WORCESTER, Mass. – The No. 24 Navy women's lacrosse team (12-2, 6-0 Patriot League) posted a 13-9 victory against Holy Cross (5-8, 2-4) at Kuzniewski Field in Worcester, Mass. on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Midshipmen secured a spot in the 2022 Patriot League Tournament
 
"We are happy to come away with a win today," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "Holy Cross is a really a tough team. We made some adjustments early on and were able to shut them down for the most part in the third quarter. I am proud of the team's response, and keeping Holy Cross to single digits. We take pride in our defense and want to continue that as we move forward. Offensively, we were able to make some shots and had multiple players contribute goals on the day. Their goalie played really solid today, but we were able to make enough shots to come away with the victory. It was a great day for Navy women's lacrosse today and looking forward we are excited to host American and Army this week."
 
Offensively, Navy scored 13 goals on 34 shots with four assists on the day. Seven Midshipmen scored goals on the day, including five with multiple scores. Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) led the way with three goals for her eighth hat trick in the last nine contests. Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.), Tori DiCarlo (Rosemont, Pa.), Kasey Dietzel (Warrenton, Pa.), and Gil Eby (Towson, Md.) added two scores apiece. For DiCarlo, it was the freshman's first multi-score game of her young career. Bobbie Haney (Woodbine, Md.) led the way for Navy with two assists, while Lindsay Beardmore (Annapolis, Md.) and Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.) each added helpers.
 
The Midshipmen dominated the draw control battle, winning 18 of 26 draws in the game. Roelofs led the way with 10 draws, marking the 15th time in her 52-game career that she won double-digit draw controls. Dietzel added four, while Eby finished with three and Isabelle Thornburg (Alexandria, Va.) won one.
 
Defensively, the Navy back line limited the home team to nine goals on 19 shots. This season, the Midshipmen have held all six Patriot League opponents to single-digit goals performances.
 
The Mids caused 10 of the Crusaders' 23 turnovers on the day with eight Midshipmen being credited with caused turnovers. Alexis Bell (Johns Creek, Ga.) and Erin Carson (New Albany, Ohio) led the way with two caused turnovers apiece. Navy finished with 20 ground balls and converted 19 of 21 clear attempts. Jo Torres (Prince Frederick, Md.) finished with two saves and three ground balls in a winning effort. Bell and Eby added three ground balls each, while Carson, Dietzel, and Haney recorded two GB apiece.
 
Navy wasted little time scratching the scoreboard as Roelofs found the back of the net just 21 ticks into the game. The lead would be short lived as Holy Cross responded with four consecutive goals during the first quarter to pull ahead 4-1. Eby closed out the quarter with a goal to trim the margin to 4-2 heading into the second quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Midshipmen outscored the Crusaders, 4-2, to even the game at halftime. Dietzel pulled the Mids to within one with her first goal, but Holy Cross converted a free-position opportunity to push its advantage to 5-3. Haney and Ryan scored back-to-back goals to knot the game at 5-5. Roelofs scored the go-ahead goal to put the Midshipmen up 6-5, but HC answered with 28 seconds left on the clock to send the game into halftime knotted at 6-6.
 
The third quarter was almost all Navy as the Midshipmen outscored the Crusaders, 6-1, in the period. Roelofs opened the run, converting a free-position attempt. Denton and Dietzel pushed the advantage to 9-6 with scores in the quarter. Following a Holy Cross goal, Navy closed out the period with goals from Eby, DiCarlo, and Denton to push the advantage to 12-7.
 
Holy Cross scored a pair of goals in the fourth quarter to pull to within three, 12-9, but DiCarlo's second score of the afternoon provided the final margin of 13-9.
 
Navy returns to action next week with a pair of Patriot League games. The Mids open the week with American on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+ before hosting rival Army on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.