Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse

The winningest and longest-tenured head coach in program history, the 2026 season will mark Laura Field’s 11th 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 on North Benson Road as an assistant coach with the team.  Field has overseen the most successful stretch in Fairfield Women's Lacrosse history. The Stags enter 2026 with a streak of seven consecutive NCAA postseason berths, a stretch that includes six MAAC Championships as well as an unprecedented at-large bid in 2024 that marked the first in Fairfield and MAAC women's lacrosse history. The Stags also earned a national ranking in the 2024 campaign -- their first in 15 seasons -- climbing as high as #22 in the nation and finishing with a final tally of 16-3. That run was highlighted by the first two wins over IWLCA nationally ranked opponents in program history as Fairfield knocked off #24 UConn and #23 UAlbany in back-to-back outings.   During Field's tenure, the Stags are 118-56 (.678) overall, bouyed by a 63-13 record in the MAAC regular season. Fairfield has won six MAAC Championships (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025) and six MAAC Regular Season Championships (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025). Field's six MAAC Championships share the conference record (with Canisius' Scott Teeter) for a women's lacrosse head coach. She was also on the sidelines as an assistant coach with Fairfield's 2009 and 2015 MAAC Championship alongside her predecessor, Mike Waldvogel. Field was the 2023 and 2024 MAAC Coach of the Year.   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. In total, Field owns a record of 129-61 (.679) as a head coach.   NCAA postseason appearances have been a regular occurrence for Field, who earned four varsity letters as a member of the Princeton University lacrosse program. As the starting goalkeeper for the Tigers, Field led the squad to the 2000 NCAA Championship Game to cap a run of three straight postseason bids. She was a First Team All-Ivy League honoree for Chris Sailer’s squad in 1997.

MAAC Champion Caroline Mangan returned to Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse as an Assistant Coach in August of 2025. Mangan spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Vermont following her standout career as a student-athlete with the Stags.   Mangan played 74 games for the Stags from 2019-23. She was a USA Lacrosse Magazine All-America Honorable Mention in 2023 and was also tabbed as MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and Fairfield's first-ever All-Region First Team selection in that campaign. A two-time All-MAAC First Team defender, Mangan was a starter for four MAAC Championship teams (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) and helped lead Fairfield to a 57-23 overall record and a 30-5 MAAC record during her tenure as a Stag.   Mangan was named the MAAC Championship MVP in both 2021 and 2023 and also earned a place on the All-Championship Team in 2022. She ranks second in program history with 113 caused turnovers and is among Fairfield's all-time leaders with 124 career ground balls and 81 draw controls.   A 2022 Fairfield graduate with a B.S. in Marketing, Mangan also earned an M.S. in Marketing Analytics & Strategy from Fairfield in 2023.

Kelly Horning '21 joined the Fairfield Women's Lacrosse staff as an Assistant Coach in the fall of 2025. Horning was the first All-American in program history and a four-time MAAC Champion as a student-athlete with the Stags.   Horning returns to Fairfield after beginning her coaching career at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart as an assistant for Kristen Coleman McDaniel '11 – a Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer and the Stags' all-time leader in points (257) and goals (186). The duo led Stone Ridge School to three consecutive Independent School League Championships and multiple national rankings.   Horning was also an elementary school teacher in Bethesda, Md.   As a student-athlete from 2018-22, Horning graduated as Fairfield's all-time leader in ground balls (220) and caused turnovers (131). She also ranks third in career goals (146) and is tied for fifth in points (189) by a Stag. Horning was an IWLCA All-America Honorable Mention in 2022, a two-time IWLCA All-Region pick, a three-time All-MAAC First Team selection and the 2021 MAAC Midfielder of the Year.   Horning was 11-0 in MAAC postseason games in her career, leading Fairfield to four MAAC Championships. She was tabbed for the MAAC All-Championship Team in all four of those seasons, netting the overtime game-winner in the 2019 MAAC Championship Game and earning Championship MVP laurels in 2022.   A 2021 Fairfield graduate with a B.S. in Sociology, Horning also earned an M.A. in Elementary Education from Fairfield in 2022.