ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's lacrosse team is poised to open the 2022 campaign at home against Cal on Friday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Entering the year with 199 wins, the Midshipmen will be looking for program win No. 200 against the Golden Bears.
 
Opening draw is set for 3:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
COVID-19 Policy
As per Department of Defense regulations, those who have not been vaccinated must wear a mask at all times when on the USNA grounds and those who have been vaccinated have the option to wear a mask while outdoors but must wear a mask while indoors.
 
All-Time Series
The game between Navy and Cal will mark the third meeting between the two teams. The series is tied 1-1 with each team winning at their home facility. The Golden Bears claimed the first meeting between the two teams (W, 13-6) in 2011 with the Midshipmen claiming the 2012 meeting (W, 15-5) in Annapolis.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Entering the 2022 season, the Navy women's lacrosse team is looking to build off of an 8-4 campaign a year prior. The Midshipmen return 22 letterwinners, including eight starters, while welcoming 13 newcomers into the squad. The Mids are relatively balanced with nine seniors, nine juniors, 13 sophomores, and 12 freshmen.
 
Navy returns starters Gil Eby (Towson, Md.), Christine Fiore (Darien, Conn.), and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) who all earned 2021 All-Patriot League distinction, while also being tabbed Preseason All-Conference heading into 2022. The trio combined for 54 points on 40 goals and 14 assists with 117 draw controls, 59 ground balls, and 28 caused turnovers.
 
Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) returns between the pipes for the Midshipmen. As a freshman, Torres logged 427 minutes in nine games with six starts. She recorded a team-high 65 saves with four wins to her credit.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Cal enters the season looking to rebound from a 2-16 campaign in 2022. The Golden Bears were limited to the West Coast for games, playing a 10-game Pac 12 season. As a team in 2021, Cal scored 159 goals with 58 assists for 217 total points. In addition, the Golden Bears picked up 282 ground balls, while winning 218 draw controls and causing 126 turnovers. At goal, Cal used a pair of keepers who amassed 145 saves, while allowing 243 goals with a goals against average of 13.49.
 
This year, California will look to its four captains to lead the way. Cal head coach Brooke Eubanks announced that seniors Quinnlyn Mason, Catherine Roxas, Liz Scott and McKenna Vranicar were selected as team captains for the 2022 season.
 
Fiore, Roelofs Selected as Women's Lacrosse Team Captains
Navy women's lacrosse head coach Cindy Timchal announced that seniors Christine Fiore (Darien, Conn.) and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) will be team captains for the 2022 campaign. Fiore will serve as the defensive captain, while Roelofs will captain the offense.
 
Fiore, who was named First Team All-Patriot League honors as a junior, earned a starting role on defense during the 2021 season. She has played in 25 games, making 12 starters, including starting all 12 games last year. Fiore has picked up 30 ground balls, while causing 20 turnovers and winning four draw controls.
 
Roelofs earned Second Team All-Patriot League distinction last season. She has played and started all 39 games of her career. Roelofs has netted 55 goals with 24 assists for 79 total points. She ranks fourth in program history with 267 career draw controls. In addition, Roelofs has picked up 36 ground balls and caused 11 turnovers.
 
Patriot League Preseason
In a vote cast by the league's coaches and sports information directors, the Navy women's lacrosse team has been picked to finish second in the 2022 Patriot League Preseason Poll, it was announced by the conference office Wednesday morning. Additionally, seniors Gil Eby (Towson, Md.), Christine Fiore (Darien, Conn.), and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) were named to the preseason all-league team.
 
The Patriot League announced its preseason poll with Loyola secured 18 of the 20 first-place votes (eligible for only 18 due to not being able to vote for your own team) and amassed 162 points to top the poll. Navy accounted for the remaining two first-place votes and totaled 143 points to finish second in the balloting. Army was third with 121 points, followed by Lehigh (116), Boston (95), Colgate (95), Holy Cross (57), Bucknell (47), American (45), and Lafayette (19).
 
The 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team was unveiled and the 16-woman team is made up of four graduate students, nine seniors, and three juniors. Eight of the 10 teams placed players on the preseason team. Loyola had a league-best six selections each, while Navy was second with three representatives. Army placed two on the list with American, Boston, Colgate, Holy Cross, and Lehigh rounding out the team with one selection each.
 
Coaching Additions
During the offseason, head coach Cindy Timchal announced the addition of three new coaches to the Navy women's lacrosse staff. Brooke Shriver joined the Navy women's lacrosse program as the associate head coach, while Brindi Griffin, who led the University of Maryland to the 2017 and 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse National Championships, joined the team as an assistant. In January, Timchal announced that Maddie McDaniel, a national champion with James Madison in 2018, joined her coaching staff as a volunteer assistant for the 2022 season.