FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the ninth consecutive season, Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse will play for the MAAC Championship. The defending champion Stags knocked off in-state conference foe Quinnipiac, 13-9, in a semifinal matchup on Friday on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium.
"We won that game with timely plays at the most important parts of the game. We didn't play a completely clean game, but we stepped up when we needed it most," said Head Coach
Laura Field, the 2026 MAAC Coach of the Year. "Whitney [Robinson] was outstanding with some game-changing saves. We put some different looks out there on the draw, and Anna Marquadt and that whole unit came through. And I thought
Tessa Caputo, having five points while being face-guarded for most of the day, was tremendous for us."
The top-seeded Stags improve to 14-3 and head to Championship Sunday, where they will meet either Niagara or Siena on Sunday, May 3 at 11 a.m. at Rafferty Stadium and live on ESPNU. The Stags will be playing in their ninth consecutive MAAC Championship and the 17th in program history, vying for their 10th MAAC Championship and NCAA postseason appearance.
Quinnipiac ends its season in the semifinal round at 10-8.
Caputo led the attack with five points, running her career total to an even 100. With three assists on the day, she extends her program record to 46 helpers this season and moves into a tie for eighth place in single-season history with 73 points and counting.
Kelly Haggerty and
Kyleigh Tufano had dueling hat tricks to lead seven different Fairfield goal scorers.
Haley Burns added two goals, with
Katie Bergen,
Kit Zanelli, and
Mary Henry each netting one. Bergen also dished out an assist for a two-point afternoon.
On the opposite end of the field,
Whitney Robinson matched her season high with 12 saves and also vacated the cage to collect two ground balls.
Sophia Colasacco led the defense with two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Burns also had a pair of caused turnovers in the defensive midfield and Henry created two as a part of the Fairfield ride.
The Stags gained a 13-11 edge on the restart led by five draw controls from
Brynn Donnelly and four for Caputo.
Cate Bendowski led Quinnipiac with four goals and three assists. The Bobcats had scored 12 or more goals in 15 consecutive games prior to today, including every contest against a MAAC opponent.
Fairfield Women's Lacrosse plays for the 2026 MAAC Championship on Sunday at 11 a.m. against the winner of the semifinal featuring Siena and Niagara, set to begin on Friday at 4 p.m. from Rafferty Stadium.
