Diaries
Laura Field made a mark for herself during her lacrosse career at Princeton University, and continues to add championships to her belt at Fairfield as the head coach of the Women’s Lacrosse team.
Growing up in the small town of Mystic, Connecticut, there were three sports offered: basketball, field hockey, and lacrosse. Immediately, Field started an athletic path in field hockey and lacrosse and fell in love with the two. Entering high school, she enrolled at Taft Boarding School in Connecticut, again, where she was a two-sport athlete. She looked to be recruited in both sports on the collegiate level. Taft was the place to be when you were trying to excel in athletics, as well as academics. And just like that, Field was a top prospect for Princeton University, graduating from Taft in ‘96 and making her way to New Jersey.
Field’s fall was consumed by the field hockey season.Field played her freshman and sophomore year allowing Princeton to, first, book their ticket to the NCAA tournament in 1996, as well as the final four in ‘97, both against a rival, North Carolina. Field ultimately decided to only focus on lacrosse for the rest of her time at Princeton. Therefore, let’s start with the beginning of her collegiate career.
Laura Field was a brick wall in the goal. She played in two NCAA final eight games as well as the National Championship her senior year. Field was a three time all-Ivy League pick for the Tigers and has an Ivy League championship on her record. Graduating from Princeton in 2000, Field is ranked 4th on the Tiger’s overall career saves list. But her lacrosse career didn’t end there, it was only the unfolding of a coaching calling.
“We played right up until I graduated, we played in the National Championship my senior year. I did not have the foresight probably as most college kids did to plan out at that point and time… one of my teammates was coaching at Yale, called me up and asked to come volunteer.”
Coach Field started her coaching career as a volunteer at Yale University, under a former Princeton teammate. Using her prior playing experience, she coached the Bulldogs for an 8 year stretch. Earning an interim head coach position in 2008, she was able to obtain an 11-5 record, finishing #17 in the IWLCA national poll. All together, she guided this team into the top 20 IWLCA ranking six times, including a #7 ranking in 2003. With an already great career in New Haven with Yale, Field made her trip to Fairfield, Connecticut, joining the FU staff in 2008 to coach the Stags to an abundance of MAAC Championships. Under her realm, 6 seasons to be exact, Field has led the Stags to a 64-33 overall, that being a 35-8 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Field’s career at Fairfield also coincided with the program’s most successful two seasons, including a program record 17-game overall winning streak and a lengthy 30 consecutive regular season victory run over MAAC opponents. The Stags’ have reached at least the semifinal round of the conference post season in all of her 11 seasons.
Field ranks second all-time in wins in program history, with third in career win percentage of .660. To pinpoint recent seasons, in 2018, she coached the 1st team to ever win 3 MAAC post-season games on the way to claiming the conference crown. The next year, the Stags under Field went 8-0 in the MAAC hosting the championship weekend. They were able to defeat Siena in overtime for their second straight MAAC title in 2019. This ‘19 team hosted the first ever NCAA post-season game on Fairfield’s game on Conway Field at the newly built Rafferty Stadium. Coming off of a Covid-19 missed season, the 2021 squad did not miss a beat, heading straight into the postseason with a 10-1 record. They won their third straight MAAC regular season championship. The 2022 squad is not short of this streak. With new faces on the field, they are ready to go for the fourth in a row. Coach Laura Field made her mark at Fairfield so far and the Stags’ community is prepared to see what is to come.