To conclude the Patriot League regular season, the AU women’s lacrosse team traveled to Annapolis, Md., to face the two-time defending Patriot League Champions, the Navy Midshipmen, April 13.
The Mids (14-2, 5-0 PL) proved to be too much for the Eagles, scoring 10 goals in the second half en route to a 19-6 victory.
Just 30 seconds into the second half, Navy’s Loren Generi scored to push Navy’s lead to 10-5. The goal was the start of a nine-goal run to put the Eagles (7-7, 3-3 PL) away for good.
The lone Eagle second-half goal came when Kimberly Collins took advantage of a free position shot with 10:31 left when the game was well out of reach for AU.
Generi’s goal was one of seven on the day, tying a Navy freshman record. She also led both teams with eight draw controls and nine shots.
The first half was more competitive than the second. Collins scored the game’s first goal just 38 seconds in, and both teams exchanged scores through the opening 20 minutes, in which no team held an advantage of more than one goal.
With 11:49 left in the first half, Jasmine DePompeo scored to give the Mids a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish. Entering halftime, the Eagles trailed the Midshipmen 9-5.
The Navy defense proved to be particularly stifling and held the Eagles to 15 shots on the night. In the second half alone, the Eagles were outshot 21-5.
Emily Maher was one of the lone bright spots for AU, as she recorded three draw controls to give her 51 on the season and tie Gina Riitano for most draw controls in a single season by an Eagle.
Burton and Collins, who entered the match ranked fourth and fifth in the Patriot League in points per game, couldn’t help AU keep up with the Navy attack. Collins matched teammate Lauren Schoenberger with a team-high two goals, while Burton and Maher contributed one score in the loss.
For the Eagles, Kaska Komosinski made eight saves in the game. Michelle Verbeeck made five saves for the Mids in 53 minutes of action, yielding to backup Elaina Ponchione for the remainder of the contest.
In addition to Generi’s seven-goal performance, Aimee Gennaro finished the game with seven points, including three goals, for Navy. DePompeo and Jess Fellows each scored twice.
With the win, Navy clinches the Patriot League regular season crown outright for the first time in school history and will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed.
The Eagles are finished with conference play but hope to still earn a berth in the Patriot League Tournament. AU and Lafayette are in contention for the last spot in the tournament, with the Eagles needing Lafyaette to drop its season finale at Holy Cross to get in.
The Eagles will finish the regular season with two non-conference games on the road.
They’ll take on the University of Maryland-Baltimore County April 17 before finishing up against No. 10 Ohio State April 21.
