Taylor Pinzone, who was part of two Final Four teams at Northwestern before earning First-Team All-Pac 12 honors at Arizona State, joined the Navy women’s lacrosse coaching staff as an assistant coach in October of 2023. Pinzone works directly with associate head coach Brooke Shriver and the Midshipmen offensive attack.
Navy concluded the 2024 season with a 15-4 overall record, including an 8-1 mark in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen advanced to the Patriot League Championship for the 12th time in program history. Navy was ranked throughout the 2024 season in the ILWomen / IWLCA Division I Poll, finishing the year ranked #20. The Mids entered the rankings at #25 (preseason), rising as high as #16 (March 4).
Navy earned the No. 2 overall seed and a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament. The Midshipmen advanced to the Patriot League Championship with a 19-5 victory over No. 4 seed Holy Cross in the semifinals. The Mids were edged 12-11 in overtime to top-seeded and #7 Loyola in the Patriot League Championship.
Juniors Alyssa Daley (draw specialist) and Emily Messinese (midfield) were tabbed Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse All-Americans as honorable mention selections. Daley and Messinese became the sixth and seventh Midshipmen, respectively, to be named IL All-Americans, joining Jenna Collins (2017, '18), Julia Collins (2018), Blake Smith (2018), Kelly Larkin (2017, '18, '19, '20), and Ava Yovino (2023) in the Navy annals, while it was the second consecutive season that Navy had someone on the USA Lacrosse All-America list as then-freshman Ava Yovino was an honorable mention selection in 2023.
The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) named its All-Region teams, including Alyssa Daley and Emily Messinese who were named to the second team of the Mid-Atlantic Region. It was the first time since 2018 that Navy had multiple IWLCA All-Region selections.
Six (6) Mids were named to the 2024 All-Patriot League Team. The Midshipmen tallied four first-team selections, including attacker Tori DiCarlo and midfielder Emily Messinese, while also claiming a pair of second-team honors with attacker Lola Leone and midfielder Mikayla Williams. Additionally, Williams was selected as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Midshipmen to earn Rookie of the Year accolades since Kelly Larkin ('20) earned the honor as a plebe in 2017.
As a team, the Midshipmen tallied 300 goals with 120 assists, including 152 goals and 65 assists in conference games. The Midshipmen concluded the year ranked among the NCAA’s top 10 in clear percentage (5th / .935), scoring margin (6th / 6.89), scoring offense (8th / 15.79), and scoring defense (9th / 8.89). Individually, Emily Messinese ranked in the NCAA’s top 25, coming in 13th in goals (68) and 19th in goals per game (3.58).
Emily Messinese and Tori DiCarlo led the team with 86 and 72 points, respectively. Messinese had 86 points with on a team-best 68 goals, while adding 18 assists. DiCarlo was second on the team with 72 points on 58 goals with 14 helpers. Messinese posted a team-best 16 hat tricks in 19 games, while DiCarlo registered 14 hat tricks during the season.
Kat McAteer was third on the team with 50 total points. The sophomore had a balanced 25 goals with a team-high 25 assists to her credit. Lola Leone was fourth on the squad with 47 points on 40 goals and seven assists, while Mikayla Williams followed with 25 goals and 16 assists for her 41 points. Maggie DeFabio had 26 goals with 12 assists for 38 points to round out Navy’s 30 or more-point scorers. Emma Kennedy finished with 29 points on 20 goals and nine assists, while Lindsay Beardmore notched a balanced 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 total points. Anna Gotterup closed out Navy’s double-digit point scorers with 14 points this season on 13 goals and a helper.
In the classroom, a pair of Midshipmen student-athletes were selected to the 2024 Academic All-Patriot League Team. Attacker Tori DiCarlo led the duo of academic achievers as the 2024 Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year. DiCarlo's selection as Scholar-Athlete of the Year is the second in Navy history and the first for the Midshipmen since Mary Ruttum ('10) earned the honor as a senior in 2010. DiCarlo was among the five Navy female student-athletes who garnered Academic All-District accolades for at-large sports from the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
Pinzone came to the Naval Academy after spending a season at Cornell with the women’s lacrosse coaching staff as an assistant coach. She coached the offensive side of the ball, while also working with the Big Red draw control unit. During the 2023 season, the Big Red posted top 10 season marks in goals (193, ninth), draw controls (220, second) and free position goals (50, fourth).
Prior to Cornell, Pinzone coached with the Mass Elite Club Lacrosse program beginning in 2015, while also doing personal instruction and training. Experienced in skill evaluation and assessment, as well as practice planning and execution and skill level evaluation, she served as an instructor at Northwestern coach Kelly Almonte Hiller’s camps and clinics as an undergraduate.
A 2022 First-Team All-PAC 12 and PAC-12 All-Tournament selection in the midfield at Arizona State as a graduate transfer, Pinzone ranked third on the team in scoring (41g, 13a, 54pts), draw controls (42), ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (20) while pacing the team in free position goals (10). She earned National Player of the Week honors from Inside Lacrosse after leading ASU to a win at Rutgers. Upon graduation, she earned an invitation to compete at the IWLCA Senior All-Star Game.
Her Arizona State experience came on the heels of an excellent four-year career at Northwestern, posting 34 goals and six assists in 50 games, including two starts. She helped lead the team to a pair of NCAA Final Four appearances with two Big Ten Tournament and one conference regular-season crown. She was chosen as a three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick and captured league freshman of the week accolades once.
Pinzone, a 2021 graduate of Northwestern with a degree in Communication Studies, earned a Master's in Leadership and Management from Arizona State in 2022.
