ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 12 Navy women's lacrosse team (4-1) plays host to the top team in the country on Wednesday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, as the Midshipmen welcome No. 1 Boston College (6-0) to Annapolis. Opening draw is slated for 7:00 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for the game.
 
Larkin, Valenti Earn Weekly Accolades
The Patriot League announced its weekly women's lacrosse honors on Monday afternoon and Navy's Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) and Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) were selected as Patriot League Attacker and Defender of the Week, respectively. In addition, Larkin was named the Naval Academy Athletics Association (NAAA) Athlete of the Week, presented by Northrop Grumman.
 
Larkin helped lead Navy to a pair of victories over Villanova (W, 14-6) and a come-from-behind win over No. 11 Florida (W, 14-13). The junior scored nine goals with two assists for a team-best 11 points on the week. In addition, she picked up four ground balls and a caused turnover. Against Villanova, Larkin led the team with a career-high six goals to go along with two assists for eight points. The Alexandria, Va. native had three goals on five shots against No. 11 Florida, helping the Mids to a 14-13 victory over the Gators. She sparked the 5-0 run to close out the game with a free-position goal for the first score of the run. Larkin closed the run by scoring the game-winner with 16.5 seconds remaining, burying a Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) pass into the back of the net. She was also credited with the game-winning goal against Nova.
 
Valenti anchored a Navy defense that posted a pair of victories on the week. She finished the week with a team-high seven ground balls and a team-best four caused turnovers. The defensive captain opened the week with two ground balls and three caused turnovers against Villanova, limiting the Wildcats to just six total goals in the game. Against No. 11 Florida, Valenti finished the game with a team-best five ground balls and a caused turnover. In addition, she facilitated the offensive attack, helping the Mids convert 37-of-44 clear attempts (.841) on the week.
 
All-Time Series
The game between Navy and Boston College will mark the fifth meeting between the two programs, and the second time the two teams have squared off in Annapolis.
 
The two teams met in the 2017 Final Four with the Eagles edging the Mids, 16-15 to advance to the National Championship game – their first of two consecutive appearances.
 
The game will mark the third time that Navy will play the No. 1 team in the country. The Mids are 0-2 all-time against the No. 1 team in the nation. Navy played No. 1 Maryland in the 2011 NCAA Tournament (L, 19-6) and No. 1 Northwestern during the 2012 regular season (L, 20-8).
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy improved to 4-1 on the season with  a 14-13 come-from-behind victory over No. 11 Florida on Saturday. The Mids scored the final five goals of the game to take their first lead with 16.5 seconds remaining in the game.
 
This season, Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) leads the team with 26 points, scoring team-best 15 goals and boasting a team-high 11 assists. Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.) is second with 17 points thanks to 14 goals scored. Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) and Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) are also in double-figure points with 15 (9g 6a) and 11 (9g 2a), respectively. Heyward leads the team with 29 total draws, while Harris is second with 23. Heyward paces the team with 12 caused turnovers. Freshmen Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Moriah Snyder (Bel Air, Md.) are first and second among the Mids' freshmen class with six and four goals, correspondingly. Roelofs is the top freshman in draws with 12.
 
Defensively, goalie Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has logged just over 281 of the 300 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. This season, she is 3-1, including a victory over a ranked opponent. The senior has made 29 stops with 16 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Freshman Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.) has played in a pair of games, earning her first collegiate victory over No. 11 Florida. Young has four saves in two appearances and just under 19 total minutes of work.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Boston College is currently 6-0 on the season and nationally ranked No. 1. Navy will be the third ranked opponent the Eagles have faced this season.
 
BC enters the game after posting a 12-9 victory against No. 24 USC. Sam Apuzzo became Boston College's top all-time point scorer as she ended the day with seven points, pushing her career total to 316.
 
Four members of the Boston College's team have been named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Kenzie Kent, Sam Apuzzo, Dempsey Arsenault, and Elizabeth Miller have been placed on the initial 50-athlete list. Apuzzo, the reigning award recipient, is the first Tewaaraton winner in Boston College program history.
 
