OPENING DRAW
Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse makes its eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA postseason on Friday, May 8 when the Stags clash with #13 Army West Point. Opening draw from Homewood Field in Baltimore is set for 6 p.m. with Ben Robertson and Alexa Wootten calling the action on ESPN+.
 
"This time of year, it's a given that you're going to be matched up with a tough opponent, and we've seen that first-hand after playing at Army earlier this season," said Head Coach Laura Field. "But we don't take for granted that we have earned a seed that puts us on a neutral field, and that's an opportunity for us as a program that is looking take that next step forward and advance beyond the First Round."
 
THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
Fairfield Women's Lacrosse makes its 10th appearance in the NCAA Championship overall and eighth consecutive trip to the national postseason. The Stags own one NCAA win - a 16-10 home victory over Sacred Heart in the 2009 Play-In Round.

The Stags' eight consecutive postseason appearances include the first-ever at-large bid in Fairfield and MAAC Women's Lacrosse history in 2024.
 
MAAC CHAMPIONS
Fairfield won its 10th MAAC Tournament Championship on Sunday, May 3 when the top-seeded Stags rolled past fifth-seeded Siena, 13-4, on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium.
 
Fairfield reached the final round with a 13-9 victory over sixth-seeded Quinnipiac on Friday, May 1 at Rafferty Stadium.
 
MAAC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
Fairfield won its 17th MAAC Regular Season Championship with an 8-0 trip through the conference slate. The Stags have won four consecutive regular season crowns and seven of the last eight.
 
SIX...
Sara MacLeod was named the MAAC Championship MVP after scoring six goals in Sunday's championship game. Prior to the timely outburst, the rookie attacker had not scored a goal since April 4 and had never scored more than two goals in a game for the Stags.
 
...SEVEN!
The 2026 MAAC Championship is the seventh for Head Coach Laura Field, setting a new record for a MAAC Women's Lacrosse head coach. Field was previously tied with former Canisius head coach Scott Teeter, who won six as leader of the Griffs.
 
In total, Field has been on the sidelines for nine of Fairfield's MAAC Championships, previously serving on Mike Waldvogel's coaching staff for the 2009 and 2015 titles. Field has been with the Stags for 12 MAAC Regular Season Championships (seven as head coach) and all 10 of Fairfield's NCAA postseason trips (eight as head coach).
 
NUTMEG STAGS
When they take the field on Friday, the Stags will play only their second game outside of Connecticut since wrapping up the non-conference slate at Vermont on March 11. In addition to four regularly scheduled MAAC home games, the Stags' league road ledger included visits to in-state foes Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac as well as a road trip to Manhattan that was moved to Rafferty stadium due to facility availability. Fairfield also earned the right to host the "final four" of the MAAC Championship.

The lone MAAC road game across state lines was an April 1 trip to Rider.
 
SHE'S HERE TO HELP
Tessa Caputo had nine assists in two games last week to run  her program-record total to 52 assists in 2026 and counting.
 
Only a sophomore, Caputo's 74 assists rate third in program history and only nine shy of Libby Rowe's 83 helpers doled out in her standout career from 2020-24.
 
THE ONE THAT MATTERS MOST
Fairfield does not lead the MAAC in any NCAA team statistical category with the exception of winning percentage (.833).
 
60-POINT PAIRS
Tessa Caputo and Kelly Haggerty have posted 79 and 60 points, respectively. They are the sixth pair of teammates in program history to reach the 60-point mark in the same season.
 
2026 is the fourth straight year that Fairfield has had two players reach 60 points after seeing that occurrence only twice in the first 25 seasons of the program's varsity history.
 
2026: T. Caputo (79) and K. Haggerty (60)
2025: A. Kozak (73) and G. Slater (64)
2024: E. Talluto (83) and L. Rowe (65)
2023: O. Doody (69), E. Talluto (65), L. Rowe (64) and E. Grefenstette (63)
2009: K. Coleman (88), R. White (77) and E. Rigby (63)
2008: K. Coleman (90) and E. Rigby (62)
 
MAKE IT, TAKE IT
Brynn Donnelly has rewritten Fairfield's draw control records throughout her career. She has posted a career-record 371 draw controls in her career, an even 100 more than any other player in program history.
 
Fueled by a single-season best 149 draw controls in 2025. Donnelly set a new Fairfield single-season record with 18 draw controls in a win at Marist last spring.
 
She owns two of the three 100-draw seasons in Fairfield history and enters Friday with 97 draw controls to her name this spring.
 
HEAD COACH LAURA FIELD
The three-time MAAC Coach of the Year (2023, 2024, 2026), Laura Field is in her 11th campaign leading the Stags and her 18th overall with the program. Field has been at the helm for seven MAAC Championships (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026) and eight NCAA postseason appearances (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026) and was also on staff as an assistant for her predecessor, Mike Waldvogel, for the 2009 and 2015 MAAC Championship seasons and NCAA berths.
 
Field is the winningest coach in Fairfield Women's Lacrosse history with a 133-59 record. She was also the interim head coach at Yale University in 2008, leading the Bulldogs to an 11-5 mark - a win total that would not be reached again at Yale until 2022 - to round out her career tally at 144-64 in 12 years as a Division I head coach.
 
Field was inducted into the Connecticut Lacrosse Hall of Fame in January of 2026.