PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The No. 15 Navy women's lacrosse team (1-1) used career nights by several key players to post a 19-12 victory over Saint Joseph's (0-2) on Wednesday evening at Sweeney Field in Philadelphia.
 
Senior attacker Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) matched a career high with 10 points, falling just one goal and one assist shy in career bests in each category. Her five helpers gave the senior 167 for her career, tying her with Jasmine DePompeo (2010-13) for the Navy all-time record in assists.
 
Larkin was joined offensively by fellow senior Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) who also notched a career best with four goals scored on the night.
 
Sophomore Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.), who made her second career start at goal, finished with a career best 12 saves on the day. She allowed nine goals in just over 56 minutes of play to earn her first victory of the season and the second of her Navy career. Young had seven saves in the first half, while adding in five stops in the second.
 
"We came out strong tonight after a tough loss against No. 8 Virginia on Saturday," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "Saint Joseph's has always played us tough in this series and tonight was no different. I am really proud of our team for coming out and putting on a good performance. Kelly got back on track tonight. Abbi was great for us tonight. It was a great team effort. We need to clean up some of our turnovers, but we have to get ready for tough Duke team on Sunday."
 
Eight players finished the game with points scored. Larkin led all scorers with 10 points, pacing the offense with five goals and five helpers. Heyward chipped in a career high four goals, while Nicole Victory (Issaquah, Wash.) added two goals and two assists for four points. Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.) added a hat trick with three scores, while Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) notched a pair of goals and an assist for three points. Roelofs led the team with 12 draw controls on the night, while Harris added five and Heyward closed out the game with three.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen forced seven of the Hawks' 11 turnovers in the game. Senior captain Natalie Irwin (Annandale, Va.) joined Heyward with the team lead with two caused turnovers apiece. Harris, Roelofs, and Moriah Snyder (Bel Air, Md.) added CTs in the game. Freshman Athena Corroon (Greenwich, Conn.) led the team with three ground balls in just her second collegiate game. In addition, the defense helped facilitate the offense, converting 17 of 20 clear attempts on the night.
 
Navy opened the game with a 4-0 run to take an early lead. Larkin netted her first goal of the season to begin the scoring for the Midshipmen, while Harris followed with her first goal of the game. Larkin added a helper on Roelofs first score of the game to put Navy up 3-0, and Heyward capped the run with her first score of the game.
 
Saint Joseph's answered with three straight scores to close the gap to 4-3, but back-to-back goals by Larkin and Roelofs pushed the advantage back to three scores, 6-3.
 
Following a Hawks goal, the Midshipmen finished the half with a 6-1 run to take a 12-5 lead into halftime. Victory opened the run with a goal, while Harris chipped in her second score of the day. Up a player, Irwin found the back of the net to put the Mids up 9-4. The home team scored, but Navy closed the opening frame with three straight goals. Heyward sent back-to-back shots into the back of the net to complete her first-half hat trick. With eight ticks remaining on the clock, Larkin dumped a pass off to Harris who slipped it by the goalie to give her a hat trick.
 
In the second half, Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.) opened the scoring for the Midshipmen with her first goal of the year. The Hawks converted two scoring opportunities, including a free position to close the gap to 13-7.
 
Navy scored six of the next eight goals, including a 4-0 run to put the game out of reach. Larkin began the 4-0 run with her third goal of the game, while Heyward scored on a man-up opportunity. Irwin converted a free-position opportunity to put the Mids up 16-7. Larkin's fourth goal of the game put Navy up by double digits and started the running clock with 21 minutes to play.
 
Saint Joseph's closed the gap to nine with a goal with 20 minutes to play, but Larkin once again pushed the advantage to double digits with her fifth score of the night with 9:45 to play. Following a Hawks goal, Victory scored what would be the final Midshipmen goal of the night to put Navy in front 19-9. 
 
The Hawks scored three goals in the final four minutes to provide the final margin, but the Mids claimed the 19-12 victory.
 
Navy returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 16, as the Midshipmen welcome the No. 21 Duke Blue Devils to Annapolis. Opening draw between the Mids and the Blue Devils is slated for 12:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game will be live streamed on the Patriot League Network and live stats will be available. Admission to the game is FREE.