Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy women's lacrosse team jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 17-6 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen scored three goals in the first five minutes to set the tone for their first Patriot League win of the year.

The Mids (6-3, 1-1 Patriot League) scored 17 goals on the day with 10 assists. Navy doubled up Holy Cross, 30-15, in shot attempts, while posting a 16-7 advantage in draw controls. Defensively, the Midshipmen forced 21 Crusader (5-5, 0-2 PL) turnovers.

"After our Patriot League opener against Loyola, we felt like we needed a better start," head coach Cindy Timchal said. "It was a commitment all week to get a hot start and keep that going. We made that commitment to keep that intensity up in the second half. We worked these players hard this week and challenged them to make a statement and step it up. We believe that hard work paid off."

Four Navy players recorded hat tricks on the day as Jenna Collins (Clarksville, Md.), Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.), Meg O'Donnell (Forest Hill, Md.), and Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) each netted three goals apiece. Julia Collins (Clarksville, Md.) and Morgan Young (Baltimore, Md.) each added a pair of goals apiece, while Kayla Harris (Arnold, Md.) and Larkin paced the team with two assists each.

In goal, Ingrid Boyum (Herndon, Va.) earned the victory as Navy saw four goalies between the posts. Boyum allowed four goals in 52:36 with five saves before giving way to Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Autum Koh (Glenview, Ill.) and Victoria LaVeck (Marriottsville, Md.) also saw action on the day.

Navy was the first to score taking an early 3-0 lead. O'Donnell started the Mids with a goal at 28:04 off an assist from Harris. Larkin netted back-to-back goals in a 91-second span to give the home team a three-goal advantage.

With 24:18 remaining in the first half, Holy Cross responded with a goal from Tess MacKay to trim the Navy lead to 3-1, but the Midshipmen answered with seven straight goals to push the advantaged to 10-1. The Crusaders added a goal with 0.9 on the clock to go into intermission down, 10-2.

The Mids came out in the second half with back-to-back goals in the first two minutes by O'Donnell and O'Sullivan to give Navy a 10-goal advantage and start the running clock. Three consecutive Midshipmen goals extended the lead to 15-2 before the Crusaders scored on a free-position goal.

The Midshipmen used goals by O'Sullivan and Young to give the home team 17 goals on the day. Holy Cross added a trio of goals in the final minutes to provide the final score of 17-6.

Navy returns to action this Wednesday as the Mids travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on Lehigh in Patriot League action. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

"Lehigh has always had tough games with us," Timchal said of the team's next opponent. "We have our hands full with being prepared and ready to play Wednesday night. It is a quick turn around."