Salve Regina University Girls Lacrosse Camp

Now the longest-tenured head coach in program history, the 2023-24 season will mark Laura Field’s ninth 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) Field guided the Stags to the program’s fourth MAAC Championship in 2018, becoming the first team to ever win three MAAC postseason games en route to claiming the conference crown. She also led the Fairfield to the MAAC Championship Semifinals in 2016 and the MAAC Championship Game in 2017.

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 the semifinal round of the conference postseason in all 10 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.