ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #21 Navy women's lacrosse team (4-2) dropped a 17-8 decision to #18 Drexel (9-1) on Wednesday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen fell behind 6-0 early and were unable to generate enough offense to mount a comeback.
 
"I thought we did a lot of good things tonight," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "We were winning the draw and getting shots off, but unfortunately, our first six shots, we didn't score and they did. We were playing another good team; another ranked team. They had some players that gave us some problems, but when you look at the stats, we played a pretty tough game. We won 14 draws and had 12 saves. We thought we were in it a little bit in the second half, but we were unable to capitalize on our opportunities tonight."
 
Offensively, Navy was led by Gil Eby (Towson, Md.) who recorded her first collegiate hat trick notching a team-high three goals. Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.) and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) chipped in two goals apiece, while Nicole Victory (Issaquah, Wash.) added two points with a goal and an assist. Moriah Snyder (Bel Air, Md.) also contributed a helper in the game.
 
Navy was able to edge Drexel, 14-13, in draw controls. Roelofs led the way for the Midshipmen, winning 12 draws on the night. The 12 draws were a season-high for Roelofs and was the second time this season the junior recorded double-digit draws.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen caused eight of the Dragons' 14 turnovers in the game. Kasey Dietzel (Warrington, Pa.), who made her first collegiate start, and Lauren Herrington (Round Rock, Texas) paced the team with two caused turnovers apiece. Eby and Roelofs led the team with three ground ball each, while Herrington and Caroline Kwon (Cooksville, Md.) added two apiece.
 
At goal, the Mids used a pair of goalies. Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.) earned the start, but she gave way to rookie Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) after 17 minutes. Torres was able to record 12 saves in nearly 43 minutes of action, including 10 stops in the second half. It was the second time this season the freshman has registered double-digit saves.
 
Drexel jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, scoring goals on all six of their first shots on goal. Navy ended the run as Eby found the back of the net for her first goal of the night. Following a Dragon goal, Victory scored to trim the margin to 7-2. The visitors added a pair of scores before the half and took a 9-2 advantage into intermission. The Dragons converted nine of their 11 shots on goal in the first half. Conversely, the Midshipmen placed eight shots on goal, but were only able to come away with two goals.
 
In the second half, Navy was able to be more balanced on offense and play nearly even with Drexel. The Dragons opened the half with a goal, but Navy responded with three straight goals. Lazarides netted a pair of goals in the mini-run with Eby capping the run with her second goal, cutting the deficit to 10-5. Drexel added two scores before Roelofs found the back of the net. The two teams swapped goals with Roelofs and Eby adding a score apiece to make the score 14-8. The Mids would get no closer as the Dragons scored the final three goals of the game to provide the final margin, 17-8.
 
Navy returns Patriot League action this weekend as the Midshipmen head to Bethlehem, Pa. for a conference game against Lehigh on Saturday. Opening draw is slated for 12:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available throughout the game.