GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 23 Navy women's lacrosse team (5-3) put forth a stellar effort on the road, but came up just short as No. 6 Florida (5-2) notched a 14-13 win over the Midshipmen on Wednesday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. The Mids led by as many as four goals, but a pair of late runs by the Gators gave the home team the one-goal victory.
 
"It was a heart-breaking loss today," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "Navy women's lacrosse put it all out on the line today. We left nothing behind. Florida is the No. 6 team in the country and we pushed them all the way through. It was one of our best team efforts this season even though it doesn't go down as a win on the scoreboard."
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen scored 13 goals on 28 shots with six different players finding the back of the net. Alyssa Chung led all scorers with four goals, while Mikayla Williams added her second hat trick in as many games with three scores on the day. Emily Messinese and Taylor Miles followed with two goals apiece with Tori DiCarlo and Maura Murphy each finding the back of the net. Miles and Ava Yovino provided the only assists of the game for the Mids.
 
Navy received another excellent effort in the cage by goalkeeper Felicia Giglio. The sophomore matched a career high with 11 saves to go along with a career best six ground balls. In the last five games, Giglio has posted four double-digit saves performances, including two against nationally-ranked opponents (10 saves vs. No. 11 Virginia; 11 saves vs. No. 6 Florida). She is averaging 10.2 saves per game over her last five contests.
 
Maggie DeFabio, Jaclyn Johns and Yovino followed Giglio's six ground balls by winning two GB apiece. Grace Peterson, Miles, and Williams also were credited with ground balls in the game. Miles, Williams, and Yovino combined for Navy's three caused turnovers.
 
The Midshipmen won 19 draw controls on the day to earn extra possessions and keep the ball away from the mighty Gator offense. Alyssa Daley won a team-high nine draws, while Messinese and Williams added six and four draws, respectively.
 
For Florida, Clark Hamilton led the team with three goals with Jordan Basso, Kaitlyn Davies, Gabby Greene, Josie Hahn, and Gianna Monaco adding two goals apiece. Jenny Markey, who scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, led the team with five draws. Frannie Hahn tied a Florida school-record with eight assists. Goalie Elyse Finnelle finished with five saves, a ground ball, and a caused turnover in a complete-game effort to earn the win.
 
Navy came out strong early, notching a pair of goals in the first three minutes of action. Miles and Chung both found the back of the net to take the early 2-0 lead. Florida responded with a 3-0 run to take a 3-2 advantage, but the Midshipmen closed out the first quarter with two goals in under 25 seconds to take a 4-3 lead through one quarter. Chung registered her second goal of the game with 23 ticks on the clock to tie the game at three. Eighteen seconds later, Messinese gave the Mids a one-goal advantage with her first score of the afternoon.
 
Florida tied the game in the second quarter, but Chung recorded back-to-back scores to give Navy a two-goal advantage. The Gators converted a free-position opportunity to trim the margin to 6-5, but Williams buried a pass from Miles into the back of the net to extend the advantage back to two, 7-5. UF was able to score with nine seconds remaining in the half to go into intermission with the Mids up one, 7-6.
 
In the second half, the Gators started the scoring, tying the game at seven, but a 4-0 run by the Midshipmen put the visitors in front, 11-7. DiCarlo started the run and Williams followed with consecutive scores to push the margin to three, 10-7. Messinese notched her second goal of the afternoon to give the Mids a four-goal advantage.
 
Florida closed out the third quarter and opened up the fourth with four straight goals of its own to knot the game at 11-11. Miles ended the UF run with her second goal of the game to once again put the Mids in front. Murphy corralled a pass from Yovino and whipped it past the goalie to extend the advantage to two, 13-11, with 9:13 to play. Florida was able to put together a 3-0 run over the final nine minutes and secure the one-goal win. Over the final nine minutes of action, the Midshipmen committed six turnovers and did not attempt a shot.
 
Navy returns home to begin Patriot League play, as the Midshipmen take on Colgate (3-4, 0-1) on Saturday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available. Additionally, the game will be on the radio, airing on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV. The radio broadcast is also available on wnav.com and on WNAV on the Audacy app.