FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champion Fairfield University field hockey team and head coach Jackie Kane will host eight games this season at University Field as part of their 19 game 2016 fall schedule. The Stags will have 13 out of conference games to go along with six league contests this season.
Fairfield will begin their season with five consecutive road games starting at Lafayette on August 26. The first weekend in September the Stags will visit Iowa to take on the Big Ten perennial power Hawkeyes (Sept. 2) and match up with Saint Louis the following day (Sept. 3). A week later, they will participate in the Terrapin Invitational hosted by the University of Maryland. Their first round match up will pit them against American University on September 10. On Sunday, Fairfield will play a second game against either Maryland or California based on the results from the first round.
The Stags will host their home opener at University Field on September 16 against the University of Pennsylvania before heading back on the road to play its second Ivy League opponent, Columbia, on September 18. Staying on the road, the Cardinal Red will play at Holy Cross for a midweek night game on September 21. Back at University Field, Fairfield will host Virginia for the first time in program history on Youth Day on September 25. And to close out September, Fairfield will visit Hofstra on the final day of the month.
On October 2, the Stags will match up with Providence for the second consecutive year while also recognizing the 15th Anniversary of their 2001 Patriot League Championship and presenting rings to the 2015 MAAC Championship Team.
The following week will begin conference play with a Friday afternoon match up with Rider on University Field. Then on October 9, Villanova comes to town for the annual Play for a Cure game in which the team will raise funds and collect donations to go towards Breast Cancer Research.
Fairfield gets back into league play on October 14 and 16, with road games at Bryant and at Siena. Crosstown rival Sacred Heart will then visit University Field on the 21st before the team takes on Monmouth in West Long Branch two days later.
William & Mary will travel to Fairfield for the first time on October 28 to close out non-conference play. While the following day, the Stags will host first year MAAC member LIU Brooklyn on the final day of the season and Senior Day.
The MAAC Championships are slated to begin on Friday, November 4, hosted by the highest overall seed. Four teams will battle it out to take home the trophy and advance to the NCAA Tournament with the league's automatic bid.
Fairfield went 9-10 in 2015 and claimed the MAAC Championship crown in just their first season in the league. The Stags advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 and fell to Boston University in the Play-In Round. Player of the Year Julie de Paeuw, Offensive Player of the Year Ann Burgoyne, and MAAC Championship MVP Erin Buckley all return for another season with the Stags and headline a roster full of experienced student-athletes.
