Lax Season Opens in Rafferty Stadium Feb. 14
The upcoming spring of 2015 will mark a new era for ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp lacrosse. With the dawn of the new season for both the men’s and women’s programs on Saturday, Feb. 14, the Stags will unveil their new, state-of-the-art home venue – Rafferty Stadium.
The construction of Rafferty Stadium was made possible through the generosity of Fairfield alumni, parents and friends. The stadium is named in recognition of the principal leadership gift from Larry Rafferty ’64 and his family, and the field is named in recognition of a gift from Tim Conway ’76 and family. Several other locations around the stadium are named to recognize major supporters and contributors to the project, who will all be recognized along with additional donors on a plaque located inside the stadium.
Rafferty Stadium will seat 3,500 fans in grandstands spanning both sidelines. The FieldTurf playing surface is complemented by state-of-the-art lighting, which provides optimal light levels for both competition and practice, and a Daktronics high-definition video scoreboard. In addition, the stadium includes a terrace level with a fully-enclosed press box that includes a large media suite, two VIP suites and a production suite to support the video capabilities of the scoreboard, television broadcasts and web streaming. On the ground level are two team rooms, food/beverage and apparel concessions, restrooms, a box office and entry plaza.
Men's Lacrosse Joins New Conference
Fairfield men’s lacrosse, entering its seventh season under the direction of Head Coach Andy Copelan, will also join a new conference in 2015 as the Stags enter the nationally-competitive Colonial Athletic Association. Fairfield returns 26 student-athletes from a squad that finished with a record of 12-4 in 2014, matching the program record for victories. The Stags rose as high as No. 11 in the national rankings last spring en route to winning the ECAC Lacrosse League Regular Season Title for the first time in program history. Fairfield also reached the ECAC Championship Game for the third time in the last four campaigns.
Thus far in the 2015 preseason, Colin McLinden ’15 and TJ Neubauer ’16 have been named All-America Honorable Mentions by Inside Lacrosse , while McLinden, Neubauer and Max Buchanan ’16 received Preseason All-CAA distinctions. The Stags were projected to finish third in the CAA Preseason Poll and have been recognized in the national preseason rankings by several media outlets.
Women's Lacrosse Opens vs. Sacred Heart
Led by Head Coach Mike Waldvogel in his eighth year at the helm, Fairfield women’s lacrosse looks to continue its tradition of excellence within the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 2015. The Stags won a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship as a part of a 12-5 campaign last spring, marking their ninth consecutive trip to the MAAC postseason.
Fairfield was tabbed for a third-place finish in the MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, with Meghan Reda ’15 and Chelsey Sidaras ’16 collecting Preseason All-MAAC honors. Both student-athletes were First Team All-MAAC selections at the close of the 2014 season.
Opening Day at Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 14 will feature the first of three doubleheaders for the Fairfield men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. The men’s squad entertains Holy Cross at noon followed by the women hosting crosstown foe Sacred Heart at 3 p.m. Both games on Opening Day – and all 16 home lacrosse games in 2015 – are slated to be broadcast live on FairfieldStags.TV.
Fairfield lacrosse season ticket packages and individual game tickets are available now. For more information and for group rates, please contact the athletics ticket office at StagsTickets@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4136.
