ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 17 Navy women's lacrosse team (8-2, 2-0 Patriot League) used a strong second half to record an 11-7 victory over Lehigh (3-6, 0-2) on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen outscored the Mountain Hawks, 7-1, in the second half to remain undefeated in the Patriot League.
 
"Offensively, we started off the game a little tight, which is uncharacteristic for us," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "We had to let loose and kind of play free. Credit to Lehigh. They came in here really focused and determined. They scored a couple of goals early that caught us by surprise. I think that Lehigh's goalie was really impactful for them, coming up with some big saves. We had to regroup early. I thought that we played some good lock-down defense, especially in the second half. We wanted to be as aggressive as we could. In the second half, we were able to score some goals and rely on our defense to secure the win. I am proud of the team."
 
Offensively, the Mids scored 11 goals on 35 shots with a pair of assists. Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.) led the way with three goals apiece, while Kasey Dietzel (Warrington, Pa.) added a pair of scores. Lindsay Beardmore (Annapolis, Md.), Gil Eby (Towson, Md.), and Bobbie Haney (Woodbine, Md.) rounded out the scoring with a goal each. Beardmore and Roelofs registered assists in the contest.
 
Navy finished the game with nine draw controls, 23 ground balls, eight caused turnovers, and 11 saves.  Roelofs and Dietzel led the team with three draws apiece, while Eby won a pair of draws. Eby, Alexis Bell (Johns Creek, Ga.), and Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) led the team with four ground balls each with Dietzel adding three GB. Athena Corroon (Greenwich, Conn.) and Grace Loughery (Perkasie, Pa.) led the team with three and two caused turnovers, respectively.
 
Torres won her seventh game of the season, working a complete game at goal. The sophomore tallied 11 saves in the game, marking her fourth double-digit performance of the season and the sixth of her young career. Torres held the Lehigh offense to just seven goals scored, limiting the Mountain Hawks to just one goal in the second half.
 
Katia Carnevale and Emma Eberhardt led the way for Lehigh, netting three and two goals, respectively. Goalie Hayley Hunt finished the game with a team-best 17 saves.
 
Lehigh jumped out to an early lead, using a 3-0 run in the first 15 minutes of action to take a three-goal advantage through one quarter of play. It was the second time this season that Navy had been held without a goal for a quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Ryan wasted little time, netting the Mids' first goal of the day one minute into the second period on a free-position opportunity. Ryan scored on another free-position chance to trim the deficit to one, 3-2. The Mountain Hawks scored, but back-to-back goals by Ryan and Roelofs knotted the score at 4-4. Carnevale scored a pair of goals for Lehigh to close out the half, putting the visitors in front 6-4 at intermission.
 
Beardmore found the back of the net three minutes into the third quarter, cutting the margin to one, 6-5, but an Eberhardt goal pushed the Mountain Hawks' advantage back to two goals. Dietzel cut the deficit to one and Roelofs tied the game at 7-7 with 3:25 to play in the third quarter. Eby scored what proved to the game-winning goal with 39.9 ticks remaining on the clock in the third period. It was Navy's first lead of the game and a lead the Mids would not relinquish.
 
In the fourth quarter, Roelofs extended Navy's advantage with her third goal to complete the hat trick. Dietzel's second goal pushed the Mids' lead to three, 10-7. Haney closed out the scoring with a goal to provide the final margin of 11-7.
 
Navy returns to action next week with a pair of Patriot League road games. The Mids open the week at Lafayette with a midweek tilt with the Leopards on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Navy concludes the week with a road trip to Hamilton, N.Y. to take on Colgate on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.