ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #5 / #4 Navy women's lacrosse team (19-1) takes on #9 / #7 Syracuse (14-5) in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 10 at 1:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
 
Sunday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with an audio only broadcast on WNAV. Live stats will also be available. Tickets for the NCAA Tournament second-round game in Annapolis are $15 for adults and $10 for youth and seniors. Parking at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is $11 (credit card only – fees included).
 
The Midshipmen defeated UMass, 17-16, to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history (2013, '17, '18, '19, '26). Navy will play Syracuse, who defeated #23 / #22 Loyola in the first round, 8-6.
 
With the win against UMass, Navy tied the school record for wins, originally set in 2013 when the Mids finished the season 19-2.
 
The Midshipmen earned the No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament – the highest seed in program history – to earn hosting duties for the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.
 
NCAA Tournament
Navy is making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Midshipmen earned automatic berths into the postseason in eight seasons, winning the Patriot League Tournament championship (2010, '11, '12, '13, '17, '18, '25, '26), while receiving an at-large berth into the 2019 Tournament.
 
In 2017, the team made history as it became the first Service Academy team from a women's sport to advance to the NCAA Final Four. A year later, the Midshipmen advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the second consecutive season.
 
Navy is officially 8-8 (.500) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 5-4 (.556) mark in the first round. The Midshipmen are 2-2 (.500) in the second round, advancing the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2017 and 2018. The Mids won three play-in games, but those games do not count towards NCAA Tournament records.
 
The 2026 NCAA Tournament marks the second time in program history that Navy has hosted the first and second rounds. The Midshipmen earned the No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament, marking the highest seed in program history. Navy previously hosted the opening rounds in 2013 as the No. 8 seed.
 
All-Time Series
The game between Navy and Syracuse will mark the first meeting between the two teams.
 
Syracuse is the second ACC team that Navy will face this season. The Midshipmen opened the 2026 campaign on the road against #10 Virginia, posting a 12-10 victory over the Cavaliers.
 
Despite it being the first meeting between Navy and Syracuse, head coach Cindy Timchal is familiar with the Orange, posting an 8-0 all-time against Syracuse.
 
Syracuse men's lacrosse head coach Gary Gait was an assistant coach under current Navy women's lacrosse head coach Cindy Timchal from 1995-01 with the Maryland women's lacrosse program. The duo helped direct the Terrapins to seven NCAA Championships during that stretch. Gait took over as the Syracuse women's lacrosse head coach in 2007, serving as the head coach for 14 years before taking over the men's program in June of 2021.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Navy women's lacrosse team enters the game 19-1 overall, following its 17-16 opening round NCAA Tournament win over UMass. The Midshipmen used a goal from Mikayla Williams with 35 seconds remaining in regulation to break a 16-16 tie to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
As a team, the Midshipmen have tallied 323 goals with 158 assists, while picking up 358 ground balls, winning 308 draw controls, and causing 175 turnovers. Additionally, Navy has held twelve (12) opponents this season to single digits.
 
Alyssa Chung, Taylor Miles, Mikayla Williams, Emma Kennedy, and Ava Yovino lead the team with 40 or more points apiece.
 
Chung paces the team with 106 points on a team-high 74 goals with a team-best 32 assists to her credit. The sophomore became the sixth player in program history to record 100 or more points in a season, joining Jenna Collins (2017, '18), Julia Collins (2018), Jasmine DePompeo (2013), Kelly Larkin (2017, '18, '19), and Erin Rawlick (2010).
 
Miles follows with 68 points on 48 goals and 20 assists. The sophomore entered the NCAA Tournament one point shy of 100 for her career, scoring four goals in the win against UMass to eclipse the 100-point plateau in her young career. In two seasons, Miles has 65 goals and 38 assists for 103 career points.
 
Williams and Kennedy have 59 and 57 points, respectively. Williams has 38 scores and 21 helpers for 59 points on the season, while Kennedy has 57 points on 50 goals and seven assists. Yovino rounds out the Midshipmen's top five with 48 points on 19 goals and 29 assists.
 
