Women's Lacrosse at Oregon Saturday in NCAA Play-In Game - NAVYSPORTS.com - The United States Naval Academy Official Athletic Site

Women's Lacrosse at Oregon Saturday in NCAA Play-In Game

Mids seeking a third straight berth to the NCAA Tournament.

	Kathy Young was named the Patriot League Tournament's Most Valuable Player

May 3, 2012

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy's trail to a third straight NCAA Tournament will pass through Oregon, as the Patriot League Champion Navy women's lacrosse team (17-2) will face the Oregon Ducks (14-4), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Champion, in one of three NCAA Women's Lacrosse Play-In games this weekend. Navy and Oregon will meet for the first time on Saturday at 1:00 PM (PT)/4:00 PM (ET) at Pape Field. Live statistics and free live video will be available on NavySports.com(.)

No. 18 Navy won a third straight Patriot League Tournament Championship last weekend, defeating American, 14-7, in the semifinals before taking care of Holy Cross, 18-11, in the league title game. Navy was the No. 1 seed and host of the league tournament after winning the regular season title with a 6-0 record.

This is Navy's third straight year playing in an NCAA Play-In contest and the first on the road. Navy defeated Sacred Heart, 12-2, in 2010 and beat Quinnipiac, 20-5, in 2011.

The NCAA Play-In matchups are based on last season's conference RPI rankings. CAA-champion Towson is hosting Monmouth (Northeast) and Atlantic 10-champion UMass is hosting Canisius (MAAC) this weekend.

The winners of the three play-in games will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament along with five other conference champions (America East, American Lacrosse, ACC, Big East and Ivy). Eight at-large schools will added to complete the tournament's field of 16. The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday, May 6 at 9:00 PM (ET) and will be streamed on NCAA.com(.)

Navy fell to No. 3 North Carolina, 18-5, in the NCAA Tournament's First Round in 2010 and lost to No. 1 Maryland, 19-6, in the first round last season.

Junior attacker Jasmine DePompeo, the two-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, leads Navy and ranks seventh in the nation with 81 points on 37 goals and 44 assists. DePompeo's 44 assists are the ninth most in the country and are the Navy single season record.

Freshman attacker Loren Generi (Bayport, N.Y.), the 2012 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, is second on the team with 52 goals and is third with 59 points. Generi has a school record 112 draw controls this season, a number that ranks as the fourth most in NCAA single season history. Generi needs just two draw controls to take sole possession of second place and is currently 14 shy of Dana Dobbie's (Maryland -2008) NCAA record of 126.

As a team, Navy ranks sixth in scoring offense (15.21), sixth in scoring defense (8.00) and fourth in draw controls per game (15.79). Navy had had more draw controls than its opponent in all 19 games this season.

Head coach Cindy Timchal has Navy off to its best start in its five-year history. Navy's 17 wins this season matches the 2010 team's total (17-4) and the Mids have had winning streaks of 10 and seven (active) this season. Timchal was voted as the 2012 Patriot League Coach of the Year and is a finalist for this year's US Lacrosse Hall of Fame induction class.

Young, Gennaro Lead Navy to Tournament Title
Junior attacker Kathy Young (Berwyn, Pa.) and sophomore attacker Aimee Gennaro (Berwyn, Pa.) each scored seven goals to lead Navy to an 18-11 win over Holy Cross in the 2012 Patriot League Championship game. The seven goals by Gennaro and Young established a new tournament record and Gennaro added four goals in Navy's 14-7 semifinal win over American to set the tournament's record for most total goals with 11.

Young was named the Patriot League Tournament's Most Valuable Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Gennaro, goalie Michelle Verbeeck (Wading River, N.Y.) and freshman attacker Loren Generi (Bayport, N.Y.).

Young leads the team and ranks eighth in the country with 57 goals on the season.

Verbeeck went 2-0 in the league tournament and is 7-0 on the season with a 7.54 GAA and a .479 save percentage.

Navy became the first team to win three straight Patriot League Tournament titles since the league began postseason play in 2001.

Mids Break Into National Rankings
One day after winning the Patriot League Tournament Championship, Navy moved into the national rankings for the first time in 2012. The Mids received 20 voting points to tie for No. 18 with Princeton in the April 30th edition of the deBeer Media Poll.

This is the fifth time Navy has been ranked in the deBeer Media Poll all-time and the No. 18 ranking matches its program-high. Navy also appears at No. 15 in the latest NCAA RPI Rankings, the team's best showing.

Scouting Oregon
Oregon won its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament title last Sunday with a 13-10 win at Stanford. The win over the Cardinal, Oregon's ninth in a row, snapped Stanford's seven-year run as MPSF Champions. The Ducks are not ranked in either national poll but do appear at No. 24 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.

Oregon is 14-4 overall and, like Navy, went undefeated during its conference regular season (7-0). The Ducks have three players who have scored over 50 points in Nikki Puszcz (37-18=55), Kristina Barrett (29-24=53) and Shannon Propst (32-19=51). Twin midfielders Jana and Jess Drummond also factor into the offensive scheme. Jana Drummond has 43 points (32-11) and a team-high 54 draw controls while Jess Drummond has 33 points (27-6) while leading the team in ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (21).

Goalie Carolina Federighi is 14-3 with a 9.13 GAA and a .496 save percentage. Federighi was named the MPSF Tournament's Most Valuable Player after going 2-0 with a 10.50 GAA and 8.00 saves per game last weekend.

Jana Drummond, Barrett, Federighi and defender Colleen Taggert were named to the MPSF All-League First Team. Puszcz, Probst, Jess Drummond and Lara Bennett were named to the all-league second team and head coach Jen Larsen-Beck was tabbed as the MPSF Coach of the Year.

Navy is 1-0 against teams from the MPSF this season and is 5-1 against the conference all-time. The Mids defeated MPSF-member California, 15-5, in Annapolis on March 28. Oregon defeated Cal twice this season. The Ducks defeated the Bears, 10-9, in the regular season and 14-11 in the MPSF Semifinals. As a whole, the Patriot League went 3-0 against MPSF schools in 2012.

With a Win Over Oregon...
Navy would advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.
Navy would set a program season record with 18 wins.
Navy would improve its all-time record to 76-21.
Coach Timchal would improve her all-time record to 412-107.
Coach Timchal would advance to her 24th NCAA Tournament

Looking Ahead: The 2012 NCAA Tournament
A win would give the Midshipmen an automatic berth to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Navy would learn its fate on Sunday night at 9:00 PM during the selection show on NCAA.com(.) The NCAA Tournament First Round will be held on campus sites next weekend.