PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The No. 17 Navy women's lacrosse team (3-1) posted a 14-6 victory on the road against Villanova (2-2) on Wednesday afternoon at Villanova Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa. The Midshipmen led 13-3 at the half and relied on solid second-half defense to secure the eight-goal victory.
"Today, we were able to come out and jump out to a big lead in the first half and come away with a victory," head coach
Cindy Timchal said after the game. "Credit to Villanova. They made some halftime adjustments and battled us hard in the second half. They are well coached and would not give up. I am proud of how our team performed today. The defense made key stops and forced a decent number of turnovers to give our offense plenty of opportunities to score. We were able to win the draw battle and secure the win. We now have to turn our attention to nationally-ranked Florida."
Offensively, Navy was led by junior
Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.). The All-American tied a career-high with six goals to go along with a pair of assists for a season-high eight points. She scored five of her six goals in the first half and was the only Midshipmen to net a goal in the second stanza. She was joined by
Natalie Irwin (Annandale, Va.) and
Moriah Snyder (Bel Air, Md.) with multiple goals as the duo netted two goals apiece.
Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) matched Larkin with a team-best two assists, while pacing the team with a season-high seven draw controls. As a team, Navy won 15 of 21 draws, while converting 19 of 21 clear attempts.
Defensively, the Midshipmen held the Wildcats to just six goals on 17 shots.
Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned the win surrendering five goals, while making five saves. She gave way to
Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.) who worked the final three minutes in her first collegiate action, allowing just one goal. The Navy defense registered 14 caused turnovers on the day, including eight in the second half. The Midshipmen caused two thirds of the Wildcats' 21 turnovers on the day. Heyward and
Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) led the team with three CTs apiece. In her career, Valenti now has 92 caused turnovers and is eight CTs shy of becoming the sixth player in Patriot League history with 100 or more caused turnovers.
In the first half, Villanova was the first team to score, but Navy responded with a 4-0 run to take the lead. Four people scored on the run as
Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) tied the game and Snyder gave the Mids their first lead. Heyward and Irwin capped the run to give Navy a 4-1 advantage.
Following a Wildcat goal, Larkin and Snyder each added goals to push the advantage to 6-3. Nova added a goal, but Midshipmen closed out the half with a 7-0 run, highlighted by four goals by Larkin. In addition,
Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.), Irwin and,
Caitlin Blanche (Crofton, Md.) also chipped in goals during the run.
In the second half, both teams struggled to find the back of the net. The Midshipmen scored one goal on 10 shots in the half, while being hampered by 12 turnovers. The lone goal was netted by Larkin who broke the scoreless drought by the Mids with just under three minutes remaining.
The defense stiffened in the second half, surrendering just three goals. Four of Harchelroad's five saves came in the second half. The Villanova offense turned the ball over nine times in the second half with eight caused turnovers by Navy in the period.
Navy returns to action on Saturday, March 2, as the Midshipmen hosts No. 11 Florida at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Opening draw is slated for 11:00 a.m. Live statistics and live video will be available throughout the game.