Maggie DeFabio, Bella Paradiso, Anna Gotterup, Chloe Brown, and Kat McAteer close out the Mids double-digit point scorers. DeFabio, who recorded her 100th career goal in the Patriot League Semifinal against Bucknell, has 38 points on 26 goals and 12 assists. Paradiso follows with 23 points on 18 goals and five assists, while Gotterup is three points back with 20 points on a balanced 10 goals and 10 assists. Brown and McAteer have 17 points apiece. Brown's 17 points comes on 12 goals and five assists, while McAteer has a balanced eight goals and nine assists for her 17 points to close out the double-digit point scorers.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen have held their opponents to 8.25 goals per game. The Navy defense has held twelve (12) opponents – Villanova (5 goals), High Point (6 goals), South Florida (8 goals), Bucknell (6 goals), Holy Cross (3 goals), Lehigh (6 goals), Boston University (5 goals), #14 Army (8 goals), Lafayette (1 goal), Colgate (7 goals), American (5 goals), and Bucknell (8 goals – Patriot League Semifinal) – to single-digit goals.
 
The Mids have caused 175 of their opponents' 305 turnovers (57.4 percent). Chung and Yovino lead the team with 22 caused turnovers each, while Jaclyn Johns follows with 17. Felicia Giglio adds 15 takeaways with DeFabio being credited with 13. Landen Cain and Caroline Gage chip in 11 apiece, while Tiana Griffin and Miles close out the Mids double-digit takeaways with 10 each.
 
Giglio leads the team with 49 ground balls with Yovino following with 36 ground ball pickups. DeFabio adds 33 with Johns, Chung, and Gage following with 29, 27, and 27 ground balls, correspondingly. Cain (24), Kennedy (20), Jalin Jenkins (18), Williams (16), Lily Schmalz (13), Miles (12), and Griffin (10) close out Navy's double-digit ground balls.
 
Giglio has played and started each game for Navy in the cage, working 1129:33 minutes of action between the posts. The junior goalie has 128 of the Mids' 137 saves on the year with an 8.29 goals against average and 45.1 save percentage.
 
Giglio is 19-1 on the season and 49-10 in her career. With the win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Giglio is now the single-season and career record holder for wins by a goalie.
 
In the circle, Maura Murphy boasts a team-high 164 draw wins. The senior finished one draw shy of tying the school record of 21 draws in a game against UMass, finishing with 20 to mark the second time in program history a Navy player recorded 20 or more draw wins in a game. It was Murphy's sixth double-digit draw performance this season. Yovino follows with 57 draws, while Williams (28) Kennedy (22), and Chung (16) round out the Mids' double-digit draws.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Syracuse advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as a strong defensive effort stifled Loyola, holding the Greyhounds to their lowest scoring output in two seasons in an 8-6 victory. Six goals also marked the lowest by a Syracuse opponent in the NCAA Tournament since 2016 when the Orange held Stony Brook to that same mark.
 
The Orange advanced to the second round for the seventh-straight NCAA Tournament, earning first-year head coach Regy Thorpe his first tournament win.
 
Syracuse is led by Molly Guzik, Caroline Trinkaus, Mackenzie Rich, and Ashlee Volpe who boast 30 or more points apiece. Guzik leads the team with 51 points on a team-best 41 goals to go along with 10 assists. Trinkaus has 27 goals and 11 assists for 38 points, while Rich is one point back with 37 points on 16 goals and a team-high 21 assists. Volpe adds 30 points on 12 goals and 18 assists, while Emma Muchnick (24g 2a) rounds out Syracuse's top-five-point scorers with 26 points.
 
Izzy Lahah leads the team with 51 ground balls and 54 caused turnovers, while Guzik leads the Orange with 73 draw controls.
 
Daniella Guyette has played and started all 19 games for the Orange this season. She has recorded 124 saves with 144 goals allowed in 1120:43 minutes of work for a 46.3 save percentage and a 7.71 goals against average.