ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 25 / No. 19 Navy women's lacrosse team (7-2, 1-0 Patriot League) returns to action on Saturday, March 25, as the Midshipmen travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on Patriot League foe Lehigh (6-2, 1-1 Patriot League) at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Opening draw is slated for 12:00 p.m.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
Navy Enters ILWomen / IWLCA Division I Poll
Navy entered the ILWomen / IWLCA Division I Poll this week, coming in at No. 25. It is the first time this season that the Midshipmen have been nationally ranked. In addition, the Mids are No. 19 according to US Lacrosse Magazine.
 
In its history, Navy has been ranked 71 total weeks, including a stretch of 46 weeks from the final poll of 2017 (May 30) to April 5, 2021. The Mids' first appearance in the national rankings came on March 11, 2013, coming in at No. 20. The Midshipmen's highest ranking – sixth – came in the final polls of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Last season, the Midshipmen were in the top 25 poll for seven weeks, rising as high as No. 17.
 
Denton Earns Multiple Athlete of the Week Nods
Attacker Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.) was named USA Lacrosse Magazine Division I Player of the Week, while also being tabbed Patriot League Attacker of the Week, as well as NAAA Co-Athlete of the Week. Denton helped Navy win a pair of games over the weekend, including a 13-12 victory over No. 19 Jacksonville and a 21-13 win on the road at Bucknell to open Patriot League play. She finished the week with 11 goals on 11 shots, including a pair of game-winning goals.
 
The Nashville, Tenn. native opened the week with a career-high six goals against the nationally-ranked Dolphins, finishing a perfect six goals on six shots, including the game-winning goal. The junior followed that showing with a 5-for-5 performance on the road versus the Bison. Additionally, Denton finished 2-for-2 in free-position opportunities, while also adding a ground ball. The pair of hat tricks gave the junior four on the season and 11 for her career.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy enters the week 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen have won five consecutive games and four of the last five road contests this season. As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 135 goals with 67 assists, while picking up 144 ground balls, winning 147 draw controls, and causing 74 turnovers.
 
Entering the week, freshman Ava Yovino (Parkland, Fla.) leads the NCAA in assists (36), assists per game (4.00), and points (57), while ranking second nationally in points per game (6.33). In addition, the rookie is second on the team with 21 goals, adding 26 draw controls, 10 ground balls, and eight caused turnovers to her credit.
 
Yovino is joined atop the Navy leaderboard by Emily Messinese (Manchester, Md.) and Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.). Messinese, who is second on the team with 32 points, leads the squad with 24 goals, while adding eight assists with four hat tricks. Denton notched 11 goals on 11 shots last weekend to give her 20 goals on the season, while adding four assists for 24 total points. Denton is the team's active leader with 11 career hat tricks, including tying Messinese with four in 2023.
 
Maggie DeFabio (Summit, N.J.), Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.), Lola Leone (Bay Shore, N.Y.), and Tori DiCarlo (Rosemont, Pa.) round out Navy's double-digit point scorers. DeFabio has 19 points on 16 goals and three of assists, while Ryan has 15 goals and a helper for 16 total points. Leone (15 pts) is one point back with 14 goals and an assist, while DiCarlo (13) has notched nine goals with four helpers.
 
Defensively, Emma Richardell (Bethesda, Md.) has logged nearly 535 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. The sophomore goalkeeper has notched 59 saves with 19 ground balls and four caused turnovers. The sophomore registered her first double-digit save performance against No. 18 Richmond, finishing with 10 stops against the Spiders, while topping that performance with 11 saves against No. 19 Jacksonville. Athena Corroon (Greenwich, Conn.) leads the team with 24 ground balls, followed by Grace Peterson (Mound, Minn.) and Richardell who have picked up 20 and 19 GB, respectively. Corroon leads the team with 12 caused turnovers, while Erin Carson (New Albany, Ohio) and Peterson follow with 10 and nine.
 
Additionally, Messinese leads the team with 32 draw controls, while Maura Murphy (Woodbine, Md.), Yovino, and Alyssa Daley (Walkersville, Md.) have each won more than 20 draws this season. Murphy has 29, Yovino has 26, and Daley has 25. Against Bucknell, the Midshipmen won a school record 27 draws as a team, led by a career-high 14 draws by Daley.
 
All-Time Series
The game between the Midshipmen and Mountain Hawks marks the 21st meeting between the two teams in women's lacrosse. Navy holds a 14-6 (.700) overall record against Lehigh. The Mids are 5-4 (.556) against the Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Pa., including a pair of road losses in 2021.
 
Last season, the Midshipmen used a strong second half to record an 11-7 victory over Lehigh, outscoring the Mountain Hawks 7-1 after halftime, to snap a two-game skid in the series. Before the back-to-back losses to the Mountain Hawks during the 2021 season, the Midshipmen had won 11 in a row and 13 of the prior 15 meetings. The last time the two teams met in Bethlehem, Lehigh earned a 13-12 overtime win against Navy in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament.
 
Scouting the Opposition
The Mountain Hawks enter the week with a 6-2 overall record, including a 1-1 mark in the Patriot League. Lehigh opened conference play with a pair of road games, defeating Lafayette (W, 15-3) and falling to No. 9 Loyola (L, 16-6).
 
Prior to the season, Lehigh was picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League in a vote cast by the conference's coaches and sports information directors, while Navy was picked to finish third. The Mountain Hawks placed three – Hayley Hunt, Gabby Schneider, and Emma Eberhardt – on the Preseason All-Conference team.
 
The Mountain Hawks are led by Olivia Memeger, Schneider, Eberhardt, and Katia Carnevale. Memeger leads the team with 36 total points on 20 goals and a team-best 16 assists, while Schneider (31) has eclipsed the 30-point plateau with 18 goals and 13 assists. Eberhardt has 17 goals and nine helpers for 26 points, while Carnevale leads the team with 22 goals, adding three assists for 25 points.
 
Hunt has played and started every game at goal for Lehigh. The junior has logged over 405 of the team's 482 minutes at goal, leading the team with 59 saves with a 48.8 save percentage and a 9.17 goals against average.
 
Up Next
Following the game this weekend, Navy returns home for a pair of Patriot League games against Lafayette (Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.) and Colgate (Saturday at 12:00 p.m.) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.