Women's Lacrosse Stumbles Against No. 1 Boston College

Navy was unable to get into a decent rhythm, dropping an 18-5 decision to No. 1 Boston College.

 ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 12 Navy women's lacrosse team (4-2) dropped an 18-5 decision to No. 1 Boston College (7-0) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night. The Midshipmen trailed 6-4 with just under 14 minutes to play in the first half, but the Eagles closed out the game with a 12-1 run to secure the victory.

"We played an amazing team tonight in Boston College," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "The standout play of Sam Apuzzo, Kenzie Kent, and Dempsey Arsenault. The goalie [Ngai Abbey] played great. We struggled early on with draws. They have a really good draw package."

"It is a disappointing loss for Navy women's lacrosse, but hopefully it will be a galvanizing game that we can use to bring us together and get back on track. We are going to stay positive. We are not going to allow any team to make us feel less than what we are. With that, we need to be prepared and ready for our next game. This is a tough loss, but we will learn a lot from this game. I think BC played some inspired lacrosse. At the end of the day, it wasn't our day. We will come back and prepare for a really tough Brown team on Saturday."

Offensively, Navy was led by Kelly Larkin (Alexandria, Va.) who scored a pair of goals on the day. She was joined by Reagan Roelofs (Apple Valley, Minn.) who finished with two points (1g 1a). Moriah Snyder (Bel Air, Md.) and Marina Lazarides (Westminster, Md.) chipped in a goal apiece, while Andie O'Sullivan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) and Kayla Harris (Annapolis, Md.) added assists. Roelofs led the team with four draws, while Annalise Heyward (Charlotte, N.C.) added a pair.

Defensively, Gab Harchelroad (Pittsburgh, Pa.) posted her first double-digit save effort, finishing with a career-best 10 stops. In addition, she grabbed a pair of ground balls and caused two turnovers. Harchelroad was joined by Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) with two caused turnovers and a team-high three ground balls.

For Valenti, the senior now has 95 caused turnovers and is just five CTs shy of becoming the sixth player in the Patriot League with 100 or more caused turnovers.

Reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Sam Apuzzo of Boston College led all players with 10 points, netting a game-high eight goals to go along with 12 draw controls.

The game was tight in the early goings. Larkin opened up the scoring with a goal off a Roelofs assist. BC took the lead as Apuzzo scored three straight goals, but the Mids responded with a goal by Lazarides. Trailing 4-2, Larkin netted her second goal of the day to cut the margin to one. The Eagles answered with a pair of goals, but Snyder cut the deficit to 6-4 with a goal with 11:15 to play in the first half. Boston College closed the half with a 6-0 run to take a 12-4 lead into halftime.

In the second half, BC scored the first goal, but Roelofs responded with an unassisted goal. The No. 1 team in the country used solid defense and a quick-strike offense to finish the game with a 5-0 run and claim the 18-5 victory.

Navy returns to action on Saturday, March 9, as the Midshipmen welcomes Brown to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Opening draw is slated for 12:00 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available throughout the game.