BALTIMORE – Mikayla Williams caught a pass in stride below goal-line and got topside to score with 16 seconds left in the first session of overtime, giving Navy a 14-13 victory over Loyola University Maryland in the Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Championship Game at Ridley Athletic Complex.
Williams' goal capped a run that saw the Midshipmen rally from 11-6 down in the third quarter and eventually score the game's last two goals.
Loyola will find out its NCAA Championships destination on Sunday, May 4, during the Women's Lacrosse Selection Show at 9 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN.
Navy (15-5 overall) took a 5-3 lead in the first minute of the second quarter when Alyssa Chung scored unassisted.
Loyola (13-6), however, reeled off five unanswered goals, sparked by four assists from
Georgia Latch.
Emma Talago,
Olivia Blanding and
Chase Boyle scored for the Greyhounds during the run, and
Elisa Faklaris had the second and last goals of the stretch to make it 8-5 in Loyola's favor.
Lola Leone would tally a Midshipmen goal with 14 seconds left in the half, cutting the Navy deficit to two at halftime, but the Greyhounds came out and scored the first three goals of the second half in the opening three minutes.
Latch tallied an unassisted goal at 13:56, and then she assisted on
Chase Boyle's goal at 13:16 before Talago had her second goal of the day for Loyola with 12:13 on the clock. That tally put Loyola up, 11-6.
Emma Kennedy kicked off Navy's run with a goal at 7:14, and scored by Maggie DeFabio and Williams to start the fourth quarter brought the Midshipmen with two, 11-9.
Boyle had an unassisted goal for Loyola at 10:42, stretching the advantage back to three, but Navy scored the next three to tie the score at 12-12 on an Alyssa Chung free-position goal.
Latch broke the tie with 62 seconds to go in regulation, rolling back to her right hand from just inside the top left corner of the 8-meter and shooting high-to-high for her fourth goal of the game.
Navy won the ensuing draw control, and Tori DiCarlo scored with 18 seconds on the clock to even the score at 13-13.
The Midshipmen started overtime with possession that carried over after they ended the fourth quarter player-up after a Loyola green card.
Kennedy drew a free-position attempt from the left side less than a minute in, but a Loyola defender got to her stick, and her shot went high.
After a Navy turnover, Loyola cleared to its end, the Greyhounds had a turnover in traffic with 47 seconds left in the first part of overtime. The Midshipmen called a timeout and then cleared the ball to its offensive side. Williams caught at goal-line and got to her right hand for a shot that ended the game.
Latch finished with nine points for the third-straight game, and she tied the Patriot League Championships record with 18 points. She scored four goals and had five assists in both Thursday's semifinal against Holy Cross and today's contest.
Her 10 assists also tied the Patriot League Championships record.
Boyle added three goals and an assist and had a team-high seven draw controls. Talago scored twice and had an assist, and Faklaris added two for Loyola, while Stapleton and Blanding each scored once.
Latch, Boyle and
Lily Osborne were named to the Patriot League Championships All-Tournament Team.
