ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's lacrosse team (3-0) continues the nonconference portion of the schedule with a pair of games this week. The Mids hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Emmitsburg, Md. for a Wednesday afternoon game against Mount St. Mary's (2-1) before closing out the week at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a Friday evening game against Saint Joseph's (1-2). Opening draw against the Mount is slated for 3:00 p.m., while the Mids versus the Hawks is set for 5:00 p.m.
 
Both games will be live streamed with Wednesday's game airing on NEC Front Row and Friday's contest being broadcast on ESPN+. Live stats will be available for both games.
 
Navy 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.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy enters the week 3-0 on the young season with all three wins coming at home. The Midshipmen hit the road for the first time this season on Wednesday before returning home on Friday.
 
The Mids are 2-0 all-time against Mount St. Mary's and 10-0 (1.000) versus current members of the Northeast Conference (NEC).
 
With victories over George Mason (W, 14-8) and George Washington (W, 16-3), the Midshipmen are 22-1 (.957) against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, including a 3-0 mark against Saint Joseph's.
 
Offensively, Navy has tallied 65 points on 48 goals and 17 assists in three games this season.
 
The Mids are led by Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.), Kasey Dietzel (Warrington, Pa.), Lindsay Beardmore (Annapolis, Md.), Lola Leone (Bay Shore, N.Y.), and Gil Eby (Towson, Md.). Denton paces the offense with a team-high 11 points on a team-best nine goals. Dietzel is second on the team with nine points, including a team-high five assists. Beardmore is third with a balanced attack of five goals and three assists for eight points, while Leone (5g 2a) and Eby (5g 2a) round out the top five with seven points apiece.
 
Dietzel leads the team with 11 draw controls, while Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) is second with nine and Emily Messinese (Manchester, Md.) has won seven draws.
 
Defensively, the Mids picked up 63 ground balls, caused 23 turnovers, and tallied 25 saves.
 
Grace Loughery (Perkasie, Pa.) has grabbed a team-high eight ground balls, while Messinese and Dietzel have added seven and six, respectively. Erin Carson (New Albany, Ohio) leads the team with four caused turnovers, while Loughery, Messinese, and Alexis Bell (Johns Creek, Ga.) have added three apiece.
 
Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) leads the team with 23 of Navy's 25 saves in 168:56 minutes of action. Torres has earned three victories with a 52.3 save percentage. She is joined by Emma Richardell (Bethesda, Md.) and Anne Culicerto (Charlotte, N.C.) who have combined for two stops in 11 minutes of action.
 
Scouting Mount St. Mary's
The Mountaineers kick off a three-game homestand against the Mids before taking on Binghamton and High Point over the next week and a half.
 
The Mount is coming off a 10-9 triple-overtime loss to La Salle on Saturday. Dani Donoghue scored four goals in the loss.
 
The Mountaineers defeated UMBC, 10-9, last Wednesday after Zoe Hurlburt scored the game-winner with 46 seconds remaining. Jordan Groover added a hat trick and an assist, while Madison Bradley made a career-high 12 saves.
 
Mount St. Mary's junior midfielder Dani Donoghue was named the NEC Player of the Week announced by the league office.
 
Scouting Saint Joseph's
The Hawks enter the week 1-2 on the young season. SJU opened the season with a loss to Maryland (L, 20-6) before picking up a victory against Lehigh (W, 13-11). Saint Joseph's dropped a 15-11 decision to Temple on Saturday.
 
Temple won the first quarter with an 8-2 margin, including the first six scores of the game. The teams traded the final four scores with the Hawks' coming in unassisted fashion from Sydney Foster and Rilea Fusco. St. Joe's chipped away at the deficit in the second frame with a 3-2 advantage. Temple tallied the first score before Emma O'Neill found the back of the net. The Owls scored another and then the Hawks tallied the final two with one apiece from Bonnie Yu and Sophia Kolkka. Temple led 10-5 at the half.
 
SJU outpaced Temple in the third 5-3 to cut the deficit to 13-10. Fusco, Yu, Kolkka, O'Neill, and Lisa Ross tallied the scores for the Hawks. Temple continued to keep the lead through the fourth with a 2-1 scoring differential. Kolkka recorded the lone score for SJU.
 
All-Time Series vs. Mount St. Mary's
The game between Navy and Mount St. Mary's will mark the third meeting between the two teams. Navy holds a 2-0 advantage in the series.
 
The first meeting between the two teams came in 2011 as the Mids posted a 14-4 victory at home, while the second meeting came in 2021 with Navy edging the Mount, 10-8.
 
Wednesday's meeting will mark the first time the two teams will square off against one another in Emmitsburg.
 
All-Time Series vs. Saint Joseph's
The game marks the fourth meeting between the two teams in women's lacrosse. Navy is 3-0 in the series with a pair of wins in Philadelphia.
 
The two teams faced off on the lacrosse field each year from 2018 to 2020, but did not face each other in 2021.
 
The Hawks' head coach Alex Kahoe (Maryland '00) played for current Navy head coach Cindy Timchal at the University of Maryland. Kahoe was a part of the teams that won five National Championships and three ACC Championships. A three-time All-American, ACC Goalie of the Year, and two-time NCAA Goalie of the Year, she also earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 1997. Kahoe was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame on October 3, 2014.
 
Messinese Named Patriot League Rookie of the Week (Feb. 21, 2022)
The Patriot League announced its weekly women's lacrosse award winners and Navy freshman Emily Messinese (Manchester, Md.) was selected as Rookie of the Week. She helped the Midshipmen to a pair of victories on the week, defeating George Mason (W, 14-8) and George Washington (W, 16-3).
 
Messinese tallied four points on four goals on the week, adding seven ground balls, six draw controls, and three caused turnovers. The freshman scored her first two collegiate goals in the win against George Mason, picking up six ground balls, causing three turnovers, and winning a pair of draw controls. Against George Washington, Messinese added another two goals with four draw controls and a ground ball.
 
Last Time Out: Navy 16, George Washington 3 (Feb. 19, 2022)
On a cold windy evening in Annapolis, the Navy women's lacrosse team rolled to a 16-3 victory over George Washington at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen had 10 different players score goals during the game, including five with multiple goals.
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen had 10 players score goals. Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.) paced the offensive attack with a team-best three goals in the game. Lola Leone (Bay Shore, N.Y.) finished the game with two goals and two assists for a team-high four points. Gil Eby (Towson, Md.), Emily Messinese (Manchester, Md.), and Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) each added two goals apiece, while Lindsay Beardmore (Annapolis, Md.), Kasey Dietzel (Warrington, Pa.), Kate Hartnett (Wayne, Pa.), Jaimeson Meyer (Sandy, Utah), and Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.) each scored.
 
Defensively, Navy held George Washington to just three goals in the game. Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) earned the win at goal, finishing the game with six saves in just over 50 minutes of action. Emma Richardell (Bethesda, Md.) logged eight minutes between the pipes with a pair of stops and no goals allowed. Anne Culicerto (Charlotte, N.C.) finished the game, registering a clean sheet in her first collegiate action.
 
Navy won 19 of 23 draw controls in the game. Roelofs led the team with five draws in one quarter of play, while Messinese contributed four draws and Dietzel added a pair.