BALTIMORE, Md. – The No. 20 Navy women's lacrosse team (15-3) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the Midshipmen posted a 19-5 victory over Holy Cross (12-6) on Thursday night in the Patriot League Tournament semifinal at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md. With the win, the Midshipmen advance to the championship game to face top-seeded and nationally-ranked Loyola (16-2) on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
 
The Midshipmen have qualified for the conference tournament each season since joining the Patriot League in 2008 (no tournament in 2020 due to COVID). With the win, the Mids are now 21-9 (.700) in the tournament all-time with a 12-3 (.800) mark in the semifinals. Navy has now advanced to the championship game 12 times, winning six conference titles.
 
"We wanted to come out strong in the first quarter," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "It is a game of momentum and we were able to keep that momentum going. Our commitment was the first quarter and then the second and on into the second half. Give it up to our coaching staff and our players on the field who bought into the idea of playing tough lacrosse for four quarters, knowing that we were playing a very experienced Holy Cross team."
 
Nine different Midshipmen found the back of the net in the game, including five that registered multiple goals. Tori DiCarlo and Emily Messinese led the charge with four goals apiece. The hat tricks were 14 and 15 of the season for the juniors, respectively. Lola Leone registered her nineth hat trick of the season, netting three goals. Kat McAteer and Emma Kennedy followed with two goals apiece, while Maggie DeFabio, Caroline Gage, Anna Gotterup, and Mikayla Williams each notched scores. DeFabio, DiCarlo, Leone, and McAteer led the team with one assist apiece.
 
Defensively, Navy held its 13th opponent of the season to single-digit goals, holding to potent Holy Cross offense to just five scores. Felicia Giglio tied a career-best with eight saves in 57:45 minutes at goal, while Emma Richardell recorded a clean stat sheet in 2:15 of action. Gage, Grace Peterson, and Caroline Stefans led the team with two ground balls each, while Leone, Peterson, and Stefans were each credited with caused turnovers.
 
The Midshipmen once again dominated the draw circle, as Navy won 21 of 26 draws on the night. Alyssa Daley, who already set the Navy single-season draw control record, added to her record-breaking tally with 14 draws on the night. Williams added a career-best six draw, while Messinese rounded out the draws with one.
 
For Holy Cross, Annabel Brennan scored three of the Crusaders' five goals, while Kate Avitabile and Lauren Drillock added scores. Tory Rider and Sally Zinsner each recorded assists in the game. Kelsey Minister led the way with four ground balls, while Ella Kittredge had a team-high three ground balls. Starting goalie Tori Cini took the loss, working 26:19 with a save and nine goals allowed. Mackenzie Creagh entered in relief allowing 10 goals with seven saves in 33:41.
 
Navy opened the game with a 5-0 run to take early command of the game. Williams put the Midshipmen on the scoreboard with her first goal, while Messinese followed by slipping a ball past the Crusaders' keeper. McAteer pushed the advantage to 3-0 before DiCarlo netted back-to-back scores to put the designated home team up by five. Holy Cross used a goal to cut the margin to four, 5-1, through one quarter.
 
The Crusaders began the second period with a goal, but the Mids responded with back-to-back scores by Leone to push the advantage to 7-2. Following a Holy Cross goal, Navy used another 5-0 run to go up by nine goals. Kennedy opened the run with DiCarlo following with her third goal of the night. Leone scored her third goal of the quarter, while McAteer followed with her second score. Kennedy closed the run with her second goal of the run. Holy Cross stopped the run with a score, but Messinese sent the game into halftime with Navy in front 13-4.
 
In the second half, Navy outscored Holy Cross 3-0 in the third quarter, staring a running clock that would last throughout the remainder of the game. DeFabio extended the advantage to 10 goals, while Messinese netted back-to-back scores to put the Midshipmen in front 16-4 through three quarters. The fourth quarter saw the Crusaders net a goal, but the Mids scored the final three goals of the night to secure the victory. DiCarlo, Gage, and Gotterup each scored goals in the fourth quarter to ice the game and send the Midshipmen into the championship game.