ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 18 Navy women's lacrosse team (1-0) used a 7-0 run to open the 2025 season to help propel the Midshipmen to a 16-9 victory over Saint Joseph's (0-1) on Friday evening at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Hawks made the game interesting, trimming the Mids' lead to just two, 11-9, but Navy outscored Saint Joseph's 5-0 over the final 16 minutes of the game to secure the win.
 
"It was a great game for Navy women's lacrosse," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "I couldn't be more pleased. It was a total team effort. A lot of players stepped up. A lot of players made a difference. Some multi-scorers so we don't just rely on one player. I think that was key.
 
"We value what Saint Joe's brings to the game. They have been A-10 contenders, playing for or winning the conference championship. There is a lot of respect. I always feel like players from the Philly area are always tough and they played hard against us. I am just so proud of the poise and presence we had."
 
In the season opener, the Midshipmen used a mixture of experience and youth to finish the game with 16 goals and nine assists as a team. Senior team captain Emily Messinese, who was named to the initial Tewaaraton Watch List on Thursday night, led the way with five points on four goals and an assist. She was joined atop the leaderboard by sophomore Mikayla Williams, junior Emma Kennedy, and freshman Alyssa Chung. Williams also tallied five points, scoring a pair of goals and adding a career-high three assists. Kennedy and Chung both added four points, netting three goals and adding a helper apiece. For Kennedy, it was the juniors third collegiate hat trick and the second in as many games, dating back to the 2024 Patriot League Championship game against No. 7 Loyola. Fellow freshman Taylor Miles joined Chung with multiple scores, finishing her first collegiate game with two goals. Senior Tori DiCarlo and junior Ava Yovino added one score apiece, while senior Lola Leone and juniors Maggie DeFabio and Anna Gotterup each added assists.
 
Defensively, Navy held Saint Joseph's to single-digit goals. The Midshipmen caused 11 of the Hawks' 17 turnovers, including six unsuccessful clear attempts by SJU. DeFabio led the team with five ground balls, while Messinese followed with three. Sophomore Jalin Jenkins matched Miles with two GB in the contest. Sophomore goalkeeper Felicia Giglio paced the team with a career-high three caused turnovers, while Messinese and sophomore Caroline Gage added two takeaways. Giglio had just one save through three quarters, but raised her game in the fourth quarter to make four stops and hold Saint Joseph's scoreless in the final period of play and finish with five saves in the game.
 
The Mids had a slight advantage in draw controls, 14-12. Senior Alyssa Daley, who joined Messinese on the Tewaaraton Watch List, led all players with six draw victories. Messinese chipped in three while Williams and Yovino added two each. Miles was also credited with a draw victory.
 
Saint Joseph's was led by Maddie Yoder and Kate Kaptrosky. Yoder scored a team-high three goals with Kaptrosky following with two scores. Kate Fuhrman led the Hawks with two of the team's three assists. Goalie Jorden Concorida kept the visitors in the game, finishing with 13 saves in a losing effort.
 
Navy jumped out to a hot start, scoring the first seven goals of the game through the first 15 and a half minutes of play. Miles used her first collegiate goal to put the Midshipmen on the scoreboard. Chung scored three of the next five goals with Messinese and Kennedy also finding the back of the net during the run to go up 6-0 through one quarter.
 
Miles converted a free-position opportunity 30 seconds into the fourth quarter to give the home team a 7-0 advantage. Saint Joseph's ended the run with two goals, but Messinese countered with a goal to regain a six-goal advantage, 8-2. DiCarlo and Messinese matched scores by the Hawks to send the game into halftime with the Midshipmen in front 10-4.
 
Saint Joseph's used a strong third quarter to pull to within two goals, 11-9. The Hawks used a 5-1 run to trim the margin to two. Kennedy scored the lone goal for the Mids during the run. With one-minute remaining in the third quarter, Williams ended the Saint Joseph's run and sparked a 5-0 Navy run to close out the game.
 
Leading 12-9 to start the fourth quarter, Yovino scored her first goal in over a year to push the advantage to four. Williams and Kennedy extended the lead to six, while Messinese put the exclamaition point on the victory with her fourth score of the day.
 
Navy returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 15, as the Midshipmen travel to Villanova (0-0) for their first road test of the season. The game will be broadcast on FloLive.TV and live stats will be available.