Boston College's head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein, an Annapolis native, played for Navy's head coach Cindy Timchal at Maryland. She played for the Terrapins and was an IWLCA All American as well as an All-ACC selection.
 
Last Time vs. Boston College (Feb. 27, 2018)
The No. 8 Navy women's lacrosse team fell short on the road, 20-14, to No. 2 Boston College in a hard-fought game at the Newton Lacrosse Complex.
 
For the first time this season, Navy did not win the draw control battle, as Boston College came away with 22 of 35 draw controls on the day. The extra possessions helped lead to more shots for the Eagles as the home team outshot the Midshipmen 33-26. In addition, BC came away with more ground balls (14-8).
 
Offensively, Navy had seven players combined for 14 goals with three players tallying multiple goals in the game. Jenna Collins (Clarksville, Md.) led the team with five goals and an assist for a team-best six points. She was joined by her sister Julia who finished the game with three goals for her second hat trick of the year. Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) notched two goals and an assist for three points, while Meg O'Donnell (Forest Hill, Md.), Molly O'Sullivan (Centreville, Va.), Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.), and Caitlin Blanche (Crofton, Md.) each chipped in a goal apiece. Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.), who scored a career-best six goals against the Eagles in the NCAA Semifinal game last season, was held without a goal, but the sophomore led the team with three of the Mids' five assists on the day.
 
Defensively, Ingrid Boyum (Herndon, Va.) took the loss at goal, surrendering 20 goals, while recording six saves on the day. The senior caused two turnovers between the posts, while picking up a team-high four ground balls in the game. As a team, Navy caused six of Boston College's 11 turnovers. The backline also helped the Midshipmen convert 15 of 16 clear attempts.
 
Boston College  All-American Sam Apuzzo scored a game-high nine goals, while adding an assist for a game-high 10 points.
 
Last Time Out
The No. 17 Navy women's lacrosse team scored the final five goals of the game to come from behind and upset No. 11 Florida, 14-13, on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids trailed by as many as five goals in the second half, but chipped away at the deficit to take the lead with under 20 seconds to win the game.
 
Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) gave Navy its first lead of the game with 16.5 seconds remaining in the game, and Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) grabbed the ensuing draw control – her 10th of the game – to secure the victory.
 
Trailing 10-5 in the second half, navy used a free-position shot by Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.) and a goal by Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) to trim the margin to just three. Following a Florida goal, Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) and Roelofs closed the gap to two with back-to-back goals. With five and a half minutes to play, the Gators scored to push the advantage to 13-9.
 
Navy scored the final five goals of the game over the final 4:30 to post the come-from-behind victory.
 
Larkin opened up the run with a free-position goal. Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.) took a pass from Roelofs and buried it into the back of the net to trim the margin to 13-11. Harris followed with an unassisted goal to close the gap to one. O'Sullivan knotted the game at 13-13 with her fourth goal of the game.
 
Florida won the next draw control, but the Gators' shot attempt was wide and the Midshipmen backed the shot up to gain possession with under a minute to play. Navy worked the ball around the arc and Heyward was able to find Larkin cutting towards the goal. Larkin buried the ball in the back of the goal to give the Mids their first lead of the game with 16.5 seconds remaining.
 
Heyward sealed the victory by winning the final draw of the game and running the final seconds off the clock.
 
Navy finished the game with 14 goals on 29 shots. The Mids won 16 of 28 draws on the day, while playing nearly even in ground balls (Florida 19, Navy 18).
 
O'Sullivan paced the offense with four goals, while Harris and Larkin chipped in three goals apiece. Roelofs added two goals and an assist for three points, while Heyward finished with a goal and an assist to go along with a team-best 10 draw controls.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen tallied 12 saves in the game. Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) started the game, recording eight saves and allowing 10 goals. She gave way to freshman Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.) who closed out the final 15:49 for her first collegiate victory. Young registered four saves, while allowing three goals. Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) paced the team with five ground balls with Heyward adding four. O'Sullivan caused a team-best two turnovers on the day.