Two years ago the Fairfield women’s lacrosse team was on the sideline watching four other MAAC teams compete for the championship. But with 22 returning players and a plethora of freshmen, the Stags are looking to battle back to the top.
The Stags are coming off of a berth to the MAAC tournament in 2006 and are starting the 2007 campaign with a second seed vote in the MAAC coaches’ preseason poll.
But as the coaches and players will tell you, a preseason ranking does little to tell the outcome of a season.
“It’s nice to acknowledge it [preseason ranking] because this is what the other teams in the league think of us,” said fifth year Head Coach Stacey McCue. “But we just try to ignore that because only the top four teams go to the MAAC.”
Senior captain Sarah Masterson agrees with McCue, adding that the ranking is really trivial in retrospect.
“Last year we were expected to come out sixth in the MAAC and we ended coming out number three. It just depends year to year.”
Despite the preseason honors, the road to the MAAC will be a tough one for Fairfield.
With preseason competition against top teams, including Yale University and Boston College, their schedule is anything short of a cake walk.
“We knew going into the season that these [preseason games] were going to be some of our toughest teams,” said Abbey Goodwin ’09 of their preseason schedule. “I think it’s good practice for us, because once we get into the MAAC were going to be the best prepared team.”
This focus on the MAAC conference and NCAA tournament is one of the main goals the Stags have set for themselves.
After a semi-final loss to Canisius last year, they are ready for redemption, starting with another hopeful berth to the conference tournament.
“I think now that last year we made it to the MAAC [tournament] we know how it feels,” said Goodwin. “That loss really was not fun and everyone hopes to come back.”
Masterson agrees that the MAAC is the main focus for the team right now.
“We obviously want to win the MAAC this year,” she said. “So we have to take every single game really seriously, we can’t take anything for granted.”
Fairfield has traditionally been a top contender in the MAAC and has made three total tournament appearances since the start of the program in 1997.
This strong history can be attributed to the growth of women’s lacrosse and the talented players that consistently make up the Stags’ program.
Last season the Stags graduated their “go-to-girl”, Beth Loffredo, who made her mark at Fairfield by grabbing a number of records.
Loffredo ended her career as the all-time leader in points with 180 and 140 goals, along with several top ten records and national rankings. However, Loffredo’s newest position is along side of McCue as assistant coach.
But even with the loss of Loffredo on the field, the Stags have many returning players that will be key to their success.
Masterson tops the list as one of the players to look for. She has garnered 53 goals in her career at Fairfield and is currently second in all-time with 95 draws, only 19 points behind Kristina Sullivan’s 114. Her accolades were noted by the MAAC who voted her to All-MAAC second team in 2006 and the 2007 preseason team.
Also joining Masterson on the 2007 preseason team are teammates Katie von Hoffmann ’08 and Goodwin. Last season, Goodwin was only the second Fairfield lacrosse player to receive All-Rookie honors.
Along with a strong veteran team the Stags also introducing nine new freshmen into the mix. Included are U.S. All-American Erin Rigby ’10, and U.S. Honorable Mention All-American Amy Kelleher ’10.
However the key to success is making a winning team out of these players.
“We just need to work hard every day and focus on the game that we are playing at that time and build from there,” said Goodwin. “We have such a talented team … we are always pushing each other and I think its going to make all of us step up that much more.”
And this push from players and coachs is just what the program needs.
While women’s varsity lacrosse is one of Fairfield’s newest sports, there are high expectations for the future.
With the popularity of lacrosse growing, McCue hopes that in the next five years the program will extend, not only in numbers, but also in its ranking as a top Division I program.
“Truthfully I would like to see us getting in the top 25 or top 20 nationally,” McCue said. “I think it is a realistic goal and a great goal.”
With more and more lacrosse programs popping up, the time has never been better to make a name for Fairfield lacrosse.
“It’s going to make it more difficult road to get to the NCAA. With more teams competing, you only have so many brackets. We need to step it up now before it gets too tough,” McCue said of the growing popularity of lacrosse.
“When we get in it we have to win it. That’s pretty much our only path.”
Not only does McCue hope for great things in the future of the sport, she also hopes that lacrosse becomes a more fan-supported sport.
“This is a good time for everyone to really get on board and really promote women’s lacrosse,” she said. “Even if [they] don’t know what is going on, you know the ball needs to go in the net and its fun to watch.”
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