Gabby Capuzzi Solomon returned to Annapolis for as the associate head coach in July 2023. Capuzzi Solomon was a member of the Navy women’s lacrosse coaching staff for six years (2015-20) before returning to her alma mater Ohio State University from July 2020 through the 2023 campaign. In her second stint with the Midshipmen, Capuzzi Solomon’s primary focus is on Navy’s defense and draw controls, while she has an active role in recruiting.
In her first season back with Navy women’s lacrosse, the Mids concluded the 2024 season with a 15-4 overall record, including an 8-1 mark in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen advanced to the Patriot League Championship for the 12th time in program history.
Navy earned the No. 2 overall seed and a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament. The Midshipmen advanced to the Patriot League Championship with a 19-5 victory over No. 4 seed Holy Cross in the semifinals. The Mids were edged 12-11 in overtime to top-seeded and #7 Loyola in the Patriot League Championship. Following the conclusion of the conference tournament, the Patriot League announced its All-Tournament Team and Alyssa Daley, Emily Messinese, and Caroline Stefans were named to the 11-person team.
Navy was ranked throughout the 2024 season in the ILWomen / IWLCA Division I Poll, finishing the year ranked #20. The Mids entered the rankings at #25 (preseason), rising as high as #16 (March 4).
Juniors Alyssa Daley (draw specialist) and Emily Messinese (midfield) were tabbed Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse All-Americans as honorable mention selections. Daley and Messinese became the sixth and seventh Midshipmen, respectively, to be named IL All-Americans, joining Jenna Collins (2017, '18), Julia Collins (2018), Blake Smith (2018), Kelly Larkin (2017, '18, '19, '20), and Ava Yovino (2023) in the Navy annals, while it was the second consecutive season that Navy had someone on the USA Lacrosse All-America list as then-freshman Ava Yovino was an honorable mention selection in 2023.
The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) named its All-Region teams, including Alyssa Daley and Emily Messinese who were named to the second team of the Mid-Atlantic Region. It was the first time since 2018 that Navy had multiple IWLCA All-Region selections.
Six (6) Mids were named to the 2024 All-Patriot League Team. The Midshipmen tallied four first-team selections, including draw specialist Alyssa Daley and defender Caroline Stefans, while also claiming a pair of second-team honors. Additionally, Mikayla Williams was selected as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Midshipmen to earn Rookie of the Year accolades since Kelly Larkin ('20) earned the honor as a plebe in 2017.
During the season, draw control specialist Alyssa Daley was named USA Lacrosse Magazine Division I Player of the Week on April 16. Daley was instrumental in Navy's win over Army, limiting the potent Black Knight offense by giving the Midshipmen extra possessions, recording a career-high 17 draw controls. The 17 draws, which was one draw shy of tying the Navy school record of 18, set by Reagan Roelofs ('22) against Army at the Patriot League Tournament in 2019, tied her career-best performance that the junior set a week prior against Holy Cross.
As a team, the 2024 Midshipmen picked up 312 ground balls, won 357 draw controls, and caused 137 turnovers. The Navy defense held thirteen (13) opponents to single-digit goals, including six during Patriot League play.
Defensively, Felicia Giglio logged 931:41 of the 1141:24 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. The freshman goalkeeper notched 102 saves, including a career-high 10 stops in the Patriot League Championship game against #7 Loyola, with 25 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
Maggie DeFabio, Mikayla Williams, and Caroline Stefans led the team with 31, 30, and 30 ground balls, correspondingly. Felicia Giglio followed with 25, while Lola Leone was fifth on the squad with 23 GB. The group was followed by Emily Messinese (20 ground balls), Caroline Gage (19), Grace Peterson (18), Jaclyn Johns (17), Tori DiCarlo (16), Morgan Lewis (12), Kat McAteer (12), and Landen Cain (11) to close out the Mids’ double-digit ground balls.
Caroline Stefans caused a team-high 21 turnovers, ahead of Jaclyn Johns and Mikayla Williams who had a dozen takeaways apiece. Caroline Gage (11) and Maggie DeFabio (10) rounded out Navy’s top five in the category.
Alyssa Daley led the team with a Navy single-season record 191 draw controls. She ended the season ranked fifth in program history with 268 career draws – nine (9) back of Julia Collins (’18) for fourth all-time with 277. Emily Messinese had 64 draws on the year and 138 career DC, while Mikayla Williams and Caroline Stefans followed with 48 and 14 draws, respectively.
Navy finished the season ranked first in the NCAA in draw control percentage (.687), while finishing second in the nation in draw controls per game (18.79). Individually, Alyssa Daley ended the season ranked third in the NCAA in draw controls per game (10.05).
