ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 14 Navy women's lacrosse team (6-2, 1-0 Patriot League) return home for its Patriot League home opener against Bucknell (3-6, 1-0 PL) on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game is part of a doubleheader with the Navy men's lacrosse team and opening draw is slated for 3:00 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for the game.
 
All-Time Series
The game between Navy and Bucknell will mark the 12th meeting between the two programs. Navy is 11-0 all-time against Bucknell. The Mids are 5-0 all-time against the Bison in Annapolis.
 
Last season, the Mids posted an 18-5 victory over the Bison in Lewisburg. Julia Collins (2015-18) paced the offense with 10 points, netting five goals to go along with five assists.
 
In the last meeting in Annapolis, Navy notched a 7-4 victory. The seven goals was the least scored against Bucknell in Navy history and marked just the third time the Midshipmen had not scored double-digit goals against the Bison.
 
Navy is 10-1 (.909) in Patriot League home openers.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
This season, Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) leads the team with 46 points, scoring team-best 26 goals and boasting a team-high 20 assists. Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) is second with 24 points thanks to 13 goals scored and 11 helpers. Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.), Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.), and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) are also in double-figure points with 23 (17g 6a), 20 (16g 4a), and 17 (13g 4a), respectively.
 
Heyward leads the team with 35 total draws, while Roelofs is second with 34 and Harris is third with 27. Heyward paces the team with 15 caused turnovers, while Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) is second with 14.
 
Defensively, goalie Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has logged just under 420 of the 480 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. This season, she is 5-2, including a victory over a ranked opponent. The senior has made 48 stops with a team-best 23 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
 
Scouting the Opponent
The Bison are currently 3-6 (1-0 Patriot League). Bucknell defeated UMBC, 11-10, in overtime on Thursday. The Bison are 1-0 in the conference after scoring six unanswered goals to down American, 11-8, in their PL opener.
 
In 2018, Bucknell went 3-13 (1-8 Patriot League). The Bison, who placed ninth in the Patriot League a year ago, were picked to finish in the same spot in 2019, as voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors in the preseason poll. Half of their Patriot League losses in 2018 came by three goals or fewer.
 
Bucknell's captains are Callie DeWitt, Jamisen DeWitt, Sarah Dohler and Audrey Walsh. All four are first-time captains and lead a young team featuring 21 underclassmen.
 
Trio of Mids Earn Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Honors
Coming off of an 18-6 road victory over Colgate, Navy women's lacrosse had three student-athletes selected as Patriot League Athletes of the Week as announced by the conference office. Junior Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) was tabbed Attacker of the Week, while senior co-captain Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) was dubbed Defender of the Week. Freshman Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) was named Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week.
 
Larkin scored a team-high nine points, netting three goals (tied team high) and leading the team with six assists. Her six assists tied a career high, and her nine points was one shy of her career best. Five of her six assists came in the second half. In addition, she picked up two ground balls and caused a turnover. In the first half, Larkin scored her first goal to make the score, 2-1, a lead the Midshipmen would not relinquish. She added a second goal in the first half and completed the hat trick with a goal in the second half as part of the Mids' 9-0 run to close out the game. The hat trick was her fifth of the season and the 29th of her career.
 
Valenti anchored the Navy defense that surrendered just six goals to the Raiders. The defensive captain led the team with six ground balls and four caused turnovers. The four caused turnovers gives the senior 99 career caused turnovers, and she is now one CT shy of becoming the sixth player Patriot League history to record 100 or more caused turnovers in a career. Valenti's six ground balls was a season high and tied a career best. In addition, she helped facilitate the offense by aiding in converting 18 clear attempts on the day.
 
Roelofs recorded her second hat trick of the season, netting three goals for three points. She won seven of Navy's 11 draw controls on the day, while picking up three ground balls and causing two turnovers. The freshman has scored hat tricks in back-to-back games and netted at least one goal in four consecutive games. The three goals tied a career best for the freshman, while three ground balls and two caused turnovers set new personal bests. Roelofs notched one goal in the first half and completed the hat trick with a pair of goals in the second half.
 
Last Time vs. Bucknell (March 24, 2018)
Senior captain Julia Collins (Clarksville, Md.) tallied a career high 10 points, recording a game-high five goals and a career-best five assists to lift Navy women's lacrosse to a 18-5 victory over Bucknell at Graham Field at Holmes Stadium.
 
Julia Collins paced the offense early, recording four of her five goals in the first half. In addition, the senior captain dished out five assists, tying her career high in the category. Julia Collins' five goals tied for the most goals scored by a Midshipmen this season, while her five assists stand alone as the most helpers dished out in a game this year by Navy.
 
In addition to Julia Collins, Jenna Collins (Clarksville, Md.) and Meg O'Donnell (Forest Hill, Md.) each added hat tricks on the day. Jenna Collins tallied four goals and an assist, while O'Donnell chipped in three goals. Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) and Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) added two goals apiece, while Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) and Natalie Irwin (Annandale, Va.) each scored.
 
Defensively, Navy held Bucknell to just five goals on 13 shots, while making four saves. The Mids backline disrupted the Bison offense all game, leading to 21 turnovers by the home team. Navy caused 11 turnovers, led by Jenna Collins, Sarah Childress (Annapolis, Md.), and Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) who had two caused turnovers apiece.
 
The Midshipmen used three goalies to limit the Bison to five goals. Starter Ingrid Boyum (Herndon, Va.) picked up the win, working 43 minutes between the pipes. She surrendered a pair of goals in the first half, while recording three saves. Boyum gave way to Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who clocked just over 15 minutes, allowing three goals with a save. Autumn Koh (Glenview, Ill.) closed out the game with a clean scorecard over the final 1:45.
 
Last Time Out
The No. 13 Navy women's lacrosse team outscored Colgate, 11-2, in the second half to pick up an 18-6 victory at Beyer-Small '76 Field on a snowy Saturday afternoon in Hamilton, N.Y. The Mids led by just three, but used a 9-0 run to close the game and cruise to victory.
 
Navy had three players score hat tricks on the day as Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.), Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.), and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) each finished with three goals apiece. Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.), Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.), Ellie Lecker (Ponte Vedra, Fla.), and Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) chipped in two goals each. Larkin paced the team with six assists, tying her career best and tying for the sixth most helpers in a game. Heyward registered a career high with three assists, while Roelofs pulled down seven of Navy's 11 draw controls on the day.
 
Defensively, the Mids used four goalies in the game. Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) picked up the victory, recording four saves, while surrendering five goals. Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.), Lindsey Ellison (Arlington, Va.), and Maddy Bell (Winter Park, Fla.) entered the game in relief, combining for a pair of saves and one goal allowed. For Ellison and Bell, it was their first appearances of the season.
 
The Navy defense caused 15 of Colgate's 23 turnovers on the day. Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) led the charge with four caused turnovers in the game. Heyward and Roelofs each added two CTs as well.
 
For her career, Valenti has a school record 99 caused turnovers and is one shy of becoming the sixth player in Patriot League history with 100 or more CTs.
 
Valenti also led the team with six ground balls, while Roelofs, Heyward, and Harchelroad added three apiece.