Alyssa Chung, Navy's dynamic sophomore lefty attacker and the leading scorer on a balanced Navy team riding its best regular season in the school's 19-year Division I history, admits she is a full-blown perfectionist.
 
"I realize there is no such thing as a perfect game, but I'm one of those people who always sees something I can improve," Chung said. "Something I tend to struggle with being overly critical [of myself]. The best description of my personality is I'm California Type A. Or East Coast Type B. If lacrosse ever became not fun, I wouldn't play it anymore."
 
Chung says she doesn't have true hobbies that fit into her busy student-athlete schedule at the Naval Academy. She likes to read – when she has time. Same with travel, hanging out with her company at the academy and watching sports on television. She admits she is 'godawful' at watching movies, since she can't sit still that long.
 
The majority of the fun Chung experiences on the Yard is undeniably lacrosse-based. For years, she has honed her advanced offensive skills as a shooter and feeder. She studies opponents as thoroughly as she absorbs tips and tricks by watching tape of various male and female lacrosse greats, largely fellow lefties representing different eras.
 
There is no limit to Chung's curiosity, creativity and lacrosse IQ. Her shot has registered 85 miles per hour. Her vision and shooting range are formidable. Her competitive fire and joy for the game are pretty much non-stop.
 
During a given week, Chung might devote as much time – or more – on her extra shooting work and solitary, wall ball workouts than the time she spends on the practice field with her fellow Midshipmen.
 
"Put simply, that girl is just a true lax rat. 'A.C.' loves anything that has anything to do with lacrosse," said senior star two-way midfielder Ava Yovino, one of Navy's top leaders and a captain.
 
"She is so dedicated to getting better and developing every day," Yovino added. "It would be silly not to say she has an insane shot. We haven't seen a shot like hers in the women's game in a while. Watching her step down [shot] in practice is jaw dropping. She is a freak of nature. We joke that she is either playing lacrosse in her free time or catching a nap."
 
Chung has studied and tried to copy luminaries such as Gary Gait, Casey Powell (and younger brothers Ryan and Mikey), Paul Rabil, Deemer Class, Pat Spencer and Mac O'Keefe. When she drops down sidearm and rips a goal-scoring shot, think of O'Keefe, a current member of the PLL's Archers who graduated from Penn State five years ago as the top goal scorer in NCAA history with 221. His 269 career points rank second in Big Ten history.
 
On the women's side, some of her favorites include former Syracuse star and current coach Nicole Levy, former Maryland All-American and longtime Loyola University Maryland assistant Dana Dobbie  and Loyola head coach Jen Adams, a 2001 graduate from Maryland and arguably the greatest offensive force ever in the women's game.
 
Chung takes pride in copying Adams' "toe drag" move. Same with Casey Powell's "finalizer move." Or anything to do with former Albany superstar points machine Lyle Thompson, or his brother, Myles.
 
"I will watch anybody, men or women, if I think their game is cool," said Chung, who has been known to view a highlight reel on her phone, in the minutes before the Mids exit the locker room to play a game. "I must say I've watched an egregious amount of Mac O'Keefe. I've tried to copy his shot form for the last five years. What an underarm stroke! I still can't crack it."
 
Prior to the season, Yovino asked her teammates to write a mantra to use during the season. Chung, who is trying to tamp down on the stress her demanding self can bring on, came up with "Play Loose, Have Fun."
 
That pretty much describes Navy's top goal producer (62) and points leader (90) by far, in her second season. A year ago, she was the Patriot League's runaway Rookie of the Year, having earned seven weekly rookie honors in 2025.
 
"Stress free is best," said Chung, who cherishes the extra shooting work she gets in, with Navy assistant coaches Brooke Shriver and Taylor Pinzone taking turns feeding her and watching her break out her latest tricks, then hear their feedback.
 
"In her first couple of practices as a freshman, A.C. was flashing accurate, behind-the-back shots on goal. Her game is already at such a high level, but she is determined to keep growing," Pinzone said. "Besides her amazing stick skills, her outsized personality and level of commitment stand out. She brings out her need to maintain her high standard."
 
Chung isn't one to bask in the great plays she creates. After hanging a career high 10 points on Lafayette recently, she watched the film of that blowout and fixated on the turnovers she committed that day. And the need to clean up that part of her game.
 
"[Chung] is a true student of the game. She will try all sorts of crazy shots she has seen on YouTube. It's different than when we work with anyone else for extra shooting," Shriver said. "Her creativity has spread on the team. Other players are trying new things."
 
