Women's Lax Hosts Navy Saturday in Patriot League Opener

Photo by: Ben Popko

Women's Lax Hosts Navy Saturday in Patriot League Opener

3/17/2023 12:37:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

(RV) Navy (6-2, 0-0 PL) at Bucknell (4-2, 0-0 PL)
When: Saturday, March 18, 12 p.m.
Where: Graham Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WLAX

Bucknell at a Glance

Two teams riding four-game winning streaks square off on Saturday, as Bucknell hosts Navy on the first full day of Patriot League play. Five league games involving all 10 teams are on the slate for Saturday afternoon. In addition to the game in Lewisburg, Lehigh visits Loyola, Lafayette travels to American, Boston University plays at Colgate, and Army travels to Holy Cross.
The Patriot League is off to a good start in 2023, as the 10 teams have combined for a 42-30 record. No. 9 Loyola and No. 13 Army are both nationally ranked in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll, while Navy is receiving votes but just outside the top-25.
Bucknell has been idle since last Saturday's 11-8 road win over Mount St. Mary's. The Bison scored six first-quarter goals and led 8-2 at the half and 10-3 after three quarters.
Fast starts have been a theme for Bucknell in this four-game winning streak. The Bison have now outscored their last four opponents 44-10 in the first half.
Bucknell's four-game winning streak is its longest since 2016. The Bison have not won five in a row since 2006.
The Bison benefitted from balanced scoring in the Mount St. Mary's game. The first eight goals came from eight different players, and nine different players scored in the game. Allie Boyce and Taylor McClain both logged two goals and an assist, and freshman Alex Nesbitt had a goal and three assists.
The top two assist leaders in the Patriot League – and two of the top three in the country for that matter – will not only be going head-to-head on Saturday but are former club teammates in the state of Flordia. Navy freshman Ava Yovino leads the nation with 35 assists (4.38 per game), while Bucknell sophomore Taylor McClain is second in the league and third nationally at 3.33 assists per game. McClain and Yovino are both Floridians and are former club teammates with Florida Select, where they were coached by McClain's father, John. Bison freshman Julia Backenstrass and Navy junior Caroline Stefans are also products of that nationally ranked club.
Boyce not only leads the Bison with 16 goals, but she now leads the nation in shooting percentage at .762. She is 6-for-7 on free-position shots, and that .857 percentage ranks sixth nationally. Boyce now has a goal in every game this season and all but one in her career, and she has recorded at least one point in all 22 career games.
Emily Baird is second on the team with 10 goals, all coming during the team's four-game winning streak. The middie leads the team with 10 caused turnovers and ranks second in ground balls (10) and third in draw controls (16). The 10 CTs are fourth-most in the Patriot League.
Nesbitt has emerged as both a scorer and feeder in recent weeks. In the two games since she joined the starting lineup, the rookie from Ontario has five goals and five assists.
Like Boyce, Taylor Kopan has scored in every game this season, extending her goal-scoring streak to 12 in a row dating back to 2022.
Senior co-captain Ella Payer is closing in on the Bucknell career record for draw controls. She has 38 this season, fourth-most in the Patriot League, and her 157 career draw controls are just seven shy of Bonnie Buechel's 14-year-old school record. Payer has collected seven or more DCs three times this season, with a high of 10 in the win over St. Bonaventure.
Navy (14.3) and Bucknell (13.5) rank 3-4 in the Patriot League in goals per game. The Bison (10.3) and Mids (10.8) rank 5-6 in the league in goals-against average.
Symone Ryans has started every game in goal for the Bison and has 47 saves with 58 goals against. Her 7.83 saves per game are the fourth-highest in the league.
The Bison are coming off a 6-10 season in 2022. Bucknell was 6-6 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League after an 18-12 win over second-place Army, but the Bison dropped their final four games – two coming by just one goal – and finished one game out of a Patriot League Tournament spot.
Bucknell was picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll. Loyola was tabbed the preseason favorite, followed by Army, Navy, Lehigh, Colgate, American, Bucknell, Boston University, Holy Cross, and Lafayette.
Payer is in her second year as a team co-captain, and she is joined this year by classmates Caitlin McHale and Caroline Miller.
Head coach Jackie Dando is in her fourth season as Bucknell's head coach, and she is joined by a new pair of assistants in Liza Oakley and Katie Lasater. Oakley handles the defense and draws, while Lasater works with the attackers and goalies.

Navy at a Glance/Series History

Navy won its fourth straight game and improved to 6-2 on the season with a 13-12 home win over No. 19 Jacksonville on Thursday. Leelee Denton scored six goals off the bench, and NCAA assist leader Ava Yovino added six more to her tally.
Navy has also beaten Oregon (15-9), No. 18 Richmond (20-9), and Mount St. Mary's (16-8) during this streak. The Mids' only two losses have come at the hands of No. 11 Duke (15-10) and Villanova (11-10 OT).
Navy has outscored its opponents 114-87 on the season. The Mids have six players with double-digit goals: Yovino (19-35-54), Emily Messinese (19-7-26), Denton (15-4-19), Maggie DeFabio (15-3-18), Charlotte Ryan (14-1-15), and Lola Leone (13-1-14).
Messinese and Maura Murphy share the team lead in draw controls with 29, while Yovino has 22. Athena Corroon leads the squad in both ground balls (22) and caused turnovers (10).
Denton and Erin Carson were both Preseason All-Patriot League selections.
Emma Richardell has started all eight games in goal for Navy. She has 54 saves and 83 goals against for a .394 save percentage. She made a season-high 11 saves against Jacksonville on Thursday.
Hall-of-Fame coach Cindy Timchal is the only head coach in Navy lacrosse history. She was hired in the fall of 2006 when Navy elevated women's lacrosse to the varsity ranks, and she entered the 2023 season with an NCAA-record 550 Division I wins in 40 seasons. Timchal is 220-67 in her 15 seasons in Annapolis.
Bucknell is still looking for its first series win against Navy. The Mids have captured the first 14 meetings, including all six at Graham Field. This will be Navy's first trip to Lewisburg since 2018, as each of the last three meetings have come in Annapolis, while the 2020 game was canceled due to the pandemic.
Navy won 15-3 on its home field last season. The Mids, who were ranked No. 17 at the time, scored seven first-quarter goals and led 13-1 after three quarters. Carly Cenci, Laurel McHale, and Allie Boyce scored for the Bison, while Reagan Roelofs paced Navy with three goals and three assists.

Looking Ahead

Bucknell hosts Villanova on Tuesday in the final non-conference game of the season. The Wildcats are 6-2 on the season heading into a Saturday-morning home game with Quinnipiac. Among their wins are an 11-10 overtime verdict over Navy and a recent 15-1 drubbing of Lafayette.
Bucknell will then visit Lafayette next Saturday to start a stretch of eight straight Patriot League games to close out the regular season.