FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Tessa Caputo capped a five-point day with an overtime golden goal to lead Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse past Sacred Heart, 8-7, on Wednesday on the Pioneers' Campus Field.
Kyleigh Tufano scored twice for the Stags, including the equalizing goal in the fourth quarter.
With the win, the Stags improve to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the MAAC. Fairfield's last overtime game was an 18-17 loss at UConn in 2023, and the Stags last won an overtime contest in the 2021 MAAC Quarterfinals – a
Kelly Horning winner to knock off Marist en route to a conference crown.
Sacred Heart drops to 2-7 and evens its MAAC record at 1-1.
"That was another tough MAAC defense that came as advertised, and we had to match their energy and execution to do enough to come away with the win," said Head Coach
Laura Field. "That win was about grit; overtime came down to a scrum for a draw control and a ground ball in traffic for the final goal. I'm proud of our team for buckling down when it mattered most and Tessa [Caputo] for making a winning play to finish off her strong offensive performance."
Caputo's five-point day was comprised of a hat trick with two assists. Tufano scored twice and dished out one assist, and the Stags got single goals from
Haley Burns,
Lizzie Getz, and
Charlotte Loughlin.
Sara MacLeod added one point with an assist on Tufano's game-tying marker.
The Stags controlled the action early, capitalizing on three player-up situations on their way to a 5-1 lead after less than 19 minutes of action. However, the Sacred Heart defense – which limited Iona to only four goals on Saturday – clamped down and ceded just one Fairfield tally over the ensuing 36:16. During that span, the Pioneers engineered a 6-1 run to take a 7-6 lead with just under six minutes to go.
The Stags ended their drought on the next possession, capped by MacLeod finding Tufano for the equalizer to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:54 remaining in regulation. The final stretch of the fourth quarter featured one
Whitney Robinson save and caused turnovers by
Grace Kiernan,
Kelly Haggerty, and
Katherine Shammas as the 7-7 tally held to the horn.
Fairfield started the overtime period playing with 10 field players due to a yellow card, but the Stags still won the pivotal draw as a wild scramble saw Sacred Heart knock the ball out of bounds. Still operating player-down, Fairfield needed just one possession to end the contest as Caputo picked up a loose ball in front of the cage and put it home to net the overtime winner.
Including the final scrum,
Brynn Donnelly recorded eight draw controls to lead the Stags to an 11-4 advantage on the restart.
The defensive effort was led by two caused turnovers apiece for Kiernan and
Sophia Colasacco. Colasacco also scooped up four ground balls.
Paige Gardner added three caused turnovers from the offensive half as the Stags pressured Sacred Heart into 22 turnovers.
In the midfield, Burns had two ground balls including the 100th of her career.
Robinson made six saves protecting the Fairfield cage.
The Pioneers were led by three goals and an assist by Ryann Kearns. Rookie goalkeeper Madalynn Eder-Linell had nine saves, four caused turnovers, and four ground balls for the hosts.
The Stags return home to Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, March 28 for a noon meeting with Canisius. Admission is free for all fans to all Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse regular season home games this season.
