ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 22 Navy women's lacrosse team (9-5, 4-2 Patriot League) travels to Bethlehem, Pa. for a midweek conference game at Lehigh (5-7, 2-4 Patriot League) on Wednesday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m. at Frank Banko Field. The game between the Mids and Mountain Hawks will be the broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
All-Time Series
The game marks the 23rd meeting between the two teams in women's lacrosse. Navy holds a 16-6 (.727) overall record against Lehigh. The Mids are 6-4 (.600) against the Mountain Hawks in true road games and 10-4 (.714) against Lehigh in games played away from Annapolis.
 
The two teams have met 16 times in the regular season with Navy holding an 11-5 (.688) advantage, while the Midshipmen and Mountain Hawks have faced one another six times in the Patriot League Tournament with the Mids claiming a 5-1 (.833) advantage in the postseason.
 
Before the back-to-back losses to the Mountain Hawks during the 2021 season, the Midshipmen had won 11 in a row and 13 of the prior 15 meetings. Since 2021, Navy has won three consecutive games against Lehigh.
 
Five of the last seven meetings between the two teams have been played outside of Annapolis with four meetings taking place in Bethlehem, Pa. Navy and Lehigh met in the semifinal of the 2018 Patriot League Tournament in Baltimore before playing three consecutive games in 2019 (regular season) and 2021 (regular season and Patriot League Tournament) in Bethlehem. The two teams returned to Annapolis in 2022 before continuing the series in Bethlehem in 2023.
 
Last season, Navy opened the game with a 9-0 run and never looked back as the Midshipmen posted a 15-4 victory over Lehigh at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The defense held the Mountain Hawks to single-digit goals, while the offense tallied 15 goals with eight assists in the win. The Midshipmen dominated possession, winning 18 of 20 draw controls on the night.
 
The last time the two teams met in Bethlehem, the Midshipmen posted a 15-4 road victory over the Mountain Hawks at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The Mids defense held the Mountain Hawks scoreless in the second half, while the Navy offense took control of the game, outscoring the home team 7-0 in the final two quarters.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
On a cold, wet, and snowy day in West Point, N.Y., No. 24 Army used a 7-0 run to open the game and ultimately post a 17-12 victory over No. 20 Navy on Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium in the annual Star Game. The Midshipmen outscored the Black Knights 11-10 in the final three quarters, but were unable to overcome the quick start by the home team. Navy enters the week 9-5 overall and 4-2 in the Patriot League.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 213 goals with 88 assists, while picking up 223 ground balls, winning 239 draw controls, and causing 100 turnovers.
 
Entering the week, Emily Messinese and Alyssa Chung lead the team with 52 and 51 points, respectively. Messinese has 34 goals and a team-best 18 assists, while Chung has a team-high 42 goals with nine helpers.
 
With seven hat tricks this season this season, Messinese has 31 career hat tricks (57 games played), which is tied with Jasmine DePompeo ('13) for seventh-most in program history. Messinese is three hat tricks back of Kathy Young ('13) for sixth in school history. In total, Messinese has scored at least one goal in 54 games (.947) with multiple scores in 43 games (.754).
 
Chung has recorded 11 multi-goal performances in her young career (14 games total), including nine hat tricks. In six Patriot League games, the freshman leads Navy with 32 points (5.33 per game) on a team-best 25 goals (4.17), while adding seven assists (1.17). She has recorded multiple goals in all six conference games this season with five hat tricks. For her efforts, Chung has been named Patriot League Rookie of the Week five (5) consecutive times.
 
Mikayla Williams follows closely with 46 points. The sophomore is tied with Messinese with 34 goals, while adding 12 assists. Emma Kennedy is fourth on the team with 35 points. The junior has 28 goals and seven assists in 14 games this season. Tori DiCarlo rounds out Navy's top five with 19 goals and seven helpers for 26 points.
 
Maggie DeFabio, Taylor Miles, and Ava Yovino are tied with 22 points apiece. DeFabio has 13 goals and nine helpers for her 22 points, while Miles and Yovino match one another with 12 goals and 10 assists to close out Navy's 20-point scorers.
 
