Fairfield University to host Premier Lacrosse Leagues games this weekend

“There’s a rich history of lacrosse in the state of Connecticut, home to nearly a dozen of our pros,” PLL CEO and co-founder Michael Rabil said in a release. “We’re thrilled to host games at Fairfield’s Rafferty Stadium. “Lastly, Connecticut needs more professional sports teams, so we wanted to give the lacrosse-loving community a chance to see the PLL stars up close.”

“We are thrilled to host the PLL this weekend at Rafferty Stadium,” said Fairfield Vice President for Athletics Paul Schlickmann. “As Fairfield University continues its rise to national prominence, we are looking forward to showing the lacrosse community, including a nationwide television auidence, our growing camous and state-of-the-art lacrosse venue.”

The Chaos, PLL champions in 2021, are led by New Canaan’s Andy Towers, the team’s head coach since 2019. Towers has been coaching lacrosse since the 1990s, following a stellar career at Brown, where he was a two-time All-American and the 1993 Ivy League Player of the Year. He also played five years in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League and the National Lacrosse League, and two seasons with Major League Lacrosse.

He was the head coach at the University of Hartford for one season before joining the Fairfield University program as an assistant for two years, and then Dartmouth as the head coach from 2010 through 2014.

The Chaos roster features New Fairfield’s CJ Costabile, a long stick midfielder and 2012 graduate of Duke. Costabile has played in the MLL and PLL for 11 years, starting with the Long Island/New York Lizards of the MLL in 2012. He also played for the Chesapeake Bayhawks from 2014 to 2020, before joining the Chrome and then the Chaos when the PLL and MLL merged in December, 2020.

The Redwoods’ roster features three area players who were added this year, including Darien’s Arden Cohen, a defenseman from Notre Dame. He was selected with the third overall pick in the 2022 PLL College Draft.

Also on the Redwood roster are Norwalk midfielders Brent Adams and Mitch Bartolo. Adams is a Norwalk High and Fairfield University graduate, and Bartolo is a graduate of Brien McMahon and Rutgers.

Ridgefield’s Peter Dearth, a defensive middie for the Atlas, was a three-time All-American at Syracuse.

Greenwich’s Bailey Savio, a 2022 graduate of Loyola, is a faceoff specialist for the Whipsnakes.

The Waterdog’s roster includes two graduates of Avon Old Farms, including Easton’s Connor Kelly, a midfielder, who played at Maryland, and Zac Tucci, a faceoff specialist who played at North Carolina.

Also from Avon Old Farms, defenseman Finn Sullivan plays for the Redwoods, and goalie Owen McElroy plays for the Chrome.

Said Schlickmann: “For the PLL players and coaches with Fairfield University ties, as well as the many Connecticut-born players in the league, we are proud to represent the state of Connecticut and Fairfield County in particular as one of the major hotbeds of lacrosse at the youth, collegiate and now professional levels.”