One of the newer club teams on the Yard, Women’s Navy Club Lacrosse made its debut in 2018 when now ENS Jessica Mazzeo and 2nd Lt. Cheyenne Coughlin (both class of 2020) started the popular extracurricular activity (ECA). Both women led the club for two years, and they still keep in touch with the current team today. As Christine Hogan, current Club President says, “The team’s success is owed to them.”
Making Their Mark
And successful they’ve been. With just a few short years under their lacrosse sticks, the team has racked up some impressive results. Backed by the leadership of coach RET LCDR John Oliver and Officer Representative LCDR Sian Stimpert, the team has amassed an excellent record this spring and is ranked second in the Division 2 Mid Atlantic Women’s Lacrosse League (MAWLL) Central 2 as of this writing.
The Navy women are part of the USA Women’s Lacrosse Collegiate Association (WLCA) and their first season started in the fall of 2019. Since then, the team has done exceptionally well. By the first spring, the Navy Women’s Lacrosse ECA had placed second in the National Championship Tournament. They were slated to be a top-contender in both 2020 and 2021, but COVID-19 interfered and they were unable to compete. However, this year, they are back in the game with a 6-3 winning season to date, last playing Loyola at the Regional Tournament in Chapel Hill, NC on Sunday, April 10th.
Embracing the Season and the Team
While their season includes both fall and spring like many other club sports, their spring season is also the more competitive one. “The fall season is mostly for fun and to have friendly competitive games, while the spring season has a requirement of eight games that include the teams in our division league,” explains Hogan. The Navy lacrosse schedule pits the team against top club teams like Loyola University Maryland, George Washington University, Salisbury University and UMBC, among others. They practice at Rip Miller field or the Farragut turf. They then continue their training throughout the winter. The weather doesn’t stop them. When it’s too cold in the winter and early spring, the team brings their sticks to the Halsey Field House. In the fall, practices run twice a week—and by the spring they are ramped up to two to three times weekly. Due to field availability, the team sometimes practices as early as 5:30 am. It’s definitely a commitment—and the hard work is clearly paying off.
Beyond their record, they have bonded as a team and learned important lessons for on and off the field. “The team is full of great girls that love the sport and enjoy participating in a competitive environment. The team is also mostly run by midshipmen and is a great way to not only develop the girls as lacrosse players, but as leaders as well,” says Hogan.
Lacrosse is truly a beautiful, athletic, and graceful sport, sometimes known as “the fastest game on two feet” since the players move the ball so quickly. Come catch a game and support the Brigade while you’re at it. If you want to support Navy club sports like this one, shop at Navyonline! 100% of all proceeds from your purchases go back to Naval Academy club sports , the rest of the Brigade and activities like Women’s Navy Club Lacrosse. Support the team by following them on their instagram too. We celebrate this fledgling team and wish them well as they continue to grow. Go Goats!
