2010 Schedule

Fresh off its first-ever visit to the NCAA Tournament, Fairfield University head women's lacrosse coach Mike Waldvogel unveiled the Stags 2010 schedule.  The squad will play a 16-game regular season slate, with six games versus Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Lacrosse League foes, as the Stags look for their third consecutive MAAC regular season crown.

"We have put together a very competitive schedule for the 2010 season," said Waldvogel.  "Our non-conference slate has top programs from across the nation and those games will help us prepare for the level of competitiveness that we will face when we begin conference play."

Fairfield opens the season with a home contest, taking on Monmouth on Sunday, Feb. 21.  The Stags then take to the road for three games, but all within the state of Connecticut.  Fairfield travels to Hamden for a Feb. 26 contest with Quinnipiac and will travel to New Haven on March 3 to take on Yale.  The road trip ends with cross town rival Sacred Heart on March 6.  The Stags and Pioneers met in the 2009 NCAA Play-In game, a 16-10 Stags victory, giving Fairfield its NCAA Tournament berth.

A three-game mid-March home stand is next on the Stags plate, beginning on March 9 with a visit from James Madison.  Lehigh is next for the Stags, as they come to campus on March 16.  The home stand concludes on March 21 when Cal visits Fairfield.

Fairfield concludes its March schedule on the road, playing at New Hampshire on March 28.  The month of April kicks-off with the Stags final non-conference home game, when St. Mary's (CA) visits on Thursday, April 1.

The Stags play at Holy Cross on April 6, the final non-conference game of the year, and the first game of a three-game road swing.  The trip concludes in Western New York April 9-11 as Fairfield opens MAAC Lacrosse League play at Canisius on Friday and Niagara on Sunday.  The following weekend the Stags play their first home MAAC games, hosting Iona and Manhattan.  The final road game of the year is at Marist on April 23 and the Stags wrap-up the regular season at home on April 25 against Siena.

The 2010 MAAC Championship will feature the top-four teams from the regular season and is being hosted by Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.  The semifinals will be played on Friday, April 30 with the championship set for Sunday, May 2.  The winner of the MAAC Championship will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament field.

The MAAC champion, for the first time since 2003, will not have to play in an NCAA Play-In Game, as the Stags did last season.  The MAAC, along the America East Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, Colonial Athletic Association and Ivy Group, received the automatic bids, based on the league's RPI from the 2009 season.

"The automatic berth for the league champion is a testament to the increased level of play amongst the schools within our conference," said Waldvogel.  "Having the bid is a tremendous advantage to our league and I hope we are able to benefit from this."