ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 23 Navy women's lacrosse team (12-3, 6-1 Patriot League) posted a 22-9 victory over Holy Cross (5-9, 2-4 Patriot League) on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Midshipmen clinched at least a quarterfinal home game in the upcoming 2023 Patriot League Tournament.
 
The game, which was presented by First Command, was Senior Day for the Midshipmen and the team's eight senior players – Maggie Aumiller (Crownsville, Md.), Erin Carson (New Albany, Ohio), Athena Corroon (Greenwich, Conn.), Casey Feinstein (Reisterstown, Md.), Zayda Fredericks (Sarasota, Fla.), Eloise Gebert (Pottstown, Pa.), Gabby Lavin (Gambrills, Md.), and Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.), along with student assistant, Maggie Cleary (Dunwoody, Ga.) – were recognized prior to the competition.
 
"It is always special when you step out onto the field here at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium," head coach Cindy Timchal said. "It was a special day for our seniors. Senior Day is a gift from the seniors to the younger players by playing tough and hard; as well as a chance for the underclass to show the seniors how much they mean to them. That is what Senior Day is all about. I think we were united in that opportunity today. I am proud of the team performing for all four quarters and bring home a victory."
 
The Midshipmen tallied a season-high 22 goals to go along with a season-best 12 assists in the win. Twelve different Mids found the back of the net with four registering multiple scores. In addition, seven Navy players were credited with assists with four notching multiple helpers.
 
Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.) led the way with five goals, while Ava Yovino (Parkland, Fla.) and Emily Messinese (Manchester, Md.) added four and three goals, respectively, while Isabelle Thornburg (Alexandria, Va.) added a pair of scores. Lindsay Beardmore (Annapolis, Md.), Maggie DeFabio (Summit, N.J.), Tori DiCarlo (Rosemont, Pa.), and Lola Leone (Bay Shore, N.Y.) joined seniors Aumiller, Corroon, Gebert, and Ryan with goals.
 
Yovino led the team with three assists, while Aumiller, DeFabio, and Ryan added two apiece. Denton, Messinese, and Katie Golbranson (Newport Beach, Calif.) each added assists in the game.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen caused 14 of the Crusaders' 25 turnovers. Corroon led the defense with four caused turnovers, while Lavin and Messinese added two apiece. Morgan Lewis (Alexandria, Va.), Grace Peterson (Mound, Minn.), Beardmore, Golbranson, Ryan, and Yovino finished the game with caused turnovers. Emma Richardell (Bethesda, Md.) worked 57 and a half minutes in the cage for Navy, finishing with five saves. Anne Culicerto (Charlotte, N.C.) closed out the final two and a half minutes with a clean sheet. The team tallied 25 ground balls on the day with Peterson (4), Lavin (3), Messinese (3), Beardmore (2), Golbranson (2), and Richardell (2) leading the charge.
 
Navy won the draw control battle, 19-14. Alyssa Daley (Walkersville, Md.) won a team-high six draws, while Messinese added five draws. Golbranson contributed three draw controls with Yovino chipping in a pair.
 
For the Crusaders, Lauren Drillock led the way with five of the team's nine goals. She added four ground balls, while winning a team-best four draw controls. Tori Cini worked a complete game at goal, registering 10 saves and surrendering 22 goals.
 
Holy Cross was the first team to score, but Navy countered with back-to-back scores. Aumiller took a pass from fellow senior Ryan and buried it in the back of the net to knot the game at 1-1. DeFabio gave the Midshipmen the lead, converting an eight-meter opportunity. Following a Crusader score, the Mids used goals by Messinese and Gebert to give Navy a 4-2 advantage through one quarter of play.
 
The visitors pulled to within one, 4-3, just 11 seconds into the second quarter, but Yovino pushed the advantage back to two goals. HC used a free-position goal to trim the margin to one, 5-4, but an 11-1 run by Navy that extended into the third quarter gave the home team a decisive 16-5 lead.
 
DiCarlo started the run with Denton following with her first goal of the afternoon. Yovino and Thornburg followed to push the advantage to five, 9-4. Leone and Denton closed out the first half with goals in the final 30 seconds of the first half to give Navy an 11-4 lead at intermission.
 
The run continued into the second half with Yovino notching back-to-back scores to push the margin to 13-4. Following a Holy Cross goal, Navy closed out the 11-1 run with goals by Beardmore, Messinese, and Ryan. The Crusaders trimmed the margin with a pair of goals, but Messinese pushed the lead back to double-digits with a goal to end the third quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, the visitors used consecutive scores to trim the margin to eight, 17-9, but Navy closed out the game with a 5-0 run to seal the victory. Denton rattled the cage three times during the run, while Thornburg added a score. Corroon took a pass from fellow senior Aumiller and slipped it past the keeper for the final goal of Senior Day, providing the final margin of 22-9.
 
Up next for the Midshipmen, Navy travels to West Point to take on No. 15 Army in the annual Star Game, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The game is slated for 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.