ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 13 Navy women's lacrosse team (0-0) officially begins the 2019 season on Saturday, Feb. 9, as the Midshipmen travel to Charlottesville, Va. for a top-25 match-up against No. 16 Virginia (0-0) at Klöckner Stadium. The game is slated for 1:00 p.m. Live stats will be available and the game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra.
 
National Rankings
The Navy women's lacrosse team is currently ranked in all three national preseason polls heading into the 2019 campaign. The Mids finished the 2018 season ranked in all three national polls, and have been ranked nationally for 17 consecutive weeks. This season Navy starts the season ranked in all three preseason polls. The Mids are No. 13 according to the IWLCA, while coming in at No. 15 and No. 16 per Inside Lacrosse and  US Lacrosse Magazine, respectively. Virginia ranks No. 16 in both the IWLCA and the IL Media Poll, while ranking No. 17 according to US Lacrosse.
 
2019 Senior Captains
Senior attacker / midfielder Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) and defender Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) will captain the 2019 Navy women's lacrosse team. O'Sullivan is a two-time Second Team All-Patriot League selection (2017, 2018). The Preseason All-PL selection entered the 2019 season with 104 points on 69 goals and 35 assists. Valenti, who was named Preseason All-Patriot League, was named Second Team All-Patriot League in 2018, while earning Academic All-Patriot League two times (2017, 2018). She anchored the defense, In three seasons, Valenti set the school record in caused turnovers with 85.
 
Patriot League Preseason Poll
The Navy women's lacrosse team has been picked second in the 2019 Patriot League Preseason Poll in a vote cast by the league's coaches and sports information directors, it was announced by the conference office on Thursday. Loyola secured 12 of the 20 first-place votes (eligible for only 18 due to not being able to vote for your own team) and amassed 156 points to top the poll. Navy accounted for the remaining eight first-place votes and totaled 152 points to finish second in the balloting. Lehigh was third with 130 points, followed by Boston University (112), Colgate (84), Army (82), Holy Cross (71), Lafayette (55), Bucknell (39), and American (19). The last two seasons, the Mids finished second in the Patriot League regular-season, but claimed the tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Preseason All-Conference
Attacker Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.), midfielder Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.), and defender Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) were named to the Preseason All-Patriot League team. The 16-woman team is made up of 11 seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores. Eight of the 10 teams placed players on the preseason team, including Loyola who has a league-best five selections. Navy has three representatives, while Boston U. and Lehigh each have two and Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, and Lafayette have one.
 
Larkin Tabbed Preseason All-American
Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) was named to the 2019 Preseason All-America team by Inside Lacrosse on Tuesday, Dec 18. The junior was selected to the third team. The 2019 preseason All-Americans and poll were released in the publication's annual Face-Off Yearbook.
 
Larkin is Navy's top offensive returner, entering the 2019 season with 225 total points on 116 goals and 109 assists. The junior is one of only two players in school history to record two 100-points seasons, and the only player in program history to achieve the accomplishment in their first two seasons. Larkin is a two-time Inside Lacrosse All-American, earning honorable mention accolades as a freshman (2017) and second team honors as a sophomore (2018). In addition, Larkin was also the 2017 Inside Lacrosse Division I Rookie of the Year.
 
Navy Sports Magazine Show
The Voice of Navy Athletics Pete Medhurst sat down with women's lacrosse senior captain Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) to talk about the upcoming 2019 women's lacrosse season. Valenti VIDEO
 
Richter Wins Prestigious Marshall Scholarship
Navy women's lacrosse student-athlete Anne Richter (Hinsdale, Ill.) has been named a Marshall Scholar, one of the most prestigious honors available to undergraduate students in the US. This year, over 1,000 candidates competed for one of the 48 scholarships awarded. Richter, a mechanical engineering major, is one of 29 midshipman in the class of 2019 selected to be Bowman scholars, and is currently conducting independent research with nuclear applications.
 
All-Time Series
The game will mark the fifth meeting between the two programs. Navy is looking for its second win in the series as Virginia holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Midshipmen broke a streak of three straight losses to the Cavaliers with a 16-13 victory last year.
 
The Mids and Cavaliers have met twice in Charlottesville with Virginia picking up a pair of victories at Klöckner Stadium.
 
In the first meeting, UVA edged Navy, 15-13, in Charlottesville, while in 2017 the Cavaliers withstood a late rally by the Midshipmen to earn the 16-13 win.
 
