ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 23 Navy women's lacrosse team (10-3, 4-1 Patriot League) travels to the nation's capital for a midweek Patriot League game against American (6-6, 2-3 Patriot League) on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at Jacobs Recreational Complex. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy enters the week 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen won eight consecutive games before being edged, 12-11, on the road by Boston University. As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 193 goals with 87 assists, while picking up 221 ground balls, winning 194 draw controls, and causing 120 turnovers. In Patriot League games, the Mids have scored 79 goals with 28 assists with 92 ground balls, 74 draw controls, and 55 caused turnovers.
Entering the week,
Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.) and
Ava Yovino (Parkland, Fla.) rank in the top 5 in the NCAA. Yovino is third nationally in points per game (5.54), while ranking fourth in assists (41) and assists per game (3.15) and fifth in points (72). Denton is fifth in the NCAA in shot percentage (.652).
Yovino leads the team with 72 points, 31 goals, and 41 assists. She is joined by
Emily Messinese (Manchester, Md.) who is tied with Yovino with 31 goals, while adding eight helpers for 39 points. Denton is third on the team with 30 goals and is the team's active leader with 13 career hat tricks, including a team-high six in 2023.
Maggie DeFabio (Summit, N.J.),
Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.),
Lola Leone (Bay Shore, N.Y.),
Tori DiCarlo (Rosemont, Pa.), and
Lindsay Beardmore (Annapolis, Md.) round out Navy's double-digit point scorers. DeFabio has 24 goals and five assists for 29 points, while Ryan has 26 points on 20 scores and six helpers. Leone (23 points) boasts 22 goals and an assist, while three points back is DiCarlo (20) who has notched 16 goals with four helpers. Beardmore has a balanced seven scores and five assists for 12 points.
Defensively,
Emma Richardell (Bethesda, Md.) has logged 765 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. The sophomore goalkeeper has notched 92 saves with 27 ground balls and six caused turnovers.
Athena Corroon (Greenwich, Conn.) leads the team with 33 ground balls, followed by
Grace Peterson (Mound, Minn.) and Richardell who have picked up 28 and 27 GB, respectively. Corroon leads the team with 16 caused turnovers, while
Erin Carson (New Albany, Ohio) follows with 14. Yovino and
Katie Golbranson (Newport Beach, Calif.) have caused 12 and 11 turnovers.
Additionally, Messinese leads the team with 40 draw controls, while
Alyssa Daley (Walkersville, Md.), Yovino, and
Maura Murphy (Woodbine, Md.) have each won more than 20 draws this season. Daley has 37 draws, while Yovino has 33. Murphy has won 29 draws on the year. Golbranson adds 12 draws with DeFabio and Ryan winning 10 apiece to close out Navy's double-digit draw control winners.
All-Time Series
The game marks the 18th meeting between the two teams. Navy holds a 16-1 (.941) overall record against American, including a 7-1 (.875) mark on the road. The Midshipmen have won 15 in a row against the Eagles.
Navy and American have met on the lacrosse field at least once every season since the Midshipmen became full Division I with the exception of 2020 when the conference season was canceled due to COVID.
The Mids defense has held AU to single digits eight times, including a series low one goal in 2014, while the Navy offense has registered 15 or more goals in the last six contests.
Last season, Navy defeated American in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament, 23-13, to advance to the PL Semifinals.
Scouting the Opposition
The Eagles enter the week with a 6-6 overall record, including a 2-3 mark in the Patriot League. After opening the conference season 2-0, American has dropped its last three Patriot League games, falling to No. 9 Loyola (L, 19-7), No. 13 Army (L, 18-10), and Lehigh (L, 16-11).
American is led by Maddy Spratt who has a team-high 35 points on 23 goals and a team-best 12 assists. Annabelle Jackson (24 goals), Kellie Linehan (21), and Hannah Spease (21) also have over 20 goals apiece.
At goal, Mary Alice Collins has played and started 10 of 12 games for AU. Collins has registered 88 saves with a 44.0 save percentage and an 11.90 goals against average. Lexi Rakis has played four games in the cage with a pair of starts, notching 23 saves and 41 goals allowed.
Former Navy women's lacrosse goalie Ingrid Boyum ('18), who was a part of the Mids' 2017 Final Four and 2018 Elite Eight runs, serves as a volunteer assistant coach for American.
Navy Remains Ranked in ILWomen / IWLCA Division I Poll
The Navy women's lacrosse team remains ranked in the latest ILWomen / IWLCA Division I Poll, coming in at No. 23. In addition, the Mids are also receiving votes according to US Lacrosse Magazine.
The Midshipmen entered the polls at No. 25 before moving up the following week to No. 24 and coming in No. 20 last week.
In its history, Navy has been ranked 74 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.
Up Next
Following Wednesday's game, Navy continues Patriot League play at home with a game against Holy Cross on Saturday, April 15 at 12:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game against the Crusaders will be Senior Day for the Midshipmen. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. NOTE: Saturday's game is part of a doubleheader with the Navy men's lacrosse team (vs. Lafayette – 3:30 p.m.).
