Navy Athletics Release

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #5 / #4 Navy women's lacrosse team (20-1) trailed #9 / #7 Syracuse, 9-3, at halftime before posting a second-half comeback to force overtime. In the extra period, sophomore attacker Alyssa Chung fired a goal past the goalkeeper to lift the Mids to an 11-10 victory over the Orange (14-6) on Sunday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
It was the first time that Navy trailed by five or more and came back to win since defeating Loyola in the 2025 Patriot League Championship (W, 14-13), which was also in overtime.
 
With the win, the Midshipmen advance to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for the third time in program history (2017, '18, '26). Navy will take on the No. 3-seed Maryland Terrapins (18-3) on Thursday, May 14 in College Park. The game will air on ESPNU.
 
In addition, the victory was the 20th of the year for Navy, setting the new mark for most wins in a season in program history. The Midshipmen finished the 2026 campaign 13-0 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, marking the second time in program history the Mids were perfect at home. Navy finished the 2012 season 11-0 in Annapolis.
 
"We are onto the next round at the University of Maryland," head coach Cindy Timchal said after the game. "I am just so thrilled and excited for the team. At halftime, we talked about believing in each other and believing that we could be bold and brave and be Navy. So, coming out in the second half, we felt that is when the tide started turning. I have been in these situations before and I know that championship play goes down to the wire. I didn't think the lead was insurmountable. I just wanted to keep notching and stacking some wins, like [Indiana head football coach Curt] Cignetti likes to do. We seemed to be able to do that.
 
"What a wonderful program Syracuse is. It was a standout season they had under Regy [Thorpe] in his first year. We knew we were playing against one of the top ACC programs that advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals. Give it up to Navy women's lacrosse. These players that we work with every day; they really put their heart and soul on the line and today was no different. The first 30 we didn't like. The second 30, we notched out a sweet victory. This is a really cool and exciting win for Navy.
 
"This morning a friend of mine, said 'there are 134 teams and around 5,000 Division I student-athletes. You are here as one of the top 16 in the country.' That kind of put things in perspective for what we had accomplished this season. Now, there are only eight of us left and there is only one team standing in the way of what our dreams are all about. Go Navy!"
 
Six Midshipmen combined to score Navy's 11 goals on the day. Chung paved the way with a team-best four scores, including the game-winner in over time. The sophomore was held scoreless in the first half, but helped ignite a Navy comeback in the second half, notching her 14th hat trick of the season. Senior Maggie DeFabio recorded her second consecutive hat trick in the postseason with three goals, including a pair of scores in the second half. Anna Gotterup, Emma Kennedy, Taylor Miles, and Bella Paradiso also found the back of the net during the game. Gotterup's scored knotted the game at 10-10 and forced overtime.
 
Mikayla Williams finished the game with a team-high three assists, while Kennedy and Miles each added two helpers apiece. Chung added an assist to give her a team-best five points on the day.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen limited the Orange offense to just goal in the second half, holding Syracuse to five total shots in the final 32 minutes of the game. Navy caused 15 of Syracuse's 23 turnovers in the game. Caroline Gage, Jaclyn Johns, and Maura Murphy paced the team with two takeaways apiece, while nine additional Mids added caused turnovers. Gage paced the team with a career-best five ground balls with Landen Cain, Jalin Jenkins, and Miles adding three GBs apiece.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Angelina Price picked up her first collegiate win in the cage. The rookie entered the game in relief. Price worked the final 36:45 in goal, allowing just one goal with a pair of saves and a caused turnover. She took over for starter Felicia Giglio who notched a save in 26 minutes of action.
 
In the circle, Murphy led the team with nine of Navy's 14 draw wins. Williams added three draws and Chung contributed a pair.
 
For Syracuse, Caroline Trinkaus led the Orange with four goals, while Molly Guzik added three. Trinkaus and Mackenzie Rich paced Cuse with two assists each. Izzy Lahah paced Cuse with three caused turnovers, while four different Orange players contributed three ground balls apiece. Joely Caramelli recorded a team-high five draw controls. At goal, Daniella Guyette worked a complete game, notching 10 saves in 62:44 of action.
 
Navy was the first team to score. The Midshipmen opened the game with back-to-back scores by DeFabio and Miles to take an early 2-0 advantage. Syracuse countered with three straight goals to close out the first quarter to lead 3-2 through one period of play.
 
The Orange opened the second quarter with a goal to push the advantage to two, but Paradiso countered with a free-position goal to trim the margin back to one at 4-3. Syracuse used a 5-0 run to close out the first half and take a 9-3 advantage into halftime.
 
In the second half, Kennedy got the Midshipmen to within five with a score. Syracuse countered with a goal to extend the margin to 10-6. From there it was all Navy. The Midshipmen closed out the third and fourth quarters on a 6-0 run to knot the game at 10 and force overtime. Chung (3x) and DeFabio (2x) combined for five goals during the run to pull the Mids to within one, 10-9. Gotterup made her one shot of the day count, burying the equalizer in the back of the net with 69 seconds remaining in regulation.
 
In overtime, Navy won the draw to gain possession. Williams had a shot that was turned aside by the goalie, but DeFabio was able to pick up the ground ball to keep possession. Chung's shot was wide, but the Midshipmen backed up the shot to retain the ball. The Mids were able to reset the offense and with 3:16 remaining in the first overtime period, Williams fed the ball to Chung who fired a laser past the Syracuse goalie to give Navy the 11-10 victory and propel the Midshipmen into the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.