Some 2-0 weeks are better than others, and for a team starved of top-flight wins for its NCAA resume, beating a sure-fire ACC foe like Virginia pays dividends.
For Cindy Timchal and her No. 12 Navy Midshipmen (11-3, 5-1 Patriot League), last week’s sweep of Virginia and Army West Point were hard fought, well-earned challenges that set her team up well for the regular season’s stretch run.
“To come off a tough loss at Loyola [April 7], which ended up being a great game, collectively it was a great victory over Virginia,” Timchal said. “We know how tough they are. They beat Syracuse and Duke. Their RPI is [14th]. We’ve played them every year and come up short. We came up with tough defensive plays and finished on the offensive side.”
The tale of the Mids’ season thus far has been the ability to beat the teams they’re supposed to, while showing competitiveness in tough losses with the ranked foes they have faced. Navy’s three losses have all come against Top 10 teams: No. 2 Boston College, No. 6 Florida and No. 9 Loyola.
Against BC, Navy was down just a goal with 10 minutes to play, while the Mids saw leads of eight and three evaporate in losses to Florida and Loyola, respectively. That left Navy, who had suffered no bad losses entering last Wednesday’s home game with Virginia, devoid of any resume builders.
“We were able to play BC and Florida close,” Timchal said. “We feel good. We have beaten North Carolina and Virginia Tech [in the past], and now Virginia. The pride of Navy women’s lacrosse is to step on the field and play tough, even if we come up short.”
After last year’s stunning run to the NCAA semifinals, Navy wasn’t about to sneak up on anyone this season. With a national ranking and expectations of a potential repeat title run in the Patriot League, Timchal acknowledged that ranked teams are more prepared against her team.
Undoubtedly, those preparations include devising a way to limit the exploits of the Collins twins who have a combined 92 goals and 34 assists this year. This past week, it was Julia Collins who garnered the limelight by tallying a team-best 11 points on four goals and seven assists, while grabbing six draw controls and four ground balls. Collins’ hard work has not gone unnoticed by her head coach.
“She’s dedicated to being that leader on the offensive end,” Timchal noted. “[She’s] working on her finishing every day, playing off her twin sister, and all the other players that complement the offense. We worked hard offensively to get the looks that we wanted and she’s taken advantage of them.”
Flipping the field, Marie Valenti earned Patriot League top defensive honors last week with her blanket defense. Valenti collected five caused turnovers and grabbed eight ground balls this past week.
“Our defense knew we had to play tough and be ready for a really strong Virginia attack,” Timchal said. “Marie has been about coming together and being a great leader. She’s learned from our defensive captain Blake Smith. [Marie] came up with big plays against Virginia and Army. She’s very consistent.”
Just three days after downing Virginia, the Mids had to muster its energy for an intense rivalry game at West Point, which for the first time was part of the Army-Navy Star Series. A bit battered, Timchal relied on her bench to provide an extra spark, which grew a narrow three-goal lead into a 20-7 runaway victory thanks to Navy’s 11-1 closing run.
Saturday’s game meant more than past meetings with the Black Knights because the winner would get to add a Star to the rivalry. The pageantry and traditions that occur in the football game exist in other sports. Paratroopers landed on the field in pregame festivities and the teams gathered to sing the school songs afterward.
“Everyone knows about the football game, but it’s unmatched in any sport.” Timchal said. “It becomes a special rivalry.”
Moving forward, Navy has three games remaining in its regular season as the Mids look to maintain its positive trend in the national picture. Now the task turns to American on Wednesday.
“We have to stay healthy as humanly possible,” Timchal said. “We have work to do this week, two big games on the road to contend with, and we have to be ready and prepared. It’s hard to look forward because we have so much going on.”
Should the good results continue, Navy will march back into the NCAA tournament for a second straight season.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
BC Earns First ACC Title
The undefeated Eagles eked past visiting Virginia Tech 9-7 to earn the ACC regular season title. BC clinched the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and is making a case as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament by moving into first for RPI as it stockpiled its eighth RPI Top 30 win.
Whittle Sets the Mark in Columbus
Senior Megan Whittle’s record-setting hat trick highlighted a dominating 20-5 win for Maryland at Ohio State. Whittle surpassed Jen Adams’ career mark of 269 goals to become the all-time leading scorer in Maryland history.
Records Continue to Fall in Stony Brook
A week after teammate Courtney Murphy set a new NCAA Division I record for career goals, Kylie Ohlmiller closed in on a pair of NCAA records of her own. Ohlmiller’s 11 points against Johns Hopkins leaves her just 12 points and 12 assists shy in both categories.
Northwestern Snaps Regular Season Skid Against Penn State
Since the formation of the Big Ten, Penn State has finished second to Maryland in three successive seasons. This year may prove to be a bit different as the Wildcats scored a crucial 17-13 win at Penn State, setting up a potential Big Ten title showdown with Maryland later this month.
Colorado Regains Top Spot
Samantha Nemirov’s overtime winner at Stanford led to a sweep in the Bay Area to give Colorado (11-4, 8-1 Pac-12) the inside track for the Pac-12 regular season title and top seed for the conference tournament. A win over Oregon on Friday clinches both. Colorado has won six of its last seven and 10 of its last 12 and will host the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament.
A Michigan School is Guaranteed SoCon Regular Season Title
Central Michigan (9-5, 4-0 Southern) and Detroit Mercy (8-6, 3-1 Southern) swept conference foes Furman and Wofford in South Carolina to position themselves first and second with one game to go. Both teams play non-conference games at Old Dominion and Coastal Carolina before the regular-season title showdown April 28.
MID-WEEK GAMES TO WATCH
James Madison at Virginia (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)
Few teams have played non-conference slates like Virginia has. The No. 17 Cavaliers, who have lost their last four games against ranked non-conference foes, welcome No. 4 James Madison. The Dukes haven’t been challenged in a game since their 15-12 loss at Maryland on March 24, beating their opponents by an average of 13.2 goals per game.
High Point at Winthrop (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)
The Panthers of High Point (12-2, 5-0 Big South) have been rolling through Big South play and can clinch a share of a regular-season title with a win over Winthrop (11-4, 4-1 Big South). In its five conference games, High Point has held its opponents to just 4.4 goals per game, while accumulating 18.6 goals itself. The Panthers haven’t lost since Feb. 24 against James Madison.
Syracuse at Boston College (Thursday, 5 p.m.)
The Orange (8-7, 0-5 ACC) are in a danger zone that will require victories to keep its season running. While a loss to the top-rated team in the land won’t knock them out of an at-large bid, it forces a must win against fellow winless-in-conference foe, Louisville, on Sunday. Boston College, on the other hand, can continue its case for the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with another quality victory.
Penn State at Maryland (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
A national broadcast on the Big Ten Network will showcase the Big Ten’s last three regular-season winners and runners-up. Penn State (9-5, 3-1 Big Ten) will look to break Maryland’s 12-game winning streak. In Big Ten play, the Terps (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten) have yet to drop a regular-season matchup since the league’s inception.