ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #10/10 Navy women's lacrosse team (4-0) is set for a top-10 showdown on Saturday morning as the Midshipmen take on #7/7 Florida (3-1) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Opening draw is set for 9:30 a.m. on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Taylor Cummings on the call.
In addition to the television coverage, the broadcast will be live streamed on the
CBSSports.com. An audio-only portion of the contest will be available via WNAV with
Tim Nolan calling the action: over the radio waves on 1430 AM, online at
WNAV.com or through the iHeart and Audacy platforms. Additionally,
live stats will be provided online
The game between Navy and Florida is the third of six morning contests on the schedule for the Midshipmen – Villanova (11:00 a.m.); High Point (11:00 a.m.), Florida (9:30 a.m.), Loyola (11:00 a.m.), Boston (11:00 a.m.), and Colgate (11:00 a.m.). Navy defeated Villanova (W, 18-5) and High Point (W, 14-6) to improve to 15-2 (.882) all-time in morning games.
All-Time Series
The game between Navy and Florida will mark the fifth meeting between the two teams. The Gators lead the series 3-1. The Midshipmen are 1-0 against UF in Annapolis, but 0-3 against the Gators in Gainesville.
In the inaugural game between the two teams in 2018, the Midshipmen led 10-2 early, but ultimately fell 19-16 to the Gators. In 2019, Navy scored the final five goals to come from behind and upset #11 Florida, 14-13. The Mids trailed by as many as five goals in the second half, but chipped away at the deficit to take the lead with under 20 seconds to win the game.
In 2020, #19 Navy fell behind 6-0 in the first 10 minutes to #8 Florida and were unable to overcome the deficit, dropping a 17-9 decision to the Gators. The game ended up being the final contest of 2020 as the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
Last season, #23 Navy put forth a stellar effort on the road, but came up just short as #6 Florida notched a 14-13 win over the Midshipmen 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.
Navy has two players on its roster – Julia Frosh (Pensacola) and
Ava Yovino (Parkland) – from the Sunshine State, while Florida has seven – Theresa Bragg (Severna Park), Ashley Dyer (Elkridge), Allison Fling (Sykesville), Gabby Greene (Edgewater), Frannie Hahn (Catonsville), Caroline Hoskins (Towson), and Susan Radebaugh (Lutherville-Timonium) – from Maryland.
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Navy women's lacrosse team enters the weekend 4-0 on the young season, defeating #10 Virginia (W, 12-10); routing Villanova (W, 18-5), besting Delaware (W, 15-10); and downing High Point (W, 14-6).
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 59 goals with 35 assists, while picking up 73 ground balls, winning 53 draw controls, and causing 33 turnovers.
Entering the weekend,
Taylor Miles,
Alyssa Chung, and
Ava Yovino lead the team. Miles paces the team with a balanced 21 points on 11 goals and a team-high 10 assists. Chung is one point back with 20 points on a team-high 16 goals and four assists. Yovino is third on the team with 17 points on seven goals, while matching Miles with the team lead with 10 assists.
Emma Kennedy and
Mikayla Williams round out the Midshipmen's top five. Kennedy has nine points on seven goals and two assists, while Williams is two points back with seven on five goals and a pair of helpers.
Chloe Brown and
Maggie DeFabio have six points apiece. Brown and DeFabio match one another with five goals and an assist, while
Anna Gotterup is one point back with five points on a goal and four assists.
Caroline Gage and
Grace Mitchell have one goal apiece for one point each, while
Rowan Kimmel has a point on an assist.
Defensively, the Midshipmen have held their opponents to 7.75 goals per game. The Navy defense has held three opponents – #10 Virginia, Villanova, and Delaware – scoreless for one quarter. The Midshipmen held the Cavaliers and Wildcats without a goal in the second quarter, while keeping the Fightin' Blue Hens out of the net in the third period. The Mids were able to outscore their opponents, 17-0, during those three quarters.
The Mids have caused 33 of their opponents' 54 turnovers.
Felicia Giglio leads the team with six caused turnovers, while
Jalin Jenkins follows with four. Chung, Gage, Kennedy, and Yovino have three takeaways apiece with
Lily Schmalz, DeFabio, and Miles adding two each.
Yovino paces the team with 11 ground balls, while Giglio follows with nine. DeFabio and Gage add eight and six, respectively, while Jenkins and Schmalz close out the top five with five ground ball pickups each.
Giglio has played and started each game for Navy in the cage, working 228:35 minutes of action between the posts. The junior goalie has 28 of the Mids' 31 saves on the year with a 7.87 goals against average. With her first save of the game against Villanova, Giglio registered her 250th career save, becoming the fourth player in program history with 250 or more saves. She currently ranks third in program history with 271 career saves.
Freshman goalkeeper
Angelina Price saw her first collegiate action against Villanova, while also taking some reps against High Point. The rookie has posted a clean sheet with three saves in just under 10 minutes of action. Sophomore
Lila Stachowski saw her first collegiate action against HPU working the final 90 seconds at goal in the Mids' 14-6 victory.
In the circle,
Maura Murphy boasts a team-high 26 draw wins. The senior notched her first double-digit draw performance against High Point, finishing with a game-high 14 draw wins. Yovino following with 11 draws, while Kennedy adds five draw wins with Williams (3), Brown (2), and
Landen Cain (2) closing out Navy's top five draws on the season.
Scouting the Opposition
Florida enters the game 3-1 on the season, falling at home to #17 Michigan (L, 12-10), while picking up victories against #19 Loyola (W, 17-13), #7 Clemson (W, 14-13), and Stetson (W, 24-8).
Clark Hamilton leads the Gators attack with 24 points on a team-high 18 goals with six assists. She is followed by Frannie Hahn who has 17 points on a balanced nine goals and team-high eight assists. Gabby Greene (6g 2a), Boo DeWitt (7g 1a), and Kaitlyn Davies (5g 2a) round out the Gators' top five with eight, eight, and seven points, correspondingly.
Florida has used two primary goalkeepers so far on the year. Paige Crowther has worked a team-high 108:51 in four games, while Maya Soskin has logged 98:34 in four games. Crowther has a team-high 21 saves, while Soskin adds 10 stops.
Ashley Dyer leads the team with four caused turnovers with Greene and Davies following with three caused turnovers apiece. Davies has a team-best six ground balls with Dyer one back with five. Davies leads the team with 15 draw controls with Gabbi Koury following with 10.
Patriot League Athlete of the Week
The Patriot League announced its weekly women's lacrosse awards and Navy's
Felicia Giglio was tabbed the conference's Goalkeeper of the Week for the second consecutive week. During her career, Giglio has now earned seven Patriot League weekly honors – six Goalie of the Week awards and one Rookie of the Week.
Giglio earned a pair of victories in the cage, helping lead Navy to a pair of road victories on the week, defeating Delaware (W, 15-10) and High Point (W, 14-6). The anchor of the Navy defense that held the two teams to just 16 goals (8.0 gpg), including keeping High Point to single digits.
The junior finished the week with 14 saves, a 7.97 goals against average, and a 48.3 save percentage, while picking up a team-high six ground balls and adding a team-best four caused turnovers. She recorded seven saves with two ground balls and a caused turnover at Delaware, while notching seven stops with four ground balls and three caused turnovers at High Point.
Giglio assisted the offense by helping the Mids convert 43 of 44 (.977) clear attempts on the week, including a perfect 26-for-26 against HPU.
Up Next
Following the game, Navy travels to Tampa, Fla. to take on South Florida at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 7. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
