WEST POINT, N.Y. – The No. 23 Navy women's lacrosse team (12-4, 6-2 Patriot League) dropped a 15-11 decision to No. 16 Army (13-2, 7-1 Patriot League) on Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y. in the annual Star Game. The game, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, saw a momentum shift in the third quarter as a goal by the Midshipmen was disallowed after the officials ruled it as a dangerous shot. The Black Knights capitalized on the turn of events, taking advantage with a 3-0 run to regain a lead they would not relinquish.
 
"It was a tough game," head coach Cindy Timchal said. "We had momentum. We felt like we were doing the things that we needed to do to bring home a victory. They called back a shot, which was the turning point. I thought it was a great shot. The captains were amazing, playing until the end and keeping the team motivated throughout. If we are able to get a chance to play Army again, we have to play cleaner. We have to be smarter. They are a tough team and they were very scrappy. The draws hurt us a little bit today and we are going to go back and work on that. We will get back at it next week as we host Loyola with another opportunity to step out onto the field together."
 
With the loss to Army and a Loyola victory over Lafayette, Navy will be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. The Midshipmen will host a quarterfinal game of the conference tournament against a team yet to be determined on Sunday, April 30 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
 
Offensively, Navy five players combined to tally 11 goals with three assists. Emily Messinese (Manchester, Md.) and Ava Yovino (Parkland, Fla.) paced the team with three goals apiece. The hat tricks were the seventh and eighth of the season for Messinese and Yovino, respectively. Tori DiCarlo (Rosemont, Pa.) and Charlotte Ryan (Tully, N.Y.) added to scores apiece, while Leelee Denton (Nashville, Tenn.) added a goal. Maggie DeFabio (Summit, N.J.) paced the team with two assists with Messinese adding a helper to give her a team-high four points.
 
The Midshipmen caused eight of the Black Knights' turnovers on defense. Athena Corroon (Greenwich, Conn.) paced the defense with three caused turnovers, while Yovino added a pair of CT. Emma Richardell (Bethesda, Md.) worked a complete game at goal for the Midshipmen, finishing the game with eight saves. DeFabio led the team with five ground balls, while Katie Golbranson (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Grace Peterson (Mound, Minn.) added three apiece. DiCarlo and Richardell finished with a pair of ground balls each.
 
Army held a 17-12 advantage in draw controls, winning seven in the fourth quarter. Yovino paced the team with six draws with Alyssa Daley (Walkersville, Md.) winning five draw controls. Messinese rounded out the draws for Navy picking up one.
 
The game was a physical contest with Navy being called for 17 foul and seven yellow cards compared to seven fouls and one yellow card by the home team.
 
For the Black Knights, Allison Reilly led the way with a program-record 12 points on an Army record nine goals and three assists. Lindsey Serafine earned the win at goal, recording nine saves, while surrendering 11 goals.
 
Both teams' defenses stood strong in the first quarter, keeping the game scoreless for nearly 13 minutes of the opening stanza. Army was the first team to find the back oof the net, breaking the scoreless tie with 2:17 remaining in the period. Thirty-five seconds later, Navy used a goal by Denton to tie the game at 1-1. The Black Knights closed out the quarter with two goals in the final minute to go ahead, 3-1.
 
In the second quarter, the Midshipmen outscored the home team, 5-1, to take a two-goal advantage into halftime. Yovino knotted the score at 3-3, scoring back-to-back goals to start the scoring in the quarter. Following an Army goal, Messinese dented the net to tie the game at 4-4. DiCarlo gave the Mids the lead with her first score of the game and Ryan closed out the first-half scoring with a goal.
 
The second half started with an Army goal, but DiCarlo responded with her second score to push the advantage back to two goals. The Black Knights pulled to within one, 7-6, with just under 10 minutes remaining in the quarter. With 7:52 on the clock, the Midshipmen buried the ball in the back of the net, however, Navy was whistled for a dangerous shot, wiping the goal from the scoreboard. The call proved costly as Army was able to tie the game 30 seconds later. The Black Knights continued their momentum, finishing the quarter on a 5-1 run following the disallowed goal. Yovino scored the lone goal for the Midshipmen, completing her hat trick.
 
Army scored to open the fourth quarter, but Messinese followed with a goal to keep the game within reach. Back-to-back scores by the Black Knights pushed the advantage to 14-9, but once again Messinese dented the cage for the Midshipmen. Following an open-net goal by the Black Knights, Ryan provided the final margin slipping a goal past the Army keeper with 33 ticks on the clock.
 
Navy returns to action on Friday, April 28 as the Midshipmen welcome No. 10 Loyola to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network. Opening draw is slated for 6:00 p.m.