PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Navy women's lacrosse team (5-1) posted a 13-6 victory against No. 15 Drexel (3-1) on Tuesday afternoon at Vidas Field in Philadelphia, Pa. It was the first victory over a ranked opponent since the Mids defeated No. 16 Duke (W, 16-15) in 2020, while it was the highest ranked opponent Navy has beaten since the Mids' win over No. 11 Florida (W, 14-13) in 2019.
 
"It was a hard-fought game," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the victory. "Everyone associated with Navy women's lacrosse knew how tough this was going to be. We had to play a good solid game. We played consistently. We came up big on defense. The draws weren't always perfect, but I was happy with the scrappiness of the draws. Offensively, we were able to find the space against an All-Conference CAA goalie. We had to work on placing our shots and shooting better after Friday's game. The team took it to heart and the coaches worked really hard at designing plays for the team. That is the result we got, so I am extremely happy."
 
Navy was firing on all cylinders during the game against Drexel. The Mids tallied 13 goals and five assists for 18 total points in the game, while winning nine draw controls, picking up 23 ground balls, and causing eight turnovers. In addition, the Midshipmen recorded 12 saves.
 
Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) led the team with five points on a team-high four goals and an assist. She was joined by Lola Leone (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.) who each registered hat tricks with three goals apiece. Lindsay Beardmore (Annapolis, Md.) chipped in a pair of scores, while Gil Eby (Towson, Md.) also found the back of the net once.
 
Roelofs won six of Navy's nine draw controls in the game, while Kasey Dietzel (Warrington, Pa.) added two and Eby won one. Christine Fiore (Darien, Conn.) picked up a team-high four ground balls, while Alexis Bell (Johns Creek, Ga.), Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.), and Dietzel added three ground balls each. Seven different Mids recorded caused turnovers, led by Roelofs who finished with a pair.
 
At goal, Torres finished the game with 12 saves. It was the third double-digit save performance of the season for the sophomore and the fifth of her career.
 
In the first quarter, Navy was the only team to scratch the scoreboard. Beardmore converted a free-position opportunity with 6:33 remaining in the quarter to break the scoreless tie. Ryan followed with a goal a minute later to put the visitors in front 2-0. With two and a half minutes to play in the quarter, Eby buried the ball in the back of the net to put the Mids up three. Beardmore closed out the scoring in the quarter with her second free-position goal of the period to put Navy up 4-0.
 
The scoring continued for the Midshipmen in the second quarter. Roelofs took a pass from Bobbie Haney (Woodbine, Md.) and slipped it past the goalie for her first score of the contest. Leone followed with back-to-back scores to push the advantage to 7-0. Drexel chipped into the Navy lead with its first goal of the contest with 10 minutes remaining in the half. Roelofs closed out the scoring in the first half with her second goal, pushing the Mids' lead to 8-1 at intermission.
 
In the second half, Drexel opened the scoring with a goal 50 seconds into the quarter. Navy used a goal by Ryan with seven minutes remaining to push the lead back to seven goals, 9-2. Leone closed out the scoring in the quarter with a third goal of the game.
 
In the fourth quarter, Roelofs got things started with a goal to complete her hat trick. Drexel responded with a score, but Roelofs extended the advantage back to nine goals with her fourth score of the game. With two minutes to play, the Dragons scored a pair of goals to cut the margin to 12-5, but Ryan answered with a goal to cushion Navy's advantage. The home team used a goal with two ticks on the clock to provide the final margin of 13-6.
 
Navy returns to action on Thursday, March 10, as the Midshipmen welcome Johns Hopkins to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Opening draw is slated for 4:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.