"We were working on our ball movement in our zone offense in practice, and A.C. whips out a between-the-legs shot for a goal," she added. "We're like, 'good job!' Every now and then, we have to rein her in, but she has earned the right to push the envelope. I love watching her from a front row seat."
 
If the Mids (16-1) are going to go on a deep postseason run, Chung likely will have a lot to do with it. Navy is tied for eighth in scoring defense nationally, having allowed just 7.65 goals per game. Its high-octane offense is ranked third in Division I with an average of 15.94 goals per game. Chung's 3.65 goals per game average is ninth-best in the country.
 
As a First Team All-Patriot League member for the second year, Chung's well-grounded game has flourished more this year. She has scooped 24 ground balls, partly due to her work in the draw circle (11 draw controls). Her 16 caused turnovers are tied for second on the team.
 
Chung's coaches say her shot selection has gotten smarter and her passes more effective. Her fearlessness remains more intact than ever. The joy she derives from playing the game is palpable.
 
Behind Chung's blistering accurate shooting lies the scoring depth that bodes well for the Mids. Attackers Taylor Miles and Emma Kennedy and midfielders Yovino and Mikayla Williams have posted a range of 47 to 55 points in 2026. Chung's 28 assists are one shy of Yovino, the team leader.
 
Chung has scored on 46.3 percent of her shots, following hard dodges to the goal or bombs launched at high speed from beyond 10 meters. And anything in between. She can be a nightmare operating behind the opponents' cage.
 
Yovino praised Chung's constant improvement. This year, for example, Yovino said she deals more effectively with the frequent face-guarding strategy opponents use to try to limit her.
 
"A.C.'s growth has been exponential. A lot of her mentors in lacrosse are men. She plays that way – spin moves, one hand on the stick. I'm not impressed anymore with her BTB [behind the back] shot, because it's already part of her arsenal," Yovino said. "Her game IQ is insane."
 
At 5-feet-7, Chung emerged as a future force at Severna Park High School, where she started by missing her freshman season, due to a catastrophic knee injury she suffered on the lacrosse field as an eighth-grader. Her recovery required 18 months.
 
Once she got healthy, Chung shined on her high school team and on her M&D Lacrosse club team. Originally a defender throughout her elementary and middle school years, she moved to two-way midfielder for M&D and excelled on attack at Severna Park.
 
While being part of an M&D team that was ranked tops in the nation for five straight years, Chung made her last three seasons count in a major way. As a sophomore and junior, she earned All-America and First Team All-Metro honors. She set the single-season, school scoring record as a junior then broke Severna Park's all-time scoring record as a senior.
 
Even though Chung suffered another, less serious knee injury that senior year – it ended her season prematurely in April – she was still named to the First Team All-County team.
 
Chung received offers from, among other Division I stalwarts, Northwestern, Stanford and Harvard. Army also wanted her badly. But Elaine Gore, Chung's mother, said that all along, her daughter had her eye most on Navy.
 
"Alyssa was ready to go to Navy when they called on July 1 [prior to her junior high school year]. I just wanted her to look at other options," Gore said.
 
Deemer Class, the former Duke star who played professionally for seven years, while coaching male and female players at the high school and college levels – he was a part of the Blue Devils national title teams in 2013 and 2014 – said he inherited an unforgettable player to help develop the day Chung started training with him.
 
Class, who runs First Class Lacrosse, which features one-on-one small groups skill training, helped Chung's recovery from her first knee injury. Class said he fed her natural curiosity and fearlessness by encouraging Chung to stretch her game any way she could. They still keep in touch regularly.
 
"My favorite memory of A.C.'s first year with me was every time there was a water break, she was always picking up a lacrosse ball to take extra shots, or trying some crazy shot," Class said. "I'd have to tell her to get some water first. She wants to squeeze in every rep possible."
 
"My approach to helping her was to promote and encourage. I could see the real potential she had. She continues to push the boundaries of her creativity and what she can do with a stick," added Class, who thinks Chung is potentially World Team material.
 
"Her hands are fantastic. She can bring shots underhand, overhand, around defenders, snap it low-to-high, low-to-low, even right-handed," he said. "She's exploding now, and still is only scratching the surface. She could be one of the best to ever to play this game."
 
Gore, who calls her daughter "quirky," marvels at her dedication.
 
"I can't understand how anybody would enjoy spending three hours playing wall ball. Alyssa maintains that it's therapeutic," Gore said. "Even as a senior at Severna Park, she wouldn't come home during free periods. She'd be shooting or pounding that wall at school. It's her craft. And it's another way that Alyssa marches to the beat of her own drummer."