BALTIMORE, Md. – The No. 14 Navy women's lacrosse team (15-4) finished the Patriot League Tournament as the 2019 runner-up, falling to No. 11 Loyola (15-4), 21-9, on Saturday afternoon at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md.
Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.),
Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.), and
Nicole Victory (Issaquah, Wash.) were named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team.
"It is not what we expected," head coach
Cindy Timchal said after the game. "We came out strong, but credit to Loyola. They executed very well, especially No. 9 (Hannah) Powers. They had solid goaltending and defense. We had our opportunities. We tried to make a run in the second half, but they played precision lacrosse today to earn the championship and the victory today. We love Navy women's lacrosse. The team fought all the way to the end. It didn't go quite the way we expected, but hopefully we get an opportunity to play in the NCAAs."
Offensively, the Midshipmen scored nine goals on 24 shots. Heyward paced the team with three goals for her sixth hat trick of the season. Larkin added a pair of goals, while fellow junior
Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.) paced the squad with three assists.
Larkin's two goals gave the junior 337 career points, making her the all-time Navy and Patriot League leader. She passed former Midshipmen Jasmine DePompeo (2010-13) who finished her four-year career with 336 total points.
Freshman
Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) pulled down eight of Navy's 17 draw controls. Heyward chipped in four, while Harris added three.
Natalie Irwin (Annandale, Va.) was credited with two of Navy's three caused turnovers on the day. Senior captain
Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) paced the team with three ground balls, while
Caroline Kwon (Cooksville, Md.) added a pair.
Defensively,
Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was charged with the loss. The senior registered four saves in 36:07 minutes of work, but surrendered 15 goals. She split time with freshman
Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.) who finished with a pair of saves and six goals allowed.
Loyola's Sam Fiedler, Kady Glynn, Livy Rosenzweig, and tournament MVP Hannah Powers paced the Greyhounds combing for 23 points (10g 13a) and eight saves.
The game was physical with the two teams being whistled for 46 combined fouls (29 Loyola, 17 Navy) and 12 yellow cards (7-5 Loyola).
Navy was the first team to score as Harris converted a free-position opportunity to put the Midshipmen ahead 1-0. Loyola tied the game at 1, but a free-position goal by Victory and Heyward's first goal gave the Mids a 3-1 edge.
The Greyhounds took control of the game with six straight goals to go ahead 7-3. Heyward briefly halted the run with her second goal of the game, but Loyola responded with five straight scores to push the advantage to 12-4.
Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) ended the 11-1 run with a goal just before halftime to send the game into intermission, 12-5.
In the second half, Navy opened the scoring with back-to-back goals by Larkin and Heyward. Loyola responded with its second 6-0 run of the game to take an 18-7 advantage. Larkin and Irwin closed the gap to single digits with consecutive goals, but the home team closed the game with three straight scores to provide the final margin of 21-9.
With Loyola securing the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, Navy will look to become the second team in Patriot League history to earn an at-large berth into the postseason tournament. The NCAA Selection show is set to air on ncaa.com on Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m.
