CELEBRATING HISTORY: Tessa Caputo, left, celebrates a goal this spring during her sophomore campaign for the Fairfield University women’s lacrosse team. Former Princeton Day School standout Caputo made history for the Stags in 2026, tallying 83 points on 28 goals and a program single-season record 55 assists. Sparked by Caputo’s playmaking, Fairfield won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament and ended up with a final record of 15-4. (Photo by Indi DelRocco, provided courtesy of Fairfield Athletics)
By Bill Alden
In a microcosm of her historic sophomore campaign, Tessa Caputo came up big for the Fairfield University women’s lacrosse team as it faced Siena in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship game.
Star attacker Caputo, a former Princeton Day School standout, dished for six assists to help Fairfield prevail 13-4 in early May and book its second straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
“Our inside cutters were wide open all game, they were just doing a great job of getting open,” said Caputo. “They did the hard part, I just hit them. There were definitely some high pressure defenders. If you get past them, it is just finding the open girl. They did a great job of finishing. Sometimes it is all about the assists, sometimes it is about the scoring. I just wanted to contribute in
any way.”
Caputo contributed in a big way for Fairfield this spring, tallying 83 points on 28 goals and a program single-season record 55 assists. Sparked by Caputo’s playmaking, Fairfield, which fell 20-8 to Army in the first round of the NCAA tournament, ended up with a final record of 15-4.
Coming into the season, Caputo was confident she could build on a solid freshman season in 2025 which saw her score five goals and add 22 assists.
“Being a freshman comes with a lot of nerves, I think freshman year, I kind of held back a lot,” said Caputo. “In practice, I felt more comfortable throughout the winter and even in the fall. That really prepared me for it. I got a lot more comfortable in my role, having confidence is definitely huge. Having my coaches and teammates believing in me was big.”
Caputo had confidence in her teammates. “It is a super special group of girls — we definitely knew we were pretty good,” said Caputo. “We had a good freshman class come in and some great upperclassmen too. I was pretty confident going into it but we definitely thought it was going to be a bit more of a rebuilding year. I think we had a really great season to be proud of.”
For Caputo, tallying three goals and four assists in a dramatic 10-9 win over Drexel in late February was a major confidence builder.
“Drexel has always been one of our rivals and will be a big rival coming up when we enter the CAA,” said Caputo, referring to Fairfield’s impending move to the Coastal Athletic Association. “It is always a huge game against Drexel. My last goal was the game winner, that was definitely a huge moment. It was just so fun to have that one with my team.”
After losing to 15-8 to Army and 15-9 to Denver to start March, the Stags caught fire as they reeled off 11 straight wins.
“We really just focused on team work and being there for each other in the small moments when we make a mistake, not to dwell on it,” said Caputo, reflecting on the winning streak. “We really built each other up as a team. We focused on what we knew we could do right and those little things.”
As for her production, Caputo raised her game during the streak, tallying 20 goals and 34 assists in that stretch.
“I really honed in on making the smartest decision and not force anything,” said Caputo. “As the season went on, I lessened my turnovers and upped my points. That was just a huge confidence booster, seeing that I can do that. It really helped throughout the rest of the season.”
Along the way, Caputo smashed the previous program single-season record of 42 assists set by Brenna Connolly in 2018.
“It was funny because my coach (Laura Field) came up to me a few days before,” recalled Caputo. “She was like ‘are you superstitious at all?’ and I was, no, not necessarily. ‘I don’t want to freak you out, but you are seven assists away from breaking the season record.’ I was, ‘Oh, that is awesome.’ Then when I broke it in the one game and the single game one as well she was like ‘I didn’t mean you had to do it all on one game, you could have taken a few games.’ It is definitely awesome, it is such a great feeling.”
Caputo’s historic game came when she tallied one goal and eight assists in a 17-7 over Marist on April 18.
“My one teammate Kelly [Haggerty], who is our main scorer on the team, knew when I was one away,” said Caputo, whose production helped Fairfield go 8-0 in conference play to earn the top seed and stay at home for the MAAC tourney. “She said, ‘Feed me the ball, I am going to score.’ I was alright, so we connected on that last one. The group was so excited for me. It was great to see how excited my teammates were, that was honestly the best part. All of that was so much fun.”
After topping Quinnipiac 13-9 in the semis, defeating Siena in the final to win the title at home was particularly memorable.
“It was awesome,” said Caputo. “Freshman year we won the MAAC as well but we didn’t do it on our home turf. Winning at home, having all of our friends and other sports teammates in the stands was so awesome and definitely a different experience.”
In the NCAA rematch with Army, Fairfield trailed 3-2 midway through the first quarter but could get no closer on the way to the 20-8 loss.
“We really just wanted to go in with the mindset that we could hang with them,” said Caputo. “I think we did a great job in the first half. We cut the deficits and came back a little bit. But we let the game get away from us at some point. They are a great team and it was an honor just to be playing against them.”
In the wake of her historic campaign, Caputo earned first-team All-MAAC honors and was named to the All-Northeast Region second team by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).
“It is definitely awesome,
I am just grateful to have that opportunity to get them,” said Caputo of the accolades. “It is a cool thing to look at but at the end
of the day it is not the
main thing to focus on. My teammates were such a huge part, you can’t get assists without them.”
Joining former PDS teammate Paige Gardner on the Fairfield squad has been a huge plus for Caputo.
“Paige is the best,” said Caputo of rising senior Gardner, who tallied 11 goals and four assists this spring. “It is so nice to have her on the team. Just getting the opportunity to play with her is so much fun.”
This summer, Caputo is having fun working on all facets of her game.
“I think just doing a lot of conditioning, a lot of stick work, some shooting, lifting, and getting out on the turf,” said Caputo, who has done some shooting workouts with her older brother Cal, a former PDS and Williams College lax standout. “Doing as much as I can is my biggest plan. It is mostly individual workouts. I will do shooting with some friends that are on other teams who are home from college.”
Looking ahead to her junior season, Caputo isn’t resting on her laurels.
“I want to build off of last year and I want to keep up that I was doing,” said Caputo. “At the end of the day, I am never satisfied with how it goes. After last season, it is not enough. I have to get more points, have less turnovers, and more connections.”
As for Fairfield’s prospects next season, Caputo believes the program is building something special.
“We have such great freshman class coming in, we have some great fifth years staying and we got four new transfers coming in,” said Caputo. “It is going to be a whole new team. So it is trying to rebuild connections with people and have the best season that we can and keep proving that we are a good team. Every year we get better and better. I am excited to see how the next few years go.”