ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 18 Navy women's lacrosse team (6-1, 0-0 Patriot League) is set to open up Patriot League play on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. as the Midshipmen will play Colgate (0-7, 0-1 Patriot League) at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
All-Time Series
The game marks the 20th meeting between the two teams and the 11th competition in Hamilton, N.Y. Navy holds a 15-4 (.789) overall record against Colgate, including a 9-3 mark away from home. The Midshipmen have won eight in a row against the Raiders and 15 of the last 16 meetings.
 
It is the third time in program history that Navy will open Patriot League play against Colgate and the second time the two teams will begin conference competition against one another in Hamilton. The Midshipmen posted a 13-12 overtime victory over the Raiders to start Patriot League play in 2018 in Annapolis, while the Mids notched an 18-6 win at Colgate the following season to start the conference season.
 
Last season, Navy's youth led the way as the Midshipmen freshmen and sophomores combined to score 12 of Navy's 15 goals in the game, en route to a 15-10 victory at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
 
The last time the two teams met in Hamilton, N.Y., Navy used a stellar defensive performance to post a 12-5 road victory against Colgate at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The No. 18 Navy women's lacrosse team enters the weekend 6-1 overall. In their last outing, the Midshipmen posted a 17-9 victory over Jacksonville at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Led by a five-goal performance by Tori DiCarlo, four different Midshipmen finished the game with hat tricks, while the Mids' defense held their sixth opponent of the season to single digit goals.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 105 goals with 40 assists, while picking up 126 ground balls, winning 122 draw controls, and causing 59 turnovers.
 
Entering the weekend, Emily Messinese leads the team with 29 points with a team-best 24 goals, while adding five assists. The junior has registered six hat tricks, including a career-long five consecutive hat tricks to start the season, in the first seven games of 2024.
 
Messinese is joined atop the Navy leaderboard by DiCarlo who also has 24 goals, while adding three assists for 27 total points. DiCarlo enters the game against Colgate with career-long six consecutive hat tricks, including a seven-goal performance against Villanova and a five-goal day in the last outing against Jacksonville.
 
Kat McAteer is third on the team with 20 total points. The sophomore has nine goals with a team-high 11 assists to her credit.
 
Lola Leone is third on the team with 14 goals, while adding four assists for 18 points. Following her first collegiate hat trick, Mikayla Williams moved into fifth on the team with 16 points on 11 goals and five assists. Maggie DeFabio has nine goals with five assists for 14 points to round out Navy's double-digit point scorers.
 
Defensively, Felicia Giglio has logged over 381 of the 420 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. The freshman goalkeeper has notched 38 saves with 11 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Emma Richardell, who had 10 saves against Colgate a season ago, has recorded a pair of saves in just over 36 minutes of action in 2024.
 
Following a seven-ground ball performance against No. 20 Richmond, DeFabio leads the team with 15 GB. DeFabio is followed by Williams who has picked up 14 ground balls. Caroline Stefans (13 GB) and Giglio (11) close out the Mids' double-digit ground balls.
 
Stefans has caused a team-high eight turnovers, just ahead of freshmen Caroline Gage and Williams who has caused six turnovers apiece. Fellow freshmen Jaclyn Johns and Giglio have five CT each.
 
Alyssa Daley leads the team with 64 draw controls. The junior ranks ninth in program history with 141 career draws and is nine (9) draws back of Caitlin Mandrin Hill (150 draws) for eighth. Messinese and Williams follow with 22 and 12 draws, individually. Messinese has 96 total draws and is just four shy of becoming the 13th Midshipmen with 100 or more career draws controls.
 
Scouting the Opposition
The Raiders enter the weekend with a 0-7 overall with an 0-1 record in the Patriot League. Most recently, Colgate dropped a midweek road game to Siena on Tuesday, falling 16-9. The Raiders began conference play on Saturday, March 9 at home against Holy Cross, dropping a 15-13 decision to the Crusaders.
 
Caroline Panzirer leads the Raiders in points (18) and assists (13). Kyra Lucey and Kait Henning are tied for the team lead with 11 goals apiece. Lucey is second on the team with 16 points, while Henning is third with 14 points. Lucy Licata (9g 2a) rounds out Colgate's double-digit point scorers with 11 points.
 
Licata leads the Raiders with 27 draw controls, while Gracie DeSimone (15), Devon Maillet (13) and Kendall Belanger (10) follow with double-digit draw wins. Lauren Solis leads the team with 24 ground balls, while Nelle Kniffin paces the Raiders with 10 caused turnovers.
 
Solis has played and started all seven games for Colgate, working roughly 405 minutes in the cage, recording 65 saves with 107 goals allowed.
 
National Rankings
The Navy women's lacrosse team moved to No. 18 in the ILWomen / IWLCA Division I Poll this week. In addition, the Mids are receiving votes in the US Lacrosse Magazine poll.
 
In its history, Navy has been ranked 84 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.
 
The Midshipmen opened the year ranked No. 25 in the preseason ILWomen / IWLCA Poll.
 
Williams Named Patriot League Rookie of the Week
The Patriot League announced its weekly award winners and Navy women's lacrosse freshman Mikayla Williams was selected as the conference's Rookie of the Week. It is the second time this season that Williams has earned the honor.
 
Williams was Navy's top freshman on the week, recording seven points on five goals and a pair of assists in two games during the week, while adding two caused turnovers, two draw controls, and a ground ball. The freshman scored multiple goals in each game, including her first collegiate hat trick.
 
She registered three points with two goals and an assist on a rainy Wednesday night against Drexel, while picking up a ground ball versus the Dragons. On the road against Jacksonville, Williams helped Navy post a 17-9 victory with four points on three goals and an assist with two draw controls and two caused turnovers. The three goals marked the first collegiate hat trick for the freshman.
 
Up Next
Following the game with Colgate, Navy continues Patriot League competition with a road contest at Loyola on Wednesday, March 20 (6:00 p.m.) before hosting Boston University of Saturday, March 23 (12:00 p.m.). Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.