ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #4/4 Navy women's lacrosse team (9-0, 1-0 Patriot League) returns to conference play against Holy Cross (4-4, 2-0 Patriot League) on Saturday, March 21 at Kuzniewski Field in Worcester, Mass. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be provided online.
 
All-Time Series
The game marks the 21st meeting between the two teams. Navy holds an 18-2 (.900) overall record against Holy Cross. The Midshipmen are 10-0 (1.000) against the Crusaders in Annapolis, but 6-2 (.750) in Worcester. The two teams met once in the Patriot League Tournament in Baltimore with the Mids claiming the win.
 
Navy opened the series, winning three straight games before Holy Cross registered a one-goal win for the Crusaders' first victory in the series. The Midshipmen rattled off seven consecutive victories in the series before the Crusaders once again notched a one-goal win.
 
The Midshipmen have won eight in a row against the Crusaders and 15 of the last 16 meetings between the two teams.
 
The last time the two teams met in Worcester, Navy posted a 13-9 victory over Holy Cross at Kuzniewski Field during the 2024 regular season, snapping the Crusaders' season-long eight-game winning streak. The two teams were tied 7-7 at halftime, but the Mids used a second-half burst, outscoring the Crusaders 6-2, to secure the four-goal victory.
 
Last season, Maggie DeFabio, Alyssa Chung, and Mikayla Williams combined for 14 goals as #22 Navy posted a 19-8 victory over Holy Cross at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. DeFabio notched a career-high with six goals in the game while Chung and Williams added four scores apiece to lead the Midshipmen.
 
Holy Cross head coach Amanda Belichick is the daughter of former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Bill's father, Steve Belichick, was a legendary figure around the Naval Academy for over 50 years, including the 33 years (1956-89) he served as an assistant football coach and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education. Prior to Navy's appearance in the 2017 Final Four, which was held in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Bill Belichick came to practice and spoke to the Midshipmen.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Navy women's lacrosse team improved to 9-0 on the season with an 11-10 win against Arizona State on Tuesday afternoon. Senior team captain Ava Yovino scored with 68 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to break a 10-10 tie, giving #4 Navy the victory. The Midshipmen improved to 9-0 on the season, matching the best start in program history.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 133 goals with 67 assists, while picking up 149 ground balls, winning 129 draw controls, and causing 71 turnovers.
 
Entering the weekend, Alyssa Chung, Ava Yovino, and Taylor Miles lead the team with over 30 points apiece. Chung paces the team with 41 points on a team-high 30 goals with 11 assists to her credit. Yovino and Miles follow with 33 and 32 points, respectively. Yovino has 15 scores, including the game-winning goal against Arizona State, with a team-best 18 helpers for her 33 points. Miles has 19 goals with 13 assists for 32 points.
 
Mikayla Williams and Emma Kennedy round out the Midshipmen's top five. Williams, who has notched a hat trick in each of the last six games, has 25 points on 20 goals and five assists. Kennedy is two points back with 23 points on 19 goals and four helpers.
 
Maggie DeFabio and Anna Gotterup close out the Mids double-digit point scorers. DeFabio has 13 points on 10 goals and three assists, while Gotterup follows with 10 points on a balanced four goals and six assists.
 
Chloe Brown has six points thanks to five goals and a helper. Bella Paradiso has five points on four goals and an assist, while Kat McAteer also adds five points on two goals and three assists. Caroline Gage (2g 1a), and Rowan Kimmel (1g 1a) follow with three and two points, correspondingly. Grace Mitchell and Natalie O'Neill close out the scoring with one goal each.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen have held their opponents to 8.44 goals per game. The Navy defense has held four opponents – Villanova (5 goals), High Point (6 goals), South Florida (8 goals), and Bucknell (6 goals) – to single-digit goals.
 
The Mids have caused 71 of their opponents' 127 turnovers (55.9 percent). Yovino and Felicia Giglio lead the team with 10 caused turnovers apiece. Jaclyn Johns is next with seven, while Chung has six. DeFabio and Kennedy follow with five apiece to round out Navy's top five.
 
Yovino leads the team with 23 ground balls with Giglio following with 21 ground ball pickups. DeFabio has 15 with Johns following with 11. Gage has 10 to round out Navy's top five in the category.
 
Giglio has played and started each game for Navy in the cage, working 512:45 minutes of action between the posts. The junior goalie has 67 of the Mids' 72 saves on the year with an 8.54 goals against average.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Angelina Price has posted five saves in just under 26 minutes of action (25:45), while sophomore Lila Stachowski saw her first collegiate action against High Point, working the final 90 seconds at goal in the Mids' 14-6 victory.
 
In the circle, Maura Murphy boasts a team-high 55 draw wins. The senior notched her first double-digit draw performance against High Point, finishing with a game-high 14 draw wins. Yovino follows with 34 draws, while Kennedy adds 19 draw wins.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Holy Cross enters the weekend 4-4 overall. The Crusaders are off to a 2-0 start in Patriot League. The game will be the conference home game of the season for Holy Cross as the Crusaders began league play at Lafayette (W, 18-7) and Lehigh (W, 12-9).
 
Holy Cross is led by Hadley Cepiel and Kate Avitabile who have 28 points apiece. Cepiel leads the team with 24 points with four assists for her 28 points, while Avitabile has scored three goals with a team-best 25 assists. Annabel Brennan follows with 14 points on 13 goals and an assist, while Tess Prunier (6g 6a) and Tory Rider (7g 5a) are tied with 12 points apiece to round out the Crusaders' top five.
 
Rachell Levy-Smith, who has won five consecutive Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors, leads the team with 21 caused turnovers and 19 ground balls. Additionally, the senior leads Holy Cross with 83 of the team's 113 draw controls.
 
Mackenzie Creagh has logged a majority of minutes between the posts at goal for Holy Cross. She has 58 saves with 91 goals allowed for a 38.9 save percentage and an 11.47 goals against average in nearly 476 minutes (475:59).
 
Up next
Navy returns to Annapolis for a midweek Patriot League game against Lehigh on Wednesday, March 25 at 6:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and an audio-only portion of the contest will be available via WNAV. Additionally, live stats will be provided online.