FAIRFIELD, Conn. – In her 25th year at the helm, Fairfield University Head Field Hockey Coach Jackie Kane has put together another competitive schedule that includes teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big East, Big Ten, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Ivy League, and Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Stags will play a balanced schedule with nine home games and nine contests off campus that includes six true road dates and three neutral site outings.

"Each year, our goal is to try and play a competitive schedule that prepares us for a run at a conference championship and a bid to the NCAA tournament," Coach Kane said. "I believe this year's schedule gives us the opportunity to play against quality programs that will test us on the field which in turn will get us ready a run at postseason."

Fairfield opens the season with a pair of road games, including the season opener against UMass Lowell on August 30. Fairfield will stay in the state of Massachusetts when it battles Boston College in Chestnut Hill. The Stags start the home portion of its schedule by hosting St. Francis Pa. on September 8.

Coach Kane will take her team to Missouri for a pair of neutral site games against MAC foe Kent State on September 13 and Big Ten opponent Indiana University on September 15, both which will be hosted by Saint Louis University.

Fairfield returns for its longest home stand of the season, welcoming Columbia University on September 20, Providence College on September 22, Northeastern University on September 27, and Sacred Heart University on October 4. The Stags battle a familiar foe in the College of the Holy Cross on October 6 before beginning Northeast Conference (NEC) play with a game at Bryant on October 11 and a home contest with Rider University on October 18.

The team will play its second Big East program on October 20 when it heads to Villanova University. NEC play continues with a road game against Wagner on October 24, a neutral site game with Merrimack College at Holy Cross on October 26, and a home game versus LIU on November 1. The Stags conclude the regular season on November 3 by hosting Drexel University, a date which will also serve as Senior Day.

The NEC Championship Tournament will feature the top four seeds in the regular-season standings with the top-seeded team serving as host for the three-day event in November.