JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The No. 16 Navy women's lacrosse team (6-1) posted a 17-9 victory over Jacksonville (2-5) on Saturday afternoon 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.
 
"I am so proud of the team offensively and defensively," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "This was our first big road game of the season. We had a lot of big performances today. Tori had five goals; Meeks had three. It is great to see so many players making contributions out there on the field. Jacksonville played us tough and hard today. We had a tremendous amount of support down here with a lot of alumni coming out to the game. It was a highlight to be down here in Jacksonville and have this amount of Naval Academy spirit around us."
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen netted 17 goals on 32 shots. DiCarlo led the way with five goals, giving the junior six consecutive games with a hat trick. Lola Leone, Emily Messinese, and Mikayla Williams also added hat tricks on the day. For Messinese, it was the sixth hat trick of the season, while it was the third of the year for Leone. Williams' hat trick mark the first of the freshman's Navy career. Kat McAteer contributed a pair of goals, while Anna Gotterup also found the back of the net.
 
Messinese led the team with two assists, while DiCarlo, McAteer, Williams, Maggie DeFabio, and Emma Kennedy added helpers in the game.
 
The Navy defense held its sixth opponent of the season to single-digit goals. Freshman goalkeeper Felicia Giglio registered five saves in just under 58 minutes of action. She gave way to Emma Richardell who posted a clean scorecard in two-plus minutes. Giglio tied Williams with a team-high two caused turnovers, while DiCarlo, Leone, Caroline Gage, Jaclyn Johns, and Caroline Stefans were also credited with caused turnovers. Johns, Stefans, and Grace Peterson led the way with two ground balls apiece.
 
The Midshipmen won the draw control battle on the day, 17-11. Alyssa Daley led the way with nine individual draw victories. Messinese won four draws with Williams adding a pair. Peterson and Isabelle Thornburg also won draws on the day.
 
For Jacksonville, Mackenzie Boyle and Brianna Samuels led the way with two goals apiece. Boyle and Lauren Ellis added the only assists of the game for the Dolphins. Paige Pagano earned the start at goal registering two saves and surrendering six goals in a quarter of play. She gave way to Addy Tysdal who worked the final three quarters with five saves and 11 goals allowed.
 
The Dolphins opened the scoring with a goal four minutes into the first quarter, but the Midshipmen countered with a 6-0 run to take an early lead. With just under five minutes remaining in the opening period, DiCarlo knotted the game at 1-1 with her first goal of the game. McAteer gave Navy the lead with her first score. DiCarlo completed her hat trick with two more goals in the first quarter, while Messinese netted her first score of the game during the run. McAteer finished the run with a goal to give the Mids a 6-1 lead after one quarter.
 
In the second quarter, JU trimmed the margin to 6-3 with back-to-back goals to start the period. Navy countered with three straight scores to push the advantage to 9-3. Messinese opened the run with a goal. Williams converted a free-position opportunity for her first score of the day. She followed with a goal off of a Kennedy assist to push the advantage to six. Jacksonville scored three of the next four goals to trim the margin to 10-6. Leone netted a free-position goal to prevent a 3-0 run. The Navy offense closed out the first half with three straight scores to go into halftime up, 13-6. Leone scored her second goal of the quarter, while DiCarlo netted her fourth score of the half. Williams ended the half with her third goal to give the freshman her first collegiate hat trick.
 
The second half saw the Dolphins cut the Midshipmen lead to five on two occasions. JU opened the third quarter with two goals to trim the margin to 13-8, but Messinese extended the advantage back to six with her third goal of the game. Jacksonville ended the third quarter with a goal to trim the Navy lead to 14-9.
 
In the fourth quarter, it was all Navy as the Midshipmen outscored the home team, 3-0. DiCarlo netted her fifth goal of the game, while Leone completed her hat trick with a goal off of a Messinese assist. Gotterup provided the final margin with her third goal of the season.
 
Navy returns to action next week as the Midshipmen begin Patriot League competition with a road contest at Colgate. Opening draw in Hamilton, N.Y. is slated for 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 16. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.