ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #21 Navy Women's Lacrosse team (4-1, 1-1 Patriot League, 0-1 PL South) dropped its first game of the season to #13 Loyola (6-2, 3-0 PL, 3-0 PL South) on a rainy Wednesday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The loss snaps the Mids' four-game winning streak to start the season and extends the Greyhounds' regular-season Patriot League winning streak to 55 games.
 
"It was just little things," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "They got off to a red-hot start, but we responded. From there, I thought we had some decent defensive stops, but then, uncharacteristically, turning the ball over in critical situations. There is really no excuse for this for Navy Women's Lacrosse. We will use this to grow and get better. The score doesn't reflect who we are as a team."
 
"We are going to learn from it," Timchal added. "We have to get back to playing as a family. When things got tough, the body language wasn't there for us. Those are things that are high priority for Navy Women's Lacrosse, to stand tall. One loss does not define us as a team. A wonderful opportunity for us to grow as a program and to get better when we step back out onto the field."
 
Offensively, Navy was led by Ellie Lecker (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.). Lecker scored a team-high two goals, while Roelofs posted four points on a goal and a career-high three assists. Isabelle Thornburg (Alexandria, Va.), Gil Eby (Towson, Md.), and Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.) each scored goals in the game, while Nicole Victory (Issaquah, Wash.) chipped in a pair of helpers for two points in the contest.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen caused nine of the Greyhounds 21 turnovers. Erin Carson (New Albany, Ohio) led the defense with two caused turnovers and four ground balls, while Lauren Herrington (Round Rock, Texas) added a career-high five ground balls.
 
At goal, freshman Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) earned her first collegiate start. After a rocky start, she settled in to finish the game with four saves. Torres and the Navy defense held the potent Loyola offense scoreless for the final 20 minutes of the game.
 
Loyola's Emily Wills and Sam Fiedler each scored a game-high three goals in the contest, while two-time All-American Livy Rosenzweig paced all players with five points on a pair of goals and five assists.
 
The Greyhounds won the draw control battle in the first half, claiming 11 of 16 in the first stanza, leading to extra possessions and helping the visitors take an 11-4 lead into halftime. In the second half, Navy was able to win five of six draws to pull to within two draws in the final tally, 12-10.
 
In the first half, Loyola jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the first seven minutes with Lecker providing the Mids' lone goal. Navy fought back and tied the game at 4-4 with 17:50 to play in the first half thanks to goals by Thornburg, Eby and Lecker.
 
Tied at four, the Greyhounds used a 10-0 run that spanned into the second half to take control of the game. The Midshipmen broke the 34-minute scoring drought as Roelofs found the back of the cage for a score with 13:30 on the clock. Three minutes later, Victory found Denton for a score to cut the margin to 14-6. The defenses for both teams stood strong and did not allow a goal for the final 10 minutes of action giving the nationally-ranked Greyhounds the victory.
 
Navy returns to action on Wednesday, April 7, as the Midshipmen welcome #18 Drexel to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a nonconference match up. Opening draw is slated for 5:00 p.m. and live stats will be available for the game.