ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 21 Navy women's lacrosse team (10-3, 4-1 Patriot League) returns home to take on Army (6-6, 4-1 Patriot League) in the annual Star Game on Saturday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corp Memorial Stadium. The game, which is presented by USAA, will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp and Leah Secondo calling all of the action.
Navy is one win away from clinching the overall 2023-24 Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA, as it currently leads Army, 12-9-1, with four Star competitions remaining. Including women's lacrosse, the final Army-Navy contests are: men's lacrosse (Saturday, 1:00 p.m. in West Point), women's lacrosse (Saturday, 4:15 p.m. in Annapolis), men's tennis (Saturday, April 20 in Annapolis), and baseball (Friday-Sunday, April 26-28 in West Point).
As part of Saturday's Army-Navy women's lacrosse game presented by USAA: the first 100 midshipmen to arrive will receive a free small (8") Ledo Pizza; the first 100 fans to arrive will receive a free Navy t-shirt; and the first 500 fans to arrive will receive a "Beat Army" pennant. USAA is a proud sponsor of Navy Women's Athletics.
All-Time Series
The game marks the 11th meeting between the two teams and the sixth time the two teams will meet for the Star. Navy holds a 7-3 (.700) overall record against Army, while the Mids are 3-2 in Star Games against the Black Knights (the first Star Game was played in 2018).
Navy opened the all-time series with six straight victories, including claiming the first three Star Games (2018, '19, '21). Army has won three of the last four meetings, including back-to-back Star competitions (2022, '23).
The all-time series began in 2016 with the Midshipmen claiming an 11-5 win in West Point. The following year, Navy posted a 22-7 victory in Annapolis.
The first Star Game came in 2018 with the Mids recording a 20-7 win over the Black Knights in West Point. The following year, Navy earned a Star victory at home with a 21-8 win at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Later in 2019, the two teams met again in the Patriot League Tournament with Navy notching a 20-10 win in the semifinals to advance to the conference title game.
In 2021, Navy had a three-week ROM (restriction of movement) with no games or practice prior to taking on Army. Despite a slow start, the Mids rallied for the final three goals of the game to post a 13-12 victory in West Point.
Army claimed its first Star in the series in 2022, posting a 14-9 win over Navy in Annapolis. The Midshipmen were able to avenge the loss with a 16-6 win later that season in the Patriot League Tournament in Baltimore.
Last season, the two teams once again met twice with the Black Knights winning each contest. Army earned a 15-11 Star win in West Point. The two teams once again met in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. Navy was edged 12-11 in double overtime to No. 15 Army. The game was the first overtime contest between Army and Navy and it was the second multi-overtime game in Patriot League Tournament history.
Scouting the Midshipmen
The No. 21 Navy women's lacrosse team enters the weekend 10-3 overall with a 4-1 mark in Patriot League play. In their last outing, the Midshipmen posted a 13-9 victory over Holy Cross at Kuzniewski Field in Worcester, Mass., snapping the Crusaders' eight-game winning streak. The two teams were tied 7-7 at halftime, but the Mids used a second-half burst, outscoring the Crusaders 6-2, to secure the four-goal victory.
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 203 goals with 79 assists, while picking up 208 ground balls, winning 237 draw controls, and causing 96 turnovers.
Entering the weekend,
Emily Messinese and
Tori DiCarlo lead the team with 61 and 49 points, respectively. Messinese has 61 points with on 49 goals, while adding 12 assists. DiCarlo is second on the team with 49 points on 42 goals with seven helpers. Messinese has posted a team-best 12 hat tricks in 13 games, while DiCarlo has registered 10 hat tricks to this point.
Kat McAteer is third on the team with 37 total points. The sophomore has a balanced 20 goals with a team-high 17 assists to her credit.
Lola Leone is fourth on the team with 24 goals and five assists for 29 total points with five hat tricks on the year.
Mikayla Williams is fifth in points with 28 points on 17 goals and 11 assists, while
Maggie DeFabio has 16 goals with 10 assists for 26 points to round out Navy's 20 or more-point scorers.
Emma Kennedy has posted a balanced attack of eight goals and seven assists for 15 points, while
Lindsay Beardmore also has double-digit points (14) with nine goals and five assists.
Anna Gotterup has 11 points this season on 10 goals and a helper.
Defensively,
Felicia Giglio has logged 619:25 of the 780 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. The freshman goalkeeper has notched 67 saves with 20 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
Emma Richardell has recorded 18 stops with four caused turnovers and three ground balls in 147:51 minutes of action in 2024.
DeFabio and Williams are tied for the team lead with 21 ground balls apiece. The duo is followed by Giglio (20 ground balls),
Caroline Stefans (20), Messinese (12),
Morgan Lewis (11), DiCarlo (10),
Caroline Gage (10), Leone (10), and
Grace Peterson (10) to close out the Mids' double-digit ground balls. Stefans has caused a team-high 13 turnovers, ahead of Williams and
Jaclyn Johns who have nine apiece. Giglio (8 caused turnovers), DeFabio (7), and Gage (7) follow.
Alyssa Daley leads the team with 119 draw controls. The junior ranks seventh in program history with 196 draws. She is four (4) shy of becoming the seventh player in Navy history with 200 or more career draw controls. Messinese currently has 46 draws on the year and 120 career DC. Williams and Stefans follow with 28 and 13 draws, respectively.
Scouting the Opposition
The Black Knights enter the weekend with a 6-6 overall record, including a 4-1 mark in the Patriot League. After opening the season 0-4, Army has won six of its last eight games, including four consecutive Patriot League games.
Brigid Duffy and Allison Reilly lead the team with 70 and 68 points, individually. Duffy, who has won three consecutive Patriot League Midfielder of the Week honors, has a team-best 48 goals with 22 assists. Reilly has 38 goals with a team-high 30 assists for her 68 points. Duffy also leads the Black Knights in ground balls (31), draw controls (81), and caused turnovers (22).
At goal, Lindsey Seragine has started eight of 12 games this season. She has recorded 57 saves with 81 goals allowed for a 413 save percentage and a 10.54 goals-against average. Lacey Bartholomay has played in seven games with four starts to her credit, notching 14 saves in 170 minutes of action.
Up Next
Following the game with Army, Navy remains at home with a midweek game against Lehigh on Wednesday, April 17. The game, which will be broadcast on ESPN+, is slated for 6:00 p.m.
