BALTIMORE, Md. – The No. 20 Navy (15-4) battled for over 60 minutes, ultimately dropping a 12-11 decision in overtime to No. 7 Loyola (17-2) in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md. The Midshipmen trailed by as many as two goals on four separate occasions, but battled back each time to tie the score and force overtime. However, the Greyhounds were able to win the draw in overtime and gain possession, scoring the game-winning goal 84 ticks into the extra period.
 
The game marked the first overtime in the championship game of the conference tournament since 2004 when Colgate beat American, 11-10, in overtime.
 
"It was a tough loss for Navy," an emotional head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "We battled all the way through. I am so proud of the team and how much they play for each other. Fighting for a championship is always very special. We hope that the NCAA committee will understand how tough we are and how much we love lacrosse. We fought hard. It could've gone either way. Loyola has an amazing profile. They have beaten teams that are definitely in the tournament. It doesn't get much better than Navy women's lacrosse."
 
Defensively, Navy held Loyola to its third lowest output of the season.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Felicia Giglio recorded a career-best 10 saves in the game, marking the rookie's first double-digit save performance. She got stronger as the game progressed, registering one stop in the first quarter, two in the second, three in the third, and four in the fourth. Additionally, Giglio picked up one of Navy's 12 ground balls in the game.
 
As a team, Navy caused five of Loyola's 11 turnovers in the game. Freshman Jaclyn Johns led the team with two caused turnovers, while Maggie DeFabio, Kat McAteer, and Emily Messinese each recorded a takeaway.
 
DeFabio and Johns paced the squad with three ground balls apiece with Giglio, McAteer, Messinese, Caroline Gage, Lola Leone, and Mikayla Williams each picking up ground balls.
 
Offensively, four Midshipmen combined to score the team's 11 goals. Messinese led all scorers with five goals, tying a career high. Sophomore Emma Kennedy had a career game, notching personal bests in points (5), goals (3), and assists (2). The hat trick was Kennedy's second of her two-year career. McAteer added a pair of goals in the contest, giving Navy a one-goal lead with each score. Williams added a goal to round out the scoring for the Midshipmen, finishing with two points on a goal and an assist. Junior Tori DiCarlo matched Kennedy with a team-high two assists in the game.
 
The two teams matched one another in the draw circle with each team winning 13 draw controls. Junior Alyssa Daley finished the game with 10 draw victories, marking the ninth time this season that she registered double-digit draw victories. Messinese added a pair of draws with Williams also securing a draw win.
 
For Loyola, Sydni Black and Chase Boyle each finished with five points on four goals and one assist. Georgia Latch tallied three points on a pair of saves and the game-winning goal. Boyle won five draws with Black and Latch following with four and three, respectively. Lauren Spence earned the victory, finishing with nine saves and 11 goals allowed.
 
The two teams combined for seven All-Tournament performers with Daley, Messinese, and Stefans earning the honors for the Midshipmen and Black (MVP), Boyle, Spence, and Lily Osborne representing the Greyhounds.
 
Loyola was the first team to score, netting back-to-back goals to open the game. Kennedy and Messinese responded with scores to knot the game at 2-2. McAteer followed with her first goal to give the Midshipmen a brief 3-2 lead. The Greyhounds tied the game at 3-3 to end the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, McAteer once again scored to give the Mids a one-goal advantage. The home team answered with three straight scores to regain a two-goal advantage, 6-4. Navy once again answered wih Messinese and Kennedy finding the back of the net to go into halftime locked at 6-6.
 
The Greyhounds used back-to-back goals to start the third quarter, once again taking a two-goal advantage, 8-6. Messinese scored her third goal of the afternoon to cut the margin in half and Williams scored off of a Kennedy assist to knot the game at eight. Kennedy gave the Midshipmen their third one-goal lead of the afternoon, 9-8, through three quarters.
 
In the fourth quarter, Loyola regained the lead, scoring three straight goals to take a two-goal lead for the fourth time in the game. Trailing 11-9, Messinese forced overtime with back-to-back scores, knotting the game at 11-11.
 
In the overtime period, the Greyhounds won the opening draw. The Mids' defense held strong early forcing an errant shot, despite being a player down due to a green card. Loyola backed up the shot and used the extra opportunity to its advantage. Loyola's Latch fired a shot towards the goal, which deflected off of a Navy defender's stick into the goal to give the top-seeded Greyhounds the victory.
 
"We put everything out onto the field today," Messinese said after the game. "Every single person did their role – 100 percent. From the sideline to the draw, defense, offense. Everyone left everything they had out on the field. We were able to put a full game together. Unfortunately, it did turn out how we wanted."