FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University field hockey team was selected as the unanimous preseason favorite in the Northeast Conference (NEC) coaches' poll after capturing the regular-season and tournament title in 2019.

The Stags are the defending conference champion, winning all of their regular-season NEC games before sweeping the tournament with wins over Sacred Heart and Rider. Fairfield put together its best season in school history in so many ways, beginning with its win total. The team posted a 16-2 record during the regular season before finishing the year with 19-3 overall mark.

Fairfield tied the program record for consecutive wins with seven early in the season only to surpass that mark with 12 straight victories. The 12-game run closed out the regular season and included three postseason victories - two in the Northeast Conference tournament followed by a 3-1 decision over American University in the opening round of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship, the program's first-ever in the NCAA tournament.

The team was ranked in the national poll throughout the 2019 campaign reaching as high as 23rd in the nation before settling into the 24th position by the end of the regular season.

Fairfield will play a single-round robin schedule which will include seven NEC matches over five weeks from March 15 to April 12. Matches will be played Monday and Thursday. The NEC Championship match will be played the week of April 19-24 with the No. 1 seed hosting the No. 2 seed to determine the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.