The game marks the second consecutive season that the two teams are nationally ranked. Last year, Navy entered the game ranked No. 13 according to the IWLCA, while Virginia was No. 11. This year, the two teams are ranked in the preseason with the Mids claiming the No. 13 slot and the Cavaliers earning a No. 16 ranking.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Virginia returns eight starters from last season, including All-American Sammy Mueller, All-Region midfielder Maggie Jackson, and attacker Avery Shoemaker and All-ACC defenders Kaitlin Luzik and Sophie Alecce. Mueller led the Cavaliers 74 points (59g, 15a). Jackson matched a UVA single-season record with 97 draw controls and ranks third all-time with 207 career draw controls.
 
The game marks the season opener for the two teams. Virginia's schedule features nine home games and 11 opponents that participated in the 2018 NCAA Championships.
 
Virginia had four players selected to the Preseason All-ACC teams. Senior midfielder Maggie Jackson and senior defender Kaitlin Luzik were named to the Preseason All-ACC for the second consecutive year. Senior Avery Shoemaker and junior Sammy Mueller were named to the At-Large team.
 
Last Time vs. Virginia (April 11, 2018)
The No. 13 Navy women's lacrosse team picked up its third win in program history against a ranked opponent as the Midshipmen knocked off No. 11 Virginia at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. In addition, the win was the Mids' fourth all-time against a member of the ACC.
 
In a game that had the makings of a shootout, the Navy defense came up big to give the Midshipmen the victory. The defense surrendered just one goal in the final 21:57 minutes of the game. Goalie Ingrid Boyum recorded 10 saves in the game, marking the third time she notched double-digit stops against the Cavaliers. The Navy backline caused nine of Virginia's 16 turnovers on the night with Blake Smith and Marie Valenti leading the charge with two caused turnovers apiece. The Mids finished the game with 21 ground balls, including a program record eight GBs by Jenna Collins.
 
Offensively, Julia Collins paced the team with seven points, scoring three goals with four assists. Kelly Larkin led the team with four goals, while Meg O'Donnell also notched a hat trick with three goals. Andie O'Sullivan chipped in three assists and a goal for four points as well, while Natalie Irwin and Kayla Harris each added two goals apiece. Jenna Collins and O'Sullivan led the team with three draw controls each out of Navy's 15 on the night.
 
In the second half, the Cavaliers cut the margin to one with just under 22 minutes on the clock, but the Navy defense stepped up and allowed just one goal over the final 21:57. The defense held Virginia scoreless for over 19 minutes. Over the final 21:57 of game, Virginia scored one goal on eight shots with three shots on goal. Boyum notched a pair of critical saves. Flustered by the Mids' defense, the Cavaliers committed seven of their 16 turnovers in the final 21:57 of the second half.
 
Last Time Out
The No. 7 Navy women's lacrosse team posted a valiant effort, but came up just short, falling to defending National Champion Maryland, 17-15, at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. The Mids close out the season at the NCAA Quarterfinals, finishing one game short of back-to-back Final Four appearances.
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen tallied 15 goals on 30 shots, including 28 shots on goal. Navy was led by team captain Julia Collins who finished the game eight goals, tying the Mids' school record for goals in a game. She was joined by Andie O'Sullivan who closed out the game with a pair of goals. Jenna Collins led the way with four assists, finishing the day with five points.
 
Defensively, Navy caused eight of Maryland's 12 turnovers. The Mids backline limited the Terps' offensive attack. Ingrid Boyum recorded her 15th career double-digit save effort and the 10th time in her career with 10 or more saves against a ranked opponent, finishing the game with 10 stops. Natalie Irwin and Marie Valenti finished with two caused turnovers apiece. For Valenti, the two CTs gave the junior 85 for her career, setting a new Navy record. Valenti surpassed Caitlin Mandrin Hill (2008-11) who previously held the record with 84 caused turnovers. Senior captain Blake Smith had the task of guarding Tewaaraton Award Finalist Megan Whittle. Smith held one of the nation's most prominent scorers to just three goals – two of which game on free-position opportunities – while keeping Whittle scoreless for the first 50 minutes of the game.
 
Maryland won the possession battle, coming away with 21 draws, compared to 13 by Navy. Kayla Harris led the Midshipmen with six draws, while O'Sullivan added four on the day.
 
Tickets
Tickets to the game are $5 for general admission and $8 for reserved seats. Gates open one hour prior to game time. Klöckner Stadium has a clear bag policy and screening areas are located at all entrances. All those in attendance – from fans to game day staff – are required to pass through the security checkpoints in an effort to enhance security at the venue's events. For more information on Virginia's clear bag policy, click here.