This Saturday, join fans at the men and women’s lacrosse doubleheader tournament, “Faceoff for a Cause,” which supports the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Wounded Warrior Project’s mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors and they do so with the help of multiple organizations such as Combat Stress Recovery Program, Soldier Ride, and Warriors to Work. This year, the Fairfield men and women’s lacrosse teams joined forces with the Wounded Warrior Project to raise money and awareness for this amazing and inspiring cause.
Sophomore and women’s lacrosse player, Shelby Iapoce brought the project to the attention of both teams’ coaches after contacting Steve Heller, who had played lacrosse for Army and started the WWP Lacrosse Initiative. Both coaches were more than willing to get involved.
Throughout the year the teams have worked with the initiative through clinics and Jason Braase, a speaker who talked about his time overseas. The teams also set up a joint donation page.
This Saturday’s doubleheader will be the first major event in the partnership between the Fairfield University lacrosse program and the Wounded Warrior Project. “The doubleheader is a perfect event because it brings not only the Fairfield lacrosse community together, but the Fairfield community as a whole,” said Iapoce.
“Our main goal is to raise awareness. To do this, we have to stay in the forefront of people’s minds. We plan on having an event in the fall and in the spring to be able to create sort of a WWP tradition on campus.”
At the event, t-shirts, hats, and official lax.com WWP apparel will be sold. A silent auction will also be held with prizes donated by family and friends of the men and women’s lacrosse teams. Some of the prizes include a PlayStation 4, New York Giants and New York Yankees tickets, a New York Rangers hockey stick signed by Henrik Lundqvist, a Vineyard Vines gift basket, and a jersey signed by the USA Women’s Lacrosse World Cup team.
The women’s team plays the University of Vermont at 12pm and the men’s team will face off against Yale at 3pm.
If fans cannot make the game but would still like to donate they are encouraged to visit the Stags Lacrosse Proud Supporter Page. Iapoce said that another great way to get involved other than donating is just to spread the word about the Wounded Warrior Project! Go Stags!