition has come often with Field in charge, including four Stags who have participated in the IWLCA North/South Game, which features the top women’s lacrosse players in the nation, in their final season of eligibility. In addition, five players have garnered IWLCA All-Northeast Region Second Team honors, and a pair of Stags have claimed All-ECAC distinction in Beach (2018, 2019) and Horning (2022). Last season, Horning, a five-year member of the program, became the first All-American in program history when she was named an Honorable Mention.
Through her first seven seasons in charge, Field has led Fairfield to a 77-40 overall record, including a 40-11 tally in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), and has helped the Stags win the last four conference championships dating back to the 2018 season. The Stags have also made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament under the direction of Field, who currently ranks second in program history for all-time wins behind her predecessor, Mike Waldvogel, and slots third in career win percentage (.658).
The 2022 campaign saw the Stags play a full calendar of both conference and non-league games, as the Stags rattled off 10 wins in the regular season, the fifth time under her direction that the team has reached double-digit victories. Earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, Fairfield would take down No. 6 Canisius at home before avenging regular season losses to No. 2 Siena and No. 4 Monmouth to claim their fourth consecutive MAAC title and fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Stags would go toe-to-toe with nationally ranked No. 5 Syracuse falling 12-11, the closest score of any first-round game that season.
After the 2020 campaign was cut short after just seven games, Field navigated the Stags through an unprecedented 2021 slate. Fairfield went 10-1 in the regular season to with their third straight MAAC Regular Season Championship. The Stags won three MAAC postseason games, topping Siena in a rematch of 2019 and avenging their lone regular season loss to earn a third consecutive MAAC Championship.
The 2019 edition of the Stags went 8-0 in the MAAC, hosting Championship Weekend for the first time since it became an "earned" hosting right, and defeating Siena in overtime to claim their second straight MAAC Title. The Stags also hosted the first-ever NCAA postseason game on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium, finishing with a record of 15-4.
The prior campaign, the 2018 Stags became the first team to ever win three MAAC postseason games en route to claiming the conference crown. Field also led Fairfield to the MAAC Championship Semifinals in 2016 and the MAAC Championship Game in 2017.
Field’s seven-year tenure as an assistant, including the role of Associate Head Coach from 2012-15, featured the most successful stretch in program history. The span is highlighted by MAAC Championships and NCAA postseason berths in 2009 and 2015. The 2009 Stags earned the program’s first and only win on the national stage, upending Sacred Heart in the play-in round and nearly defeating a #4 Penn team that went on to reach the Final Four.
Field’s time at Fairfield has also coincided with the program’s two winningest seasons, as well as a program-record 17-game overall winning streak and a stretch of 30 consecutive regular season victories over MAAC foes. Highlighted by their quartet of MAAC Championships, the Stags have reached at least the semifinal round of the conference postseason in all 11 of Field’s seasons on the sidelines.
Field came to Fairfield after an eight-year stint with the Yale University women’s lacrosse program, including an 11-5 season as interim head coach of the Bulldogs in 2008. That Yale team finished at #17 in the IWLCA national poll. All told, Field helped guide Yale to a final top 20 IWLCA national ranking six times, including a #7 ranking following the 2003 season. That year, Yale posted a 13-3 mark and captured a share of their first Ivy League title since 1980 en route to the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals.
NCAA postseason appearances have been a regular occurrence for Field, who earned four varsity letters as a member of the Princeton University lacrosse program. As the starting goalkeeper for the Tigers, Field led the squad to the 2000 NCAA Championship Game to cap a run of three straight postseason bids. She was a First Team All-Ivy League honoree for Chris Sailer’s squad in 1997.
After the 2020 campaign was cut short after just seven games, Field navigated the Stags through an unprecedented 2021 slate. Fairfield went 10-1 in the regular season to with their third straight MAAC Regular Season Championship. The Stags won three MAAC postseason games, topping Siena in a rematch of 2019 and avenging their lone regular season loss to earn a third consecutive MAAC Championship.
The 2019 edition of the Stags went 8-0 in the MAAC, hosting Championship Weekend for the first time since it became an "earned" hosting right, and defeating Siena in overtime to claim their second straight MAAC Title. The Stags also hosted the first-ever NCAA postseason game on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium, finishing with a record of 15-4.
The prior campaign, the 2018 Stags became the first team to ever win three MAAC postseason games en route to claiming the conference crown. Field also led Fairfield to the MAAC Championship Semifinals in 2016 and the MAAC Championship Game in 2017.
Field’s seven-year tenure as an assistant, including the role of Associate Head Coach from 2012-15, featured the most successful stretch in program history. The span is highlighted by MAAC Championships and NCAA postseason berths in 2009 and 2015. The 2009 Stags earned the program’s first and only win on the national stage, upending Sacred Heart in the play-in round and nearly defeating a #4 Penn team that went on to reach the Final Four.
Field’s time at Fairfield has also coincided with the program’s two winningest seasons, as well as a program-record 17-game overall winning streak and a stretch of 30 consecutive regular season victories over MAAC foes. Highlighted by their quartet of MAAC Championships, the Stags have reached at least the semifinal round of the conference postseason in all 11 of Field’s seasons on the sidelines.
Field came to Fairfield after an eight-year stint with the Yale University women’s lacrosse program, including an 11-5 season as interim head coach of the Bulldogs in 2008. That Yale team finished at #17 in the IWLCA national poll. All told, Field helped guide Yale to a final top 20 IWLCA national ranking six times, including a #7 ranking following the 2003 season. That year, Yale posted a 13-3 mark and captured a share of their first Ivy League title since 1980 en route to the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals.
NCAA postseason appearances have been a regular occurrence for Field, who earned four varsity letters as a member of the Princeton University lacrosse program. As the starting goalkeeper for the Tigers, Field led the squad to the 2000 NCAA Championship Game to cap a run of three straight postseason bids. She was a First Team All-Ivy League honoree for Chris Sailer’s squad in 1997.
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