FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Head Field Hockey Coach Laura Gebhart announced that Pilar Mengotti, Payton Rahn, and Alex Senior will serve as the team's captains for the 2025 season. The three seniors will lead the team into the 2025 campaign beginning with the season opener at Lafayette College on August 29.

"We're proud to announce Pilar, Payton, and Alex as our team captains for the 2025 season," Coach Gebhart said. "All three bring invaluable on-field experience and an ability to lead in both word and action. As defending NEC Champions, they understand what it takes to win, while their leadership will be central to achieving bold goals this season."

Mengotti returns for her fourth season with the program, serving as one of the team's top defensive players. Through her first three seasons, the senior started 52 of her 55 appearances including all 38 games over the last two campaigns. She is coming off her best offensive season, which saw her post five goals and five assists with all five of her goals representing game winners. She capped her junior season with a berth to the All-Northeast Conference (NEC) team.

Rahn looks to continue her climb in the Fairfield field hockey record book as a goalkeeper, already placing in the top 10 for career games (6^th - 51), career save percentage (10^th - .748), and wins (4^th – 28). She saw her career goals against average to a program-best 1.37 after allowing 0.87 goals per game in 2024. She performed admirably in the postseason with a seven-save effort in the NEC Championship game and five more stops in the NCAA Championship against Delaware.

Senior has ranked among the team's top scorers throughout her career and last season was not any different. The forward tallied five goals and three assists for 13 points, which included a pair of game-winning goals. She registered all five of her goals over a 13-game span, starting with the deciding score against New Hampshire on September 20 and ended with the game winner against Stonehill on November 1. Her seven game-winning goals are tied for the third-highest career total at Fairfield, just two from the top spot. She completed her junior season with a spot on the All-NEC team.

The Fairfield University field hockey team begins its first season under Coach Gebhart in 2025. The Stags will open the home portion of their schedule on Friday, September 5 by hosting Villanova University at University Field.