In the classroom, a pair of Midshipmen student-athletes were selected to the 2024 Academic All-Patriot League Team. Tori DiCarlo led the duo of academic achievers as the 2024 Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to DiCarlo's top honor, defender Grace Peterson was also selected to the 12-member academic squad. DiCarlo's selection as Scholar-Athlete of the Year is the second in Navy history and the first for the Midshipmen since Mary Ruttum ('10) earned the honor as a senior in 2010. Additionally, DiCarlo was among the five Navy female student-athletes who garnered Academic All-District accolades for at-large sports from the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
Capuzzi Solomon, a four-year letter winner from 2009-12 and assistant coach from 2012-14 with the Buckeyes, spent six seasons at Navy, where she held the titles of assistant coach (2015-18) and associate head coach (2019-20).
Additionally, Capuzzi Solomon served a term as the Division I representative for the IWLCA Board of Directors from 2020-23.
A Second-Team All-American during her time with the Scarlet and Gray, Capuzzi Solomon led the Buckeyes with 42 goals, 52 draw controls, 38 ground balls and 31 caused turnovers in 2012. She ended her career as the program’s leader in draw controls (166), owning two of the top-10 single-season records in that category.
Following her playing days, Capuzzi Solomon remained with the program for the 2013 and 2014 seasons as an assistant coach. She served as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator and draw specialist. In 2014, Capuzzi Solomon helped Ohio State finish 13-7 and earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Over her six seasons at Navy, the Midshipmen won 80 games and in 2017 became the first Service Academy team from a women’s sport to advance to the NCAA Final Four. Navy won Patriot League titles in 2017 and ’18 and registered at least 13 wins in every full season it played during Capuzzi Solomon’s tenure.
Despite the shortened season, the Midshipmen finished the 2020 campaign ranked No. 21 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, extending their streak to 38 consecutive weeks in the national polls, dating back to the final rankings of the 2017 season.
Capuzzi Solomon coached Navy student-athletes to a pair of Tewaaraton Award Nominations (top 25 finalist), eight All-America selections (two IWLCA, six Inside Lacrosse), seven IWLCA All-Region accolades and three Patriot League Midfielder of the Year awards. A total of 17 student-athletes garnered 28 All-Patriot League honors between 2015-19. Her impact on Navy’s program was immediate: in 2015, her first season, Navy ranked 10th in the country in scoring defense at 7.75 goals per game. The Mids held 13 of their 20 opponents under 10 goals and 10 players finished with 10 or more caused turnovers. Under Capuzzi Solomon, Navy recorded three of the top-5 seasons in school history for caused turnovers and two of the three best performances for ground balls. In 2017 and ‘18, the Mids set the school record for draw controls.
Following the 2017 campaign, Capuzzi Solomon competed as part of Team Italy in the FIL Rathbones Women’s Lacrosse World Cup in England. She finished with 29 goals – tied for most in the tournament – to help Italy to an 11th place finish in its first World Cup. The next year, Capuzzi Solomon led the New England Command to the inaugural Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) championship title with a 12-11 victory over the top-seeded Baltimore Brave at Tierney Field at the US Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Md.
Capuzzi Solomon returned to Ohio State as the associate head coach for three seasons (2021-23). In 2021, the Buckeyes played a Big Ten-only schedule, with the slate highlighted by sweeps of a two-game series against both Michigan and Penn State. Three Buckeyes earned All-Midwest Region honors and All-Big Ten accolades, led by first team choice Liza Hernandez. The following season, Ohio State was 9-7 overall with a pair of All-Region selections and four All-Big Ten honorees. The 2023 Buckeyes faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation and ended 5-12. The squad was led by Jamie Lasda, an All-Big Ten selection, and goalie Regan Alexander, who was among the NCAA leaders in saves and save percentage.
Academically, the Buckeyes’ produced 37 Ohio State Scholar-Athletes each season Capuzzi Solomon was associate head coach. In addition, the 2021 squad had 24 Academic All-Big Ten honorees and 14 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, while the 2022 team registered 25 Academic All-Big Ten selections and 10 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in strategic communication with a minor in media production and analysis from Ohio State in 2012, Capuzzi Solomon went on to graduate with a master of science in sports administration and leadership from Duquesne University in June of 2014. She completed a graduate certificate in public management from Ohio State’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs in Spring of 2022.
Her husband, Greg Solomon, was a catcher for the Ohio State baseball team from 2011-13. The couple has one son, Santino, and a daughter, Sailor.
