ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's lacrosse team (7-3, 3-2 Patriot League, 1-2 PL South) concludes the regular season with a pivotal game against Bucknell (3-5, 3-4 PL, 1-2 PL South) in a Patriot League South Division match-up on Friday, April 30 at 6:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The winner of the game will earn the final spot in the Patriot League Tournament next week.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Joe Miller on the call and live stats will be available for the game.
 
Patriot League Announces Adjustments to Lacrosse Championships
The Patriot League has announced the expansion of the 2021 Patriot League Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championship fields from four to six teams. The six-team fields are a return to the League's lacrosse tournament format since 2014. The Patriot League Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships remain contingent on the League and its member institutions being able to conduct competition in ways that protect the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, staffs and their communities. Patriot League men's and women's lacrosse will continue under a divisional format through the 2021 season with the top three teams from the North and South Divisions qualifying for the League championship based on divisional winning percentage.
 
The women's and men's quarterfinal round will take place on Monday, May 3 and Tuesday, May 4, respectively. The No. 2 seed in the North and South Division will host the No. 3 seed in their respective divisions with the divisional champions receiving a bye. The women's and men's semifinals will remain on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7. The semifinal games will pit the North Division champion vs. the South Division quarterfinal winner and the South Division champion vs. the North Division quarterfinal winner. The Patriot League women's and men's lacrosse quarterfinals and women's semifinals will be available live on ESPN+. The Patriot League men's lacrosse semifinals and the women's and men's championship games will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
 
Spectator policies for the 2020-21 Patriot League Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships will be determined by the host institution.
 
Spectator Policy
Following the guidelines set by state and local government officials, spectators are allowed at home Navy women's lacrosse games. Fans will be required to wear a mask throughout the contest and asked to maintain social distancing.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Midshipmen are 7-3 on the season after posting a 20-13 road win over American last weekend. The victory puts the Mids in position to make the Patriot League Tournament. The winner of Navy and Bucknell advances to the tournament.
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen are led by Nicole Victory (Issaquah, Wash.), Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.), Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.), and Gil Eby (Towson, Md.). Victory paces the offense with a team-high 38 points on a team-best 24 goals and 14 assists. Roelofs is second on the squad with a fairly balanced with 15 goals and 11 helpers for 26 total points. Lazarides has tallied 25 points on 19 goals and six assists, while Eby has notched 16 goals with an assist for 17 total points.
 
Defensively, Navy is led by Christine Fiore (Darien, Conn.) and Caroline Kwon (Cooksville, Md.). The duo lead the team with 11 caused turnovers apiece, while Fiore paces the defense with 22 ground balls. Lauren Herrington (Round Rock, Texas) and Erin Carson (New Albany, Ohio) are two GB back of Fiore with 20 ground balls apiece.
 
Roelofs leads the team with 73 draw controls on the season. For her career, the junior has 246 draws and is 31 draws shy of tying Julia Collins (2015-18) for third all-time with 277.
 
Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) has worked her way into the starting lineup at goal for the Midshipmen. The freshman has appeared in seven games, making five starts. She has a team-high 50 saves in just under 328 minutes of action. Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.), who earned the victory against American, has also seen time in seven games with five starts. The junior has 18 saves and three wins on the year.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Bucknell is 3-5 (3-4 Patriot League, 1-2 PL South) on the season following its 19-8 loss at Army West Point on April 24.
 
Jackie Dando is in her second season as head coach. In her first year, the Bison posted a 3-5 record during their abbreviated 2020 campaign. Dando spent the previous seven years at Lebanon Valley College, posting an 82-49 overall record and a 41-14 conference ledger.
 
Laurel McHale leads the Bucknell offense with 18 points on 11 goals and seven assists, while Kali Peeples paces the squad with a team-best 13 goals. Katie Wendell has 16 points on on five goals with a team-high 11 assists.
 
Defensively, Emily Baird and Mason Rode lead the team with nine and eight caused turnovers, respectively. Rode adds a team-best 15 ground balls, while Lauren Kinnee adds 14 GB. On the draw, Ella Payer has won a team-best 21 DC, while Rode adds 17.
 
At goal, the Bison have used three keepers this season. Kinnee has seen a majority of the action, playing in seven games with six starts, logging 250 minutes. She owns a 2-4 record with 31 saves. Caitlin Tucker leads the team with 37 saves in five games, while Symone Ryans adds 11 stops in one game.
 
All-Time Series
The game marks the 13th meeting between the two teams in women's lacrosse. Navy holds a 12-0 (1.000) overall record against Bucknell, including 6-0 (1.000) mark in Annapolis.
 
