Greyhounds outrun Midshipmen again

Loyola now 55-0 in regular-season games in Patriot League

Navy has proved it can beat Loyola Maryland, which has been the dominant women’s lacrosse program in the Patriot League ever since joining in 2014.

In fact, the Midshipmen have defeated the Greyhounds when it matters most — in the 2017 and 2018 Patriot League tournament championship games and also in the 2018 NCAA tournament.

However, the Mids have not been able to figure out the Greyhounds during the regular season. It’s a problem Navy shares with every other school in the conference.

Senior attacker Livy Rosenzweig was the catalyst with two goals and five assists as 12th-ranked Loyola overwhelmed No. 17 Navy 14-6 on Wednesday in Annapolis.

Rosenzweig, who broke the program record for career assists in Saturday’s rout of Bucknell, increased her total to 160.

Senior midfielder Sam Fiedler (Garrison Forest) scored three goals and added an assist for the Greyhounds, who were sharp offensively despite steady rain that left puddles all over the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium field. Sophomore attacker Emily Wills also had a hat trick for Loyola (6-2), which is 55-0 in regular-season Patriot League games.

Attacker Holly Lloyd and midfielder Jillian Wilson (Gerstell Academy) contributed two goals and an assist apiece for Loyola, which has won three straight meetings with Navy. Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Larsson was solid for the Greyhounds with nine saves.

“It was a total team effort from end to end,” Loyola coach Jen Adams said. “I thought our defense came out and played very aggressively and held a very strong Navy offense to a low number of goals.”

Junior attacker-midfielder Reagan Roelofs scored a goal and dished off a careerbest three assists to lead Navy (4-1), which barely had the ball. The Greyhounds dominated possession and wore down the Mids defensively.

“I thought we had some decent defensive stops, but uncharacteristically we were turning the ball over in critical situations,” Navy coach Cindy Timchal said. “We literally had layups and missed.

“We need to find a way to have more poise and confidence in those situations. I think we were just playing tight at times.”

Rosenzweig was the offensive quarterback operating behind the cage and was constantly attacking, routinely drawing slides before finding open teammates.

“Livy has such a good finger on the pulse of the game — she knows when to slow the ball or step on the accelerator,” Adams said. “Livy is lethal with the ball, whether scoring herself or dishing to others. She has a great nose for the goal and also a terrific feeder.”

Goalie Jo Torres, a freshman out of St. Mary’s High, made her first career start and stopped just four shots while giving up 13 goals. Abbi Young replaced Torres late in the first half and allowed a goal with five seconds left as Loyola took an 11-4 lead into halftime.

“Our defense was giving up a lot of righton-the-doorstep shots,” Timchal said.

Senior attacker Nicole Victory found senior attacker-midfielder Ellie Lecker open on the crease for a goal that tied the score at 4 at the 17:50 mark of the first half. The Midshipmen would not score again until Roelofs finished a fast break with 13:30 remaining in the game.

That drought of more than 34 minutes doomed the Mids as the Greyhounds went on a 10-0 run to blow open the game.

“Loyola got a nice flow going offensively,” Timchal said. “They just seemed to have an extra hop in their step when they had the ball.”