ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #10/10 Navy women's lacrosse team (1-0) is set to host Villanova (1-0) on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 11:00 a.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
Navy is 16-2 (.889) all-time in home openers.
 
The game is the first of six morning contests on the schedule for the Midshipmen. Navy is 13-2 (.867) all-time in morning games.
 
All-Time Series
The game between Navy and Villanova will mark the 12th meeting between the two teams. The Midshipmen have an 8-3 (.727) advantage in the all-time series. The Mids are 5-1 against the Wildcats on the road, but 3-2 against Nova at home.
 
The two teams first met in 2008 with the Mids claiming a 19-8 road victory. The following season, the Wildcats edged the Midshipmen, 15-14, in overtime to even the series. Navy won the next five meetings between the two teams from 2014 to 2019; however, Villanova claimed the next two meetings of the series, earning a 12-9 win over the Midshipmen in 2020 and an 11-10 overtime win in 2023. The last time the two teams met in Annapolis was 2024 when Navy posted an 18-9 victory. Last season, the Mids were tested by the Wildcats and the elements, but were able to come away with the one-goal road victory, 17-16.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The #16/16 Navy women's lacrosse team opened the 2026 season with a 12-10 victory over #10/8 Virginia at the Cavaliers' Lower Turf Field. The Mids fell behind 3-0 before using a 7-0 run to take the lead. After the Cavs cut the margin to two, 8-6, the Midshipmen used a 4-0 run to extend the margin to six, 12-6. UVA countered with a 4-0 run, but Navy was able to end the game and secure the two-goal win.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 12 goals with eight assists, while picking up 15 ground balls, winning 16 draw controls, and causing nine turnovers.
 
Entering the weekend, Ava Yovino and Maggie DeFabio lead the team. Yovino has a team-high six points thanks to a pair of goals and a team-best four assists, while DeFabio leads the squad with three goals with an assist for four points.
 
Chloe Brown is one point back of DeFabio with three points. The sophomore recorded new career highs with two goals and an assist for her three points.
 
Emma Kennedy and Alyssa Chung follow with two points apiece. Kennedy has a pair of goals, while Chung has one goal and one assist. Taylor Miles, Caroline Gage, and Anna Gotterup round out the point scorers with one point each. Miles and Gage both found the back of the net, while Gotterup added a helper.
 
In the season opener, the Navy defense held Virginia to 10 goals. The Midshipmen caused nine turnovers. Yovino and Lily Schmalz led the team with three ground balls and two caused turnovers apiece. Felicia Giglio also added two caused turnovers, while picking up a pair of ground balls. Kennedy, Landen Cain, and Jaclyn Johns were credited with caused turnovers with DeFabio and Gage adding two ground balls each. At goal, Giglio earned her first victory of the season, working a complete game against the Cavs with six saves.
 
The Mids had the advantage in draw controls, 16-7. Yovino led the team with seven draw wins with Maura Murphy recording five. Kennedy notched three draw wins with Gage adding one.
 
Scouting the Opposition
The Wildcats are coming off a 15-6 win over Towson in their season opener. Villanova hits the road for the first time this year at Navy before returning home to host Saint Joseph's on Tuesday.
 
Bella Piselli and Kathryn Monaco each recorded a hat trick against the Tigers, while Madison Freeman and Leslie Iorio scored twice. Elena Torres added two goals and two assists.
 
In her collegiate debut, first-year midfielder Kate O'Neill tied a program single-game record with six caused turnovers and also collected six ground balls.
 
Last season against the Mids, Torres led the Wildcats with four goals and six points in the contest and Emma Verhoest won 16 of the team's 24, tying her own program record at the time.
 
National Rankings
Following its 12-10 upset road win over top 10 Virginia to open the season, Navy climbed to #10 in all three national polls.
 
The Midshipmen began the season 16th in the preseason polls according to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and the Inside Lacrosse KANE Women's Division I Media Polls, while coming in at #14 in the USA Lacrosse preseason poll.
 
In its history, Navy has been ranked 109 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 14 weeks, rising as high as #16 and finishing the year 18th.
 
Entering the game, Villanova is receiving votes according to Inside Lacrosse.
 
Chung, Williams Named to Tewaaraton Watch List
The Tewaaraton Award announced its initial watch list on Tuesday afternoon and Navy women's lacrosse players Alyssa Chung and Mikayla Williams were named to the list. The lists include the top players across all three divisions of NCAA lacrosse.
 
Chung and Williams become the ninth and 10th Midshipmen, respectively, to be named to the Tewaaraton Watch List – Erin Rawlick (2010), Jasmine DePompeo (2012, '13), Jenna Collins (2018), Kelly Larkin (2018, '19, '20), Nicole Victory (2021), Ava Yovino (2023, '24), Alyssa Daley (2025), and Emily Messinese (2025).
 
Schmalz, Yovino Named Patriot League Athletes of the Week
The Patriot League announced its first women's lacrosse weekly awards of the 2026 season and Navy's Lily Schmalz and Ava Yovino were selected as Defender and Midfielder of the Week, respectively. The duo helped lead Navy to an upset road victory over #10/8 Virginia, posting a 12-10 win over the Cavaliers. It is the first weekly conference accolade of Schmalz's career while it is the sixth for Yovino.
 
In her first collegiate start, Schmalz led the team with three ground balls and two caused turnovers. She was a member of the Navy defense that shutout Virginia for nearly 30 minutes during a 7-0 run between the first and third quarters. The sophomore caused a turnover and picked up the ground ball, sparking a run to the goal for Emma Kennedy's game-winning goal. In addition, Schmalz helped ignite the offense, by helping Navy convert 18 of 21 (85.7%) of its clear attempts.
 
Yovino led the team with six points on a pair of goals and a team-high four assists, while adding a team-best seven draw controls, while tying for the team lead with three ground balls and two caused turnovers. The senior stopped a 3-0 UVA run to start the game with her first goal of the season, sparking a 7-0 run for the Midshipmen to take the lead that they would not relinquish. She scored her second goal during the run and had an assist on Chloe Brown's game-tying goal. Yovino added a helper on Maggie DeFabio's goal that capped the 7-0 run, while also adding assists on goals by Emma Kennedy and Alyssa Chung. In addition, the team captain finished with seven of the Mids' 16 draw controls in the game.
 
Yovino Named IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week
The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) announced its National Players of the Week and Navy senior team captain Ava Yovino was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week for Division I. Yovino is the first Navy player since 2024 to earn Player of the Week recognition by a national outlet, when then-junior Alyssa Daley ('25) was recognized by USA Lacrosse Magazine.
 
Up Next
Following the game, Navy will take on Delaware in a midweek road game in Newark, Del. on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 3:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.