Navy Women's Lacrosse Comes From Behind to Upset No. 11 Florida

Navy trailed by as many as five, but scored the final five goals of the game to post the 14-13 victory.

 ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 17 Navy women's lacrosse team (4-1) scored the final five goals of the game to come from behind and upset No. 11 Florida (1-3), 14-13, on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids trailed by as many as five goals in the second half, but chipped away at the deficit, including scoring the final five goals of the game.
  Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) gave Navy its first lead of the game with 16.5 seconds remaining in the game, and Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) grabbed the ensuing draw control – her 10th of the game – to secure the victory.

"Florida is a signature program and this is a great win for Navy," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "We have a tremendous amount of respect for Florida, their coaches, and players, and for what Florida women's lacrosse stands for in the AAC. They pushed us hard. We made some adjustments and played through a lot of toughness because Florida is really tough. We made more spiritual adjustments to be strong, especially at the end."

Trailing 10-5 in the second half, navy used a free-position shot by Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.) and a goal by Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) to trim the margin to just three. Following a Florida goal, Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) and Roelofs closed the gap to two with back-to-back goals. With five and a half minutes to play, the Gators scored to push the advantage to 13-9.

Navy scored the final five goals of the game over the final 4:30 to post the come-from-behind victory.

Larkin opened up the run with a free-position goal. Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.) took a pass from Roelofs and buried it into the back of the net to trim the margin to 13-11. Harris followed with an unassisted goal to close the gap to one. O'Sullivan knotted the game at 13-13 with her fourth goal of the game.

Florida won the next draw control, but the Gators' shot attempt was wide and the Midshipmen backed the shot up to gain possession with under a minute to play. Navy worked the ball around the arc and Heyward was able to find Larkin cutting towards the goal. Larkin buried the ball in the back of the goal to give the Mids their first lead of the game with 16.5 seconds remaining.

Heyward sealed the victory by winning the final draw of the game and running the final seconds off the clock.

With the win, the Midshipmen improve to 4-1 overall, including four straight victories. Florida drops to 1-3 overall with all four games coming against top 20 opponents.

Navy finished the game with 14 goals on 29 shots. The Mids won 16 of 28 draws on the day, while playing nearly even in ground balls (Florida 19, Navy 18).

O'Sullivan paced the offense with four goals, while Harris and Larkin chipped in three goals apiece. Roelofs added two goals and an assist for three points, while Heyward finished with a goal and an assist to go along with a team-best 10 draw controls.

Defensively, the Midshipmen tallied 12 saves in the game. Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) started the game, recording eight saves and allowing 10 goals. She gave way to freshman Abbi Young (Alamo, Calif.) who closed out the final 15:49 for her first collegiate victory. Young registered four saves, while allowing three goals. Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) paced the team with five ground balls with Heyward adding four. O'Sullivan caused a team-best two turnovers on the day.

Navy returns to action on Wednesday, March 6, as the Midshipmen welcomes No. 1 Boston College to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. game. Live stats and live video will be available throughout the game.