2001 STMA College Soccer Field of the Year
Opened: 1999
Capacity: 750+
Surface: Natural
Herbert Field, the 2001 STMA College Soccer Field of the Year, stands out in NCAA Division III as one of college soccer's most beautiful and playable pitches.
The stadium is named for LVC alumnus Dr. Rex A. Herbert '72, a local orthopedic surgeon and former owner of the Harrisburg Heat indoor soccer team.
The complex was molded into a hillside landscape to give it identity. Unlike typical college soccer fields, the seating and site are almost one. Spectators enjoy the game from seatwalls terraced into the hillside. The maximum seating capacity is 750, and the flanking hillside slopes provide seating for hundreds more. The existing tree lines and lush landscape of perennials, shrubs and flowering trees create a natural stadium unlike any collegiate facility in the country.
Herbert Field is reserved strictly for game use; two full-size, competition-quality pitches lie to the west of the stadium and are used for practices, camps, and clinics. The men's and women's teams each have their own dedicated practice pitch.
Herbert Field received the College Field of the Year honor from the STMA to recognize its outstanding playing surface and design. The Field of the Year award is the highest honor STMA bestows upon a facility. Herbert Field joins a list of outstanding facilities to have won the award, including stadiums at Texas A&M, Boston College, and Penn State. In addition, the stadium earned a Field of Excellence maintenance award in 1999 from the Pioneer Manufacturing Company.
In the summer of 2000, Lebanon Valley shared its facility with the U.S. Women's National Team and the United States Under-23 Men's Olympic Soccer Team. The women's team prepared for the inaugural Women's Gold Cup tournament, which took place at nearby Hersheypark Stadium. Earlier that spring, the soccer stadium hosted practices for the men's team as it participated in the CONCACAF Men's Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Hershey.
