BALTIMORE – Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse concluded the 2026 season with a 20-8 loss to #13 Army West Point on Friday in NCAA Championship First Round, hosted by Johns Hopkins on Homewood Field in Baltimore.
Kyleigh Tufano led the Fairfield scoring with four goals, and
Tessa Caputo had a four-point day to pace the Stags.
Fairfield concludes its 10th MAAC Championship season with a record of 15-4. Army improves to 15-4 and will meet the host Blue Jays on Sunday with a berth in the NCAA Quarterfinals at stake.
"I was proud of how we fought and our determination against a great team like Army," said Head Coach
Laura Field, the 2026 MAAC Coach of the Year. "Our execution getting the ball up the field wasn't where it needed to be, but we were creating turnovers and getting stops and also getting good opportunities in the offensive end."
With a goal and three assists today, Caputo completes one of the best offensive seasons in Fairfield Women's Lacrosse history. The sophomore shattered the single-season assist record with 55 – breaking the old mark of 42 – and her 83 total points are tied for the third most in a season in program history. Caputo will enter her junior campaign already surpassing the 100-point mark with 110 and counting.
For Tufano's her four-goal outing wrapped up her fifth consecutive hat trick. The junior scored 19 of her 32 goals on the season in the last five contests, including three in each of the Stags' MAAC postseason wins.
Kelly Haggerty pitched in her team-leading 46th goal – the 150th point of her career at the close of her junior season – with
Haley Burns and
Kit Zanelli each adding a goal in their collegiate finale.
Katie Bergen,
Mary Henry, and
Katherine Shammas capped the scoring with one assist apiece.
The Stags' attack was aided by
Brynn Donnelly, who finished off the most productive career on the draw in program history with seven draw controls. Donnelly rewrote the Fairfield record book in her career, owning the single-game (18), single-season (149 in 2025), and career (378) draw control marks. She eclipsed the 100-draw mark for the season with today's performance and accounts for three of the four 100-draw seasons in program history.
On the defensive end,
Sophia Colasacco had three caused turnovers and five ground balls to fuel the unit.
Whitney Robinson made a season-high 13 saves protecting the Fairfield cage.
The Stags hung tough with the Black Knights in the first quarter. After Army took a 3-0 lead Fairfield went back-to-back as Caputo connected with Tufano for a goal followed by a Caputo solo effort to trim the deficit to 3-2 with 4:49 left in the opening stanza. However, the Stags were held scoreless for the ensuing 17:37 of game time as Army reeled off the next nine markers to build a 12-2 cushion. Another Caputo to Tufano connection ended the drought, and Haggerty fired home a free-position shot to bring Fairfield back to within 12-4 entering halftime.
Burns opened the second half scoring, and Tufano completed her hat trick and then tacked on a fourth in the third quarter, but Army continued to find the back of the cage to take a 16-7 into the final frame. The Stags finished their scoring for the day with a transition goal for Zanelli assisted by Shammas to round out the 20-8 final.
Army was by five points, two assists, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers by Tewaaraton finalist Brigid Duffy in the midfield. Her fellow All-American Allison Reilly notched three goals with seven assists for the Black Knights.
Fairfield Women's Lacrosse won its second consecutive MAAC Championship in 2026 – the 10th in program history – and made its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA postseason. Head Coach
Laura Field has been at the helm for a conference-record seven MAAC Championship victories.
"I am so grateful for our seniors and grad students. They have been here four or five years, and we reached this point in every one of them. I wish I could take some of the credit for it, but it's all due to them – who they are as players and, more importantly, as people," said Field.
