ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 18 Navy women's lacrosse team (7-1, 1-0 Patriot League) squares off against undefeated and nationally-ranked Loyola (7-0, 2-0 Patriot League) at the Ridley Athletic Complex on Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. in Baltimore in a pivotal Patriot League matchup. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
The game features two of the Patriot League's top teams historically. Navy and Loyola have combined to win the last 13 Patriot League Tournament Championships. The Mids have won six championships in that span, while the Greyhounds have won seven titles, including the last four championships that were held. (NOTE: No tournament in 2020 due to corona virus pandemic)
 
Since joining the Patriot League for the 2014 season, Loyola is 93-3 (.969) against Patriot League opponents including an unblemished 77-0 record in regular-season conference contests. Navy is the ONLY Patriot League school to defeat Loyola, besting the Greyhounds in the conference tournament twice (2017, '18) and NCAA Tournament once (2018). All three victories for Navy occurred at Loyola.
 
All-Time Series
The game marks the 17th meeting between the two teams in women's lacrosse. Loyola holds a 13-3 advantage in the series.
 
Navy is the only Patriot League team to post a victory against Loyola, defeating the Greyhounds three times. All three Navy victories against Loyola have come at the Ridley Athletics Complex.
 
The Midshipmen picked up a win over Loyola in the 2017 PL Championship (W, 15-5), snapping the Greyhounds' 41-game winning streak against conference opponents.
 
The Mids followed the 2017 PL Championship win with a second consecutive conference title win in 2018 (W, 17-10), while also defeating the Greyhounds in the second round of the NCAA Tournament (W, 19-15) the same year.
 
Loyola head coach Jen Adams (Maryland '01) played collegiate lacrosse at the University of Maryland for current Navy head coach Cindy Timchal. Under Timchal's direction, Adams and the Terrapins went 83-4 (.954) in four seasons with two perfect seasons and four National Championships. Adams was the first recipient of the Tewaaraton Trophy in 2001.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The No. 18 Navy women's lacrosse team enters the week 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the Patriot League. In their last outing, four different Midshipmen recorded hat tricks, while the defense held another opponent to single digits as Navy began Patriot League play with a 19-7 road win against Colgate at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 124 goals with 51 assists, while picking up 137 ground balls, winning 140 draw controls, and causing 67 turnovers.
 
Entering the week, Emily Messinese leads the team with 35 points with on 27 goals, while adding eight assists. The junior has registered seven hat tricks in the first eight games of 2024, including a career-long five consecutive hat tricks to start the season.
 
With six points in the Patriot League opener against Colgate, Messinese topped the 100-point plateau becoming the 21st player in Navy history with 100 or more points. She currently sits at 101 points on 81 goals and 20 assists.
 
Messinese is joined atop the Navy leaderboard by Tori DiCarlo who leads the team with 28 goals, while adding four assists for 32 total points. DiCarlo enters the game against Loyola with career-long seven consecutive hat tricks, including a seven-goal performance against Villanova and a five-goal day at Jacksonville.
 
Kat McAteer is third on the team with 23 total points. The sophomore has a balanced 11 goals with a team-high 12 assists to her credit.
 
Lola Leone is fourth in points (22) and third in goals (17). She has four hat tricks on the year, including three consecutive heading into Wednesday's game. Mikayla Williams moved into fifth on the team with 18 points on 12 goals and six assists. Maggie DeFabio has 10 goals with six assists for 16 points to round out Navy's double-digit point scorers.
 
Defensively, Felicia Giglio has logged nearly 435 of the 480 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. The freshman goalkeeper has notched 46 saves with 14 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Emma Richardell, who had nine saves against Loyola a season ago, has recorded a pair of saves in just over 42 and a half minutes of action in 2024.
 
DeFabio leads the team with 16 ground ball, while Williams is one back with 15. Caroline Stefans (14 GB) and Giglio (14) close out the Mids' double-digit ground balls.
 
Stefans has caused a team-high 10 turnovers, ahead of freshmen Caroline Gage, Jaclyn Johns, and Williams who have caused six turnovers apiece. Fellow freshman Giglio has five CT.
 
Alyssa Daley leads the team with 72 draw controls. The junior ranks ninth in program history with 149 career draws and is one (1) draw back of Caitlin Mandrin Hill (150 draws) for eighth. Messinese, Williams, and Stefans follow with 25, 12, and 10 draws, individually. Messinese has 99 total draws and is just four shy of becoming the 13th Midshipmen with 100 or more career draws controls.
 
Scouting the Opposition
The Greyhounds enter the week with a 7-0 overall record with a 2-0 mark in the Patriot League. Most recently, Loyola edged Army, 14-13, in West Point, N.Y.
 
Chase Boyle, Georgia Latch, and Sydni Black all enter the game with over 30 points. Boyle leads the team with 39 points on a team-high 31 goals with eight assists. Latch follows with 38 points on 24 goals and a team-best 14 helpers. Black has 34 points on 25 goals with nine assists.
 
Boyle leads the Greyhounds with 72 draw controls, while Black and Latch follow with 30 and 22, respectively. Lauren Spence leads the team with 23 ground balls, while Black and Ellie Rinehart pace the Greyhounds with eight caused turnovers each.
 
Spence has played and started all seven games for Loyola, working over 360 minutes in the cage, recording 41 saves with 51 goals allowed.
 
National Rankings
The Navy women's lacrosse team remained ranked 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 85 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.
 
Navy Pair Receives Patriot League Weekly Honors
The Patriot League announced its weekly women's lacrosse awards and Navy's Caroline Stefans and Felicia Giglio received recognition. Stefans claimed Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third time this season, while Giglio was tabbed Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the first time.
 
The duo anchored a Navy defense that held its seventh opponent in eight games to single-digit goals, limiting Colgate to seven goals in a 19-7 Midshipmen victory to start Patriot League play.
 
Stefans caused a team-high two turnovers, while picking up a ground ball and winning four draw controls. The senior held Colgate's leading point scorer – Kyra Lucey – to no goals and just one shot in the game. Stefans was a crucial member of Navy's draw control unit that won 18 draws, winning four draws individually and helping teammate Alyssa Daley secure a game-high eight draw controls. Additionally, she was important in the Mids' transition game, helping the Midshipmen convert 20 of 21 clear attempts.
 
Giglio recorded a career-high eight saves, including three stops on free-position opportunities against the Raiders. The freshman registered a balance game, recording four saves in each half. She posted a 6.72 goals against average in 53 and a half minutes of action to pick up her seventh victory of the year. Additionally, Giglio tied a career high by picking up three ground balls.
 
Up Next
Following the game with Loyola, Navy continues Patriot League competition at home against Boston University of Saturday, March 23 at 12:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.