If you were to look up the word ‘dominance’ in the dictionary, you will find the Loyola women’s lacrosse senior class.
The senior Greyhounds led Loyola to a second straight Patriot League title with a 14-9 victory over Navy that shined a light on Loyola’s talent, athleticism and experience.
Loyola is the fifth team to win back-t0-back championships in the Patriot League over the past 11 years. Colgate did it twice in 2004 and 2005 and then in 2008 and 2009, Holy Cross pulled it off in 2006 and 2007 and Navy won four straight from 2010-13 before the Greyhounds claimed the last two titles.
“The majority of us have been starters for four years, so we really know what’s going on,” said midfielder Taryn VanThof. “We know what each other’s doing and we work off each other. We know when one of us is not on, the rest of us are and, like today, when Kara got a face guard put on her [after her third goal], we knew the six of us were going to step up to fill in.”
Tournament Most Valuable Player senior Kara Burke had four goals and two assists in the championship match. For the tournament, she led all players with 11 points on nine goals and two assists.
Burke and her classmates have won three tournament championships in their four years and will be heading to the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year. It is the fifth straight year for coach Jen Adams’ program.
The Greyhounds won their 13th straight game overall and have won all 20 games against League opponents in the regular season and postseason since joining the Patriot League last year.
The top-seeded Greyhounds never trailed the third-seeded Midshipmen as the trio of seniors, Molly Hulseman, Burke and VanThof scored the first three goals of the game in less than 12 minutes for the 3-0 lead.
The Mids used back-to-back scores to pull within one, 3-2, at the 12:20 mark.
VanThof and Burke each tallied a second goal by the 8:46 mark, putting Loyola up three, before another Navy goal moved the score to 5-3.
Burke notched her 12th hat trick of the season with 3:46 remaining in the opening half and back-to-back goals from Schmitt pushed Loyola ahead 8-3. The Midshipmen closed out the half by scoring on a free-position shot with five seconds remaining, making the halftime score 8-4.
Schmitt notched her 10th hat trick just 21 seconds into the second half before two-straight Navy goals pulled the Midshipmen within three at the 22:05 mark.
Senior Sydney Thomas converted a free-position shot at 21:27, following a goal from sophomore Katrina Geiger at 20:06, to put Loyola up 11-6.
Another pair of goals from Navy pulled the visitors within three for a second time, with 5:50 to play, but that’s as close as the Midshipmen would get, as Schmitt, Annie Thomas and Burke scored three of the game’s final goals for the 14-9 victory.
“Their three top senior players are big-time point getters,” Navy coach Cindy Timchal said of Burke, Hannah Schmitt and Annie Thomas. “That top trio just created a lot of problems for us. I think their experience paid off in a game like this today.”
Navy, which got four goals from freshman midfielder Jenna Collins and two apiece from senior Loren Generi and sophomore attacker Morgan Young, beat Loyola statistically in ground balls (18-10) and draw controls (15-10).
However, Loyola proved their immense athleticism on defense and their efficiency on offense, in a game that featured 56 fouls.
As Navy constantly double-teamed Loyola, the Greyhounds answered back with precise passes that led them to making 14 out of their 22 shots.
“All over the field, Loyola does a really good job of baiting the double [team] and looking to pass the ball,” Navy goalie Annie Foky said. “It happened in our first game. It happened in this game, as well. They can score from any place on the field with any person. It makes them really dangerous and hard to stop.”
Seven different players scored for the Greyhounds.
Junior goalie Molly Wolf capped her nine-save afternoon by stopping seven desperate second-half shots from Navy, most of them with ease.
“There’s nothing better than being able to play a tournament at your home stadium,” Loyola coach Jen Adams said. “Our first goal was to win the regular season. Now it’s on to the next chapter.”
Loyola will return to action on Saturday on the road to face ACC Champion Syracuse in the regular-season finale at 1 p.m.
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