April 1, 2017 Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md.--Freshman Kelly Larkin scored three goals and handed out five assists, while senior Morgan Young (four goals, three assists) and junior Jenna Collins (four goals, three assists) scored seven points each to lead Navy (8-3, 3-1 in the Patriot League) to a 22-7 rout of Army (4-8, 0-4 in the Patriot League) in front of a raucous 1,862 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"What a great day for Navy women's lacrosse," said head coach Cindy Timchal. "We had a terrific crowd and a great atmosphere and I thought we played really well today. I'm proud of our
performance."
The win gives Navy a 14-9 overall record against Army in all sports during the 2016-17 academic year (counting Navy's win over Army in outdoor track today). The two teams will start playing for the Star next year.
Navy jumped all over the Black Knights from the opening draw, scoring the first five goals of the game as the Collins twins (Julia and Jenna) teamed up for four of the goals (two each) and Andie O'Sullivan scored one.
"We really wanted to jump on them early and not make it an emotional game," said Timchal. "We changed some things offensively and that has really opened things up for us over the last three games."
Navy, which led 10-4 at the half, got off to a great start again in the second half scoring the first four goals to take a 14-4 lead and wipe away any hope Army might have had. Young (from Larkin), Larkin (from O'Donnell), Jenna Collins (from Larkin) and Julia Collins (from Young) all scored goals for the Mids.
"Kelly Larkin was great today as a feeder," said Jenna Collins. "She saw everybody and we were able to take advantage of her passes. It seemed like most of our goals were off assists today and that's a good thing."
Collins's assessment was right on as 15 of Navy's 22 goals were assisted.
"I thought Morgan Young was great today," said Timchal. "She had been struggling shooting and we pulled her in and talked to her and she has been much better over the last three games finding open teammates. I'm really happy for her.
The Navy defensive performance should not be overlooked as the Mids forced 15 turnovers, including 11 in the first half. Junior Blake Smith continued her strong play with three caused turnovers.
The Mids outshot Army, 37-13, and got 18 ground balls to Army's eight, led by Jenna Collins and Larkin's five ground balls apiece.
The Mids won 17 of the 30 draw controls, including 11 of 15 in the second half. Freshman Kayla Harris and Jenna Collin led the way with four draws each.
"It's wonderful to be able to play Army and be a part of this rivalry," said Jenna Collins. " As a freshman I was jealous of the other teams because women's lacrosse wasn't a varsity sport yet at Army. It was really cool to be able to play them at home today and come away with a win.
The Mids travel to Colgate next Saturday to take on the Raiders in a 12 noon contest.
