ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 19 Navy women's lacrosse team (9-3, 3-1 Patriot League) continues Patriot League competition with a road game at Holy Cross (9-2, 4-0 Patriot League) on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Kuzniewski Field in Worcester, Mass. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
All-Time Series
The game marks the 18th meeting between the two teams. Navy holds a 15-2 (.882) overall record against Holy Cross with a 5-2 (.714) mark in Worcester.
 
Navy opened the series, winning three straight games before Holy Cross registered a one-goal win for the Crusaders' first victory in the series. The Midshipmen rattled off seven consecutive victories in the series before the Crusaders once again notched a one-goal win.
 
The Midshipmen have won five in a row against the Crusaders and 12 of the last 13 meetings between the two teams.
 
The last time the two teams met, Navy posted a 22-9 victory over Holy Cross last season in Annapolis. In the last meeting between the two schools in Worcester, the Mids claimed a 13-9 win over the Crusaders during the 2022 season.
 
Holy Cross head coach Amanda Belichick is the daughter of former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Bill's father, Steve, was a legendary figure around the Naval Academy for over 50 years, including the 33 years (1956-89) he served as an assistant football coach and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education. Prior to Navy women's lacrosse's appearance in the 2017 Final Four, which was held in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Bill Belichick came to practice and spoke to the Midshipmen.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The No. 19 Navy women's lacrosse team enters the weekend 9-3 overall with a 3-1 mark in Patriot League play. In their last outing, the Midshipmen posted a 21-6 victory over Bucknell at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game, which was presented by First Command, served as Senior Day for the Midshipmen.
 
Prior to the game, the Mids recognized the senior class for their efforts both on and off the field. The Midshipmen have nine senior players – Emily Armero, Lindsay Beardmore, Anne Culicerto, Leelee Denton, Katie Golbranson, Kate Hartnett, Annie Newton, Caroline Stefans, and Isabelle Thornburg – along with student manager, Will Clark.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 190 goals with 78 assists, while picking up 194 ground balls, winning 214 draw controls, and causing 90 turnovers.
 
Entering the weekend, Emily Messinese and Tori DiCarlo lead the team with 56 and 46 points, respectively. Messinese has 56 points with on 44 goals, while adding 12 assists. DiCarlo is second on the team with 46 points on 39 goals with seven helpers. Messinese has posted a team-best 11 hat tricks in 12 games, while DiCarlo has registered nine hat tricks to this point.
 
Kat McAteer is third on the team with 36 total points. The sophomore has a balanced 19 goals with a team-high 17 assists to her credit.
 
Lola Leone is fourth on the team with 22 goals and five assists for 27 total points with five hat tricks on the year. Mikayla Williams is fifth in points with 26 points on 15 goals and 11 assists, while Maggie DeFabio has 16 goals with nine assists for 25 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 559:25 of the 720 minutes between the pipes for the Midshipmen. The freshman goalkeeper has notched 59 saves with 17 ground balls and seven 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 20 ground balls apiece. The duo is followed by Giglio (17 ground balls), Caroline Stefans (17), Morgan Lewis (11), Caroline Gage (10), and Leone (10) to close out the Mids' double-digit ground balls. Stefans has caused a team-high 11 turnovers, ahead of Jaclyn Johns who has nine. Williams (8 caused turnovers), DeFabio (7), Gage (7), and Giglio (7) follow.
 
Alyssa Daley leads the team with 102 draw controls. The junior ranks seventh in program history with 179 draws. She is twenty-one (21) shy of becoming the seventh player in Navy history with 200 or more career draw controls. Messinese currently has 43 draws on the year and 117 career DC. Williams and Stefans follow with 25 and 13 draws, respectively.
 
Scouting the Opposition
The Crusaders enter the weekend with a 9-2 overall record, including a 4-0 mark in the Patriot League.  Holy Cross has won eight straight contests heading into the matchup with Navy. The game will serve as Senior Day for the Crusaders.
 
Isabela Miller leads the team with 62 points on 26 goals and a team-high 36 assists. She is joined by Lauren Drillock and Sally Zinsner who have 58 and 53 points, respectively. Drillock is second on the team in both points (31) and assists (27), while Zinsner has a team-best 37 goals to go along with 16 helpers.
 
Rachell Levy-Smith has been Holy Cross' primary draw specialist this season, leading the team with 54 draw controls, while Ella Kittredge has 29. Kittredge leads all field players with 23 ground balls, while Lindsay Hult has a team-high 18 caused turnovers.
 
Tori Cini has started all eleven games in goal and has a .446 save percentage and an 11.36 goals-against average. She has recorded 82 saves, while allowing 102 goals in 538:36. Additionally, Cini joins Kittredge atop the team with 23 ground balls.
 
Up Next
Following the game with Holy Cross, Navy returns home for the annual Star Game against Army on Saturday, April 13. Opening draw is slated for 4:15 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.