The two teams did not play against one another in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, marking the first time in program history the two teams did not meet during a season.
 
Bucknell and Navy were originally scheduled to meet on March 7 in what would have been the Patriot League opener for both teams.
 
The winner of Navy and Bucknell will claim the final spot in the Patriot League Tournament. If the Midshipmen win, it will be the 13th appearance in the program's 14 seasons (2020 PL Tournament was canceled due to coronavirus). If the Bison win, they would qualify for the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2017. It would be Bucknell's eighth appearance in the PL Tournament.
 
Alexis Bell Named Finalist for 2021 YRL Unsung Hero Award
Navy women's lacrosse junior Alexis Bell was named a finalist for the prestigious 2021 Yeardley Reynolds Love (YRL) Unsung Hero Award, the One Love Foundation announced. Bell is one of five finalist among NCAA Division I, joining Colleen Huffman (Yale), Lila Nazarian (Syracuse), Molly Hagan (Notre Dame), and Molly Little (Denver). Of the five finalists, Bell is the only student-athlete who is not a senior.
 
The Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award recognizes the accomplishments of six student-athletes (two from each division) who help their teams achieve success in ways that may not be measured in goals, saves or ground balls. This honor places value on kindness and generosity, characteristics that are often undervalued in the competitively charged environment of college lacrosse.
 
The award recognizes the athlete who makes a significant contribution to the team while also bringing joy to teammates. The award recipients exhibit leadership as a positive role model and are involved in community service.
 
Women's Lacrosse Claims Pair of Patriot League Weekly Honors
The Patriot League announced its weekly women's lacrosse awards and Navy's Nicole Victory (Issaquah, Wash.) and Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.) were chosen as Attacker and Goalkeeper of the Week, respectively. It is the third time this season that Victory and Young have claimed Patriot League Athlete of the Week distinction.
 
Victory helped lead Navy to a 20-13 road victory over American on Saturday. The senior led the team with seven points on a team-high three goals and team-best four assists. It was Victory's sixth hat trick of the season and the 11th of her career. For Victory, seven points tied for a season high, while four assists was a season-high. She scored two goals and two assists in the first half, while completing the hat trick with a goal in the second half, while adding a pair of helpers. In addition, Victory picked up a pair of ground balls and caused two turnovers.
 
Young came into the game off the bench to earn the victory over American. She worked 33:34 between the pipes recording six saves, while allowing just three goals. Young entered the game with the score tied 7-7 and helped keep the Eagles scoreless while the Mids used a 9-0 run to take control of the game. Her six saves gave her 102 for her career, making her the seventh goalie in Navy history to record 100 or more saves in a career.
 
Last Time They Met (March 23, 2019)
The #14 Navy women's lacrosse team put forth a total team effort in order to notch a 17-4 victory over Bucknell at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen saw nine players combined for 17 goals on the day, while the defense held the Bison offense to four goals and 21 turnovers.
 
The Navy defense was stout holding the Bucknell offense to four goals on 17 total shots. The Bison committed 21 turnovers on the day, including seven caused turnovers by the Mids' defense. Seven different players finished with a caused turnover for Navy, including senior captain Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) whose CT with 8:52 remaining in the game gave her 100 for her career, making her the sixth player in Patriot League history with 100 or more caused turnovers. In addition, the defense helped facilitate the offense, helping the Midshipmen convert 19-of-21 clear attempts.
 
The defense held Bucknell from scoring for over 38 minutes (38:19) between the first and second halves. Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) surrendered two goals in the first half, working 30 minutes between the pipes with a pair of saves. In the second half, Navy used three goalies – Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.), Lindsey Ellison (Arlington, Va.), and Maddy Bell (Winter Park, Fla.) – who combined for a pair of saves and a pair of goals allowed.
 
In the draw, circle, Navy won 19-of-20 draw controls. The one draw the Midshipmen did not win came as Navy was whistled for moving early. Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) paced the team with nine draw controls, while Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) added five draws.
 
Offensively, nine different players scored at least one goal with five players notching multiple goals on the day. Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) and Moriah Snyder (Bel Air, Md.) each recorded hat tricks on the day with Larkin netting four goals and Snyder tallying three. For Snyder, it was her first collegiate hat trick.
 
Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.), Natalie Irwin (Annandale, Va.), and Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.) contributed two goals apiece, while Caitlin Blanche (Crofton, Md.), Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.), Carley Seekamp (East Hampton, N.Y.), and Nicole Victory (Issaquah, Wash.) each added goals on the day. Victory led the team with three assists, while Irwin also chipped in a pair of helpers.
 
Four different players scored for Bucknell on the day, while the Bison received 15 saves from their goalie Jamie DeWitt in a losing effort.