BALTIMORE, Md. – The No. 21 Navy women's lacrosse team (14-5) posted an 18-9 victory over No. 19 Army (13-3) on Thursday night at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md. in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament to advance to the conference championship to face top-seeded and 15th-ranked Loyola (13-5) on Saturday.
 
It is the 13th time in program history that the Midshipmen have advanced to the championship game and the eighth time in 11 years that the two teams will square for the Patriot League title. The championship game is slated for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
 
"This was a total team effort, led by Mess [Emily Messinese] and Lola [Leone] our two team captains," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "To step out on this field today in the semifinals and for Navy women's lacrosse to bring it home, here in Maryland. I couldn't be happier for the team and so grateful for what they did today on the field. In our moment, it was an elite effort from Navy women's lacrosse."
 
The Midshipmen offense combined for 18 goals, which was the most surrendered by the Black Knights this season. Seven Mids found the back of the net with six players notching multiple goals, including three hat tricks.
 
Emma Kennedy registered a career-high seven points, tying career-bests on five goals and two assists. Tori DiCarlo and Mikayla Williams added hat tricks, both notching four points on three goals and an assist each. Maggie DeFabio, Lola Leone, and Emily Messinese each added two goals apiece. With her first goal of the night, Leone recorded her 100th career goal. Alyssa Chung notched a goal while Ava Yovino was credited with two assists. Taylor Miles joined DeFabio and Messinese to round out the helpers.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen held the potent Black Knight offense to single-digit goals. It was the 11th time this season that the Mids have held an opponent to under 10 goals.
 
DeFabio led the way with two of Navy's seven caused turnovers in the game. She was joined by Caroline Gage, Tiana Griffin, Grace Peterson, Messinese, and Yovino who were also credited with takeaways. Jalin Jenkins, Miles, and Peterson led the team with two ground balls apiece with Felicia Giglio, Jaclyn Johns, Gage, Leone, Messinese, and Williams adding one each.
 
Giglio posted a strong performance in the cage, finishing with nine saves in a complete-game effort. She started strong with three stops in the first quarter, while adding four saves in the third as the Mids offense began to pull away.
 
In the circle, Alyssa Daley registered 13 draw controls in the game, marking her 12th game this season with double-digit draws. She has double-digit draw controls in eight consecutive games. With her 13 draws, the senior has 491 draw controls and is just two back of matching Navy and Patriot League career leader Loren Generi ('15), who finished her Midshipmen career with 493. For the year, Daley is continues to increase her season record and is up to 223 draws this year.
 
For Army, Allison Reilly led the way with seven points on a team-high four goals and team-best three assists. Lily Valentini led the Black Knights with three caused turnovers, while Haley Kampert had a game-high four ground balls. Sarah Chernik won three of Army's six draw controls on the night. Lindsey Serafine allowed 18 goals, while making eight saves in a losing effort at goal.
 
Navy got things started with back-to-back goals. DeFabio found the back of the net nine seconds into the game and DiCarlo followed three minutes later to give the Mids a 2-0 advantage. Army cut the lead in half with a goal, but Williams countered with her first score of the quarter. Following a Black Knight score, Williams netted her second goal of the quarter to extend the advantage to 4-2. Army used consecutive scores to tie the at four, but Chung ended the first-quarter scoring with a free-position goal to put Navy in front, 5-4.
 
In the second quarter, the Mids pushed the advantage, outscoring the Black Knights, 5-2, in the quarter. Kennedy and Williams opened up the scoring to increase the advantage to 7-4. Following a pair of goals by Army, Navy closed out the half with a 3-0 run. Kennedy scored back-to-back goals in the run with DiCarlo putting the Midshipmen up four, 10-6.
 
DeFabio opened the scoring in the third quarter with her second goal of the game. Following an Army goal, Kennedy and Leone went back-to-back to increase the lead to 13-7. The Black Knights trimmed the margin by one, but DiCarlo and Messinese closed out the quarter with goals to enter the final quarter of play, 15-8.
 
In the fourth quarter, Messinese converted a free-position opportunity to double up the Black Knights, 16-8. Army scored, but Navy used scores by Leone and Kennedy to provide the final margin, 18-9.