Eight additional Midshipmen have registered points during the season. Lola Leone (5g 2a) has seven points, while Maura Murphy adds four points on four scores. Chloe Brown and Kat McAteer are tied with three points apiece, each netting three goals on the year. Caroline Gage has two points on a pair of goals, while Anna Gotterup has two points on a goal and an assist and Bella Paradiso has two points on a couple of assists. Grace Peterson closes out Navy's point scorers with one point on an assist.
 
Defensively, Navy has caused 100 of its opponents 189 turnovers (52.9 percent), including 38 unsuccessful clear attempts. DeFabio leads the team with 15 caused turnovers, while Jaclyn Johns and Felicia Giglio follow with 14 and 13 caused turnovers. Yovino adds 10 takeaways, while Chung boasts eight. Messinese and Peterson have seven CTs each with Jalin Jenkins and Williams adding five caused turnovers apiece.
 
Giglio leads the team with 36 ground balls with Yovino following with 27 and DeFabio picking up 23. Messinese and Williams have 16 apiece, while Peterson and Johns follow with 15 and 14 GB, respectively. Chung and Jenkins rounded out the Mids' double-digit ground balls with 11 each.
 
Giglio has notched 104 saves in roughly 788 minutes of action in 14 games played. The 104 saves surpassed her season total of 102 from a year ago during the 19-game season. The sophomore goalkeeper has six double-digit save performances, including four against ranked opponents – 10 at No. 7 Loyola (2024); 10 at No. 11 Virginia (2025); 11 at No. 6 Florida (2025); and 12 vs. No. 17 Loyola (2025). Five of Giglio's six double-digit save performances have come in the last 11 games she has played. Emma Richardell has logged 57 minutes of action in seven games with eight saves and a 53.3 save percentage.
 
Alyssa Daley leads all players with 142 draw victories, which is 49 draws shy of her single-season school record from last season (191). With 14 draws at Army, Daley became just the second player in program history with 400 or more draws (410), joining Loren Generi ('15) who finished her career with 493.
 
Messinese has chipped in 41 draw controls while Williams has won 34 draws.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Lehigh enters the week 5-7 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League. After opening conference play 0-4, the Mountain Hawks have posted back-to-back league wins, defeating Boston University (W, 15-14) and Holy Cross (W, 12-10).
 
Lehigh is led by Molly Snow, who boasts a team-high 44 points on a team-high 30 goals with 14 assists. Kacie Wines adds 34 points on 19 goals and a team-best 15 assists. Angelina Pino (22g 2a), Gracie Shoup (18g 5a), Shannon Nolan (11g 4a), and Grace Martel (11g 3a) round out the Mountain Hawks' double-digit point scorers.
 
Julia DeLitta leads the team with 25 ground balls, while Brynn Freeman and Martel pace the squad with 12 and 11 caused turnovers, respectively. Martel has a team-high 48 draw controls, while Snow and Freeman follow with 39 and 25.
 
DeLitta has played and started all 12 games at goal for the Mountain Hawks. The senior has logged 707 minutes with 149 goals allowed and 118 saves for a 44.2 save percentage and a 12.65 goals against average.
 
National Rankings
The Navy women's lacrosse team is currently ranked in two of the three national polls. The Midshipmen are No. 22 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll rankings this week, while coming in at No. 22 in the Inside Lacrosse Media poll.
 
In its history, Navy has been ranked 103 total weeks, including a stretch of 46 weeks from the final poll of 2017 (May 30) to April 5, 2021. The Mids' first appearance in the national rankings came on March 11, 2013, coming in at #20. The Midshipmen's highest ranking – sixth – came in the final polls of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Last season, the Midshipmen were in the top 25 poll for seven weeks, rising as high as #17 and finishing the season 20th.
 
Chung Claims Fifth Straight Rookie of the Week Honor
For the fifth consecutive week, Navy freshman attacker Alyssa Chung has been named Patriot League Rookie of the Week as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Chung's sixth rookie of the week honors is one behind Navy's Kelly Larkin and Loyola's Livy Rosenzweig for the League's single-season record.
 
Chung finished with three points on two goals and assist at No. 24 Army. The Severna Park native was efficient, notching two goals on just three shots, while adding an assist. The freshman scored both goals with her assist in Navy's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
 
Up Next
Following the game with Lehigh, the Midshipmen return to Annapolis for Senior Day against Lafayette on Saturday, April 19 at 12:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game, which is presented by First Command, will be the broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available. Additionally, the game will be aired on the radio on WNAV.