Lehigh women’s lacrosse upset No. 21 Navy earlier this month, securing a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
This game marked Lehigh’s first win over Navy since 2011, which took place on April 10. They are 5-1 in conference play, with their only loss coming to No. 7 Loyola.
Sophomore attacker Katia Carnevale said that the win over Navy was particularly special.
“We hadn’t beaten them in 10 years and 11 games, so it was a really big win for not only our program but for our coaches and for our seniors,” she said.
The Patriot League Tournament’s Semi Finals take place on May 6, and the championship game will be May 8.
The team still has one more game against American to cap off their regular season play.
Though feeling relieved to have secured a spot in the tournament, Carnevale said that the team won’t be taking their last game lightly. Carnevale said it will be a learning opportunity for the team to polish up some stuff before the tournament begins.
Assistant coach Katie O’Donnell said that it’s always nice to know that the season won’t end yet for her players, but she still sees lots of focus from the team.
This is O’Donnell’s second year coaching the team and she sees how extraordinary this group of girls is.
“Every single young woman on this team–all 28 of them–they bring something unique and something different to the program,” she said.
With the confidence of winning a competitive game, O’Donnell thinks the win against Navy not only creates excitement, but also serves an important purpose for the players.
“You can feel confident, but I think that win was our proof to always look back on guys see right here, that game, that was a big game against a great team, and you performed and came out with a win,” O’Donnell said. “You’re totally capable of doing that again.”
Junior defender Jenna Garden said she doesn’t think the score of the Loyola game represented the team’s performance and is optimistic that the team will see Loyola in the championship.
“It’s difficult to beat a top 10 team twice–we have nothing to lose, and they don’t have that same feeling,” Garden said.
Garden thinks the team has the ability to do so well on the field because of their team culture.
“I think of my teammates as family, and that truly does correlate to our happiness on the field,” she said.
For O’Donnell, regardless of making it to the tournament, just seeing the girls back in uniform and on the field is what makes this season the most special, she said.
“The tournament is the icing on the cake, one hundred percent,” O’Donnell said.
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