ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 22 Navy women's lacrosse team (10-5, 5-2 Patriot League) returns to Annapolis to host Lafayette (6-8, 2-5 Patriot League) on Saturday afternoon 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.
 
In addition, the game will serve as Senior Day for the Midshipmen. Prior to the game, the Mids will recognize the senior class for their efforts both on and off the field. The Midshipmen have eight senior players – Alyssa Daley, Tori DiCarlo, Lizzie Kelley, Lola Leone, Megan Marengo, Emily Messinese, Grace Peterson, and Emma Richardell – along with student manager, Garrett King.
 
All-Time Series
The game marks the 17th meeting between the two teams in women's lacrosse. Navy holds a 16-0 (1.000) overall record against Lafayette. The Mids are 8-0 (1.000) against the Leopards in Annapolis.
 
The two teams have met every season since Navy joined the Patriot League with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. No Patriot League games were played in 2020 and the conference was split into divisions in 2021, resulting in Navy and Lafayette being in separate divisions and not playing one another.
 
Last season, thirty-seven Midshipmen saw action as Navy posted a 17-5 victory over Lafayette at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa. Seven different Midshipmen scored goals in the game, including four hat tricks. With the win, the Mids secured the No. 2 seed in the 2024 Patriot League Tournament and a first-round bye.
 
The last time the two teams met in Annapolis, the Midshipmen recorded a 17-6 win over the Leopards at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids used an 11-0 run in the first half to take control of the game and cruise to the double-digit win. Eight different Navy players scored, while the defense limited the Lafayette offense to six goals.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Senior draw control specialist Alyssa Daley became the first player in program history with 20 or more draws in a game as she recorded a new school record of 21 draw controls to help Navy to a 21-5 road victory over Lehigh on Wednesday night at Frank Banko Field at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa. With the win, the Midshipmen improved to 10-5 overall and 5-2 in the Patriot League.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 234 goals with 94 assists, while picking up 235 ground balls, winning 263 draw controls, and causing 107 turnovers.
 
Entering the weekend, Alyssa Chung and Emily Messinese lead the team with 58 and 57 points, respectively. Chung has a team-high 48 goals with 10 assists, while Messinese has 37 goals and a team-best 20 helpers.
 
Chung has recorded 12 multi-goal performances in her young career (15 games total), including 10 hat tricks. In seven Patriot League games, freshman Alyssa Chung leads Navy with 39 points (5.57 per game) on a team-best 31 goals (4.43), while adding eight assists (1.14). She has recorded multiple goals in all seven conference games this season with six hat tricks. For her efforts, Chung has been named Patriot League Rookie of the Week five (5) consecutive times.
 
With eight hat tricks this season this season, Messinese has 32 career hat tricks (58 games played), which is seventh-most in program history. She is two (2) hat tricks back of Kathy Young ('13) for sixth in school history. In total, Messinese has scored at least one goal in 55 games (.948) with multiple scores in 44 games (.759).
 
Mikayla Williams follows with 47 points. The sophomore is third on the team with 34 goals, while adding 13 assists. Emma Kennedy is fourth on the team with 37 points. The junior has 30 goals and seven assists in 15 games this season. Tori DiCarlo rounds out Navy's top five with 23 goals and eight helpers for 31 points.
 
Maggie DeFabio, Ava Yovino, and Taylor Miles round out Navy's 20-point scorers with 24, 23, 22 points in order. DeFabio has 15 goals and nine helpers for her 24 points, while Yovino has 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points. Miles is one point back with 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 total points.
 
Nine additional Midshipmen have registered points during the season. Lola Leone (5g 2a) has seven points, while Maura Murphy adds five points on five scores. Chloe Brown, Caroline Gage, and Kat McAteer are tied with three points apiece, each netting three goals. Anna Gotterup has three points on two goals and an assist, while Bella Paradiso has two points on a couple of assists. Daley and Grace Peterson close out Navy's point scorers with one point on an assist each.
 
Defensively, Navy has caused 107 of its opponents 198 turnovers (54.0 percent), including 40 unsuccessful clear attempts. DeFabio and Jaclyn Johns lead the team with 15 caused turnovers apiece, while Felicia Giglio follows with 14. Yovino adds 10 takeaways, while Chung boasts nine. Messinese and Peterson have eight CTs each with Jalin Jenkins and Williams adding five caused turnovers apiece.
 
Giglio leads the team with 37 ground balls with Yovino following with 27 and DeFabio picking up 23. Messinese, Peterson, and Williams have 17 apiece, while Johns follows with 14 GB. Chung (12), Jenkins (11), and Gage (10) rounded out the Mids' double-digit ground balls.
 
Giglio has notched 109 saves in 842 minutes of action in 15 games played. The 109 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. Emma Richardell has logged 63 minutes of action in eight games with nine saves and a 56.3 save percentage.
 
At Lehigh, Daley became the first Midshipmen in program history to record 20 or more draw controls in a game, breaking her own single-game program record with 21 draw wins against the Mountain Hawks. On the year, she has 163 draw controls and is 28 draw wins shy of tying the Navy single-season record (191) she set last season. The senior has 431 career draws and is 62 back of matching Navy career leader Loren Generi ('15), who finished her Midshipmen career with 493.
 
Messinese has chipped in 41 draw controls while Williams has won 37 draws.
 
Scouting the Opposition
A combined eight points from Sara Rogers and Sophia Spallone lifted Lafayette over Bucknell, 11-10, on Wednesday evening at Fisher Stadium. With the win, the Leopards improved to 6-8 overall and 2-5 in Patriot League play, the best record since 2017.
 
Spallone leads Lafayette with a team-best 30 points on a team-high 24 goals, while adding six assists. Rogers and Kristin Igneri are tied with 25 points apiece. Rogers has 17 goals and eight assists, while Igneri has a balanced 25 points on 13 goals and a team-high 12 helpers. Haleigh Albrecht (13g 9a) and Annie Madden (10g 10a) round out the Leopards' top-five point scorers.
 
Nora Burns leads the team with 33 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. Sadie Martiean follows with 25 ground balls, while Jordan Siemonsen and Lindsay Geiger follow with 13 and 12 caused turnovers, respectively. Katie Marrs has a team-high 78 draw controls, while Geiger and Spallone follow with 32 and 26.
 
Molly Terraciano has played and started all 14 games at goal for the Leopards. The senior has logged nearly 743 minutes with 155 goals allowed and 102 saves for a 39.7 save percentage and a 12.52 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
The Midshipmen return action at American on Thursday, April 24 at 1:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C. The game will be the broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.