All fans attending Monday's lacrosse doubleheader are advised that the parking lot at the Kelley Center will not be available due to an Open House. Fans are asked to park in the lot adjacent to Dolan Hall off Porter Road (beyond Rafferty Stadium and Alumni Diamond). VIP parking will remain in the parking lot in front of Rafferty Stadium.
Campus Map
All fans that have purchased tickets (season tickets or single-game tickets) for either of Monday's lacrosse contests can pick them up at the will call window on gameday. Fans that purchased tickets for Saturday but can no longer attend due to the date change can contact the Fairfield Athletics Ticket Office at (203) 254-4136 or StagsTickets@fairfield.edu.
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team begins the 2016 season on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium for the Stags' first-ever meeting with Richmond. The defending regular season champions of their respective conferences, the Stags (CAA) and Spiders (SoCon) each enter the campaign unranked but receiving votes in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and Cascade/Maverik Media Poll.
Faceoff on Conway Field is slated for 11 a.m. as the front-end of a doubleheader that will also feature Fairfield women's lacrosse beginning its season against visiting LIU Brooklyn at 2 p.m. Both ends of the Monday afternoon twin bill will be broadcast live on FairfieldStags.TV.
Gameday Promotions
On what is projected to be a chilly February day, all fans in attendance at Rafferty Stadium on Monday can enjoy free hot chocolate courtesy of Sodexo. Fairfield students will also receive a free Stags knit hat from Stags in the Stands. The promotions will be held during both games of the doubleheader while supplies last.
Schedule Swaps
Monday's action was rescheduled from Saturday due to the forecast of high winds and freezing temperatures. The Stags fared well in rescheduled games last season. Fairfield topped Providence, 10-6, in a Feb. 18 game in Rhode Island that was originally slated for Feb. 17.
The Stags also rolled past Manhattan, 15-4, on Feb. 21 in a game moved to Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium due to unplayable conditions at the Jaspers' home venue - Gaelic Park in Riverdale, N.Y.
The 2016 Stags (Positional Preview)
Fairfield returns 27 student-athletes and adds 13 newcomers to the fold for the 2016 season - the Stags' eighth under 2015 CAA Coach of the Year Andy Copelan.
Leading the list of returners is TJ Neubauer. A First Team All-CAA selection last spring, Neubauer has been tabbed as a Preseason All-America Honorable Mention, Preseason All-CAA and Preseason All-NEILA before the start of his senior campaign. He was also a fourth-round selection of the Rochester Rattlers in January's MLL Collegiate Draft.
Neubauer is one of five returning All-CAA performers, as 2015 Second Team honorees Charlie Schnider, Conor Barr, Will Fox (CAA Rookie of the Year) and Tyler Behring are all back for 2016. Schnider and Barr joined Neubauer as Preseason All-CAA picks, and Fox was recognized as an Honorable Mention.
Scouting Richmond
The Spiders from the University of Richmond have been tabbed for second in the Southern Conference Preseason Poll, edged out of the top spot by just one point. The defending regular season champions of the SoCon went 11-5 in 2015, which was just their second season as an NCAA program.
Five Spiders earned preseason all-conference laurels, including 2015 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year Brendan Hynes. He was joined on the squad by offensive threats J.P. Forester, Mitch Goldberg and Alex Hatem and goalkeeper Benny Pugh.
Richmond reached the NCAA postseason in 2014 in its first season of varsity lacrosse. The Spiders nearly repeated the feat in 2015, falling to High Point in double overtime in the SoCon Championship Game. Richmond and Fairfield did not share any common opponents last spring.
For Openers…
In their 23 previous years as an NCAA varsity program, the Stags are 14-9 in season openers. Fairfield has won 12 of its last 14 season openers and has begun the campaign at 1-0 in five of the seven prior years under Head Coach Andy Copelan.
National Notice
Fairfield is unranked but receiving votes in the preseason editions of both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Cascade/Maverik Media Poll.
The Stags ranked as high as No. 19 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division I Coaches' Poll last season, marking their fourth consecutive season with an appearance on the national ledger.
Up Next
The Stags continue their home slate on Saturday, Feb. 20 for a noon visit from Bucknell. Fairfield visited the Bison last March and was clipped, 10-9, by the eventual Patriot League Semifinalists. The Bison are currently 1-0 following a home win over CAA opponent Delaware, 13-5, and will challenge Bryant this Sunday before visiting the Stags.
Next Saturday's game will be the front-end of another Fairfield lacrosse doubleheader. The Stags' women's lacrosse team welcomes Boston University to Rafferty Stadium at 3 p.m.
