ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's lacrosse team will kick off its third season of Division I competition when it hosts Howard University on Friday at noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com, while fans will also be able to receive game updates via the official Navy Athletics Twitter page at twitter.com/NavyAthletics.

Scouting Howard/Matchup Notes

* Howard brings back eight starters from last year's 1-13 squad, including junior Ashley Lawrence, its top returning scorer after putting up 22 points (18 g, 4 a) in 2009.

* The Bison are led by second-year head coach and former National Player of the Year and 2007 Virginia graduate Jessica Morgan.

* Navy has captured the first two meetings between the programs in decisive fashion (19-5 in 2008, 22-7 in '09).

* Today's contest will mark just the second game of the 2010 women's lacrosse season. Denver opened the year with an 18-5 win at St. Mary's (Calif.) on Jan. 29.

* Navy has won its first two season openers and owns an 18-3 (.857) overall record at home.

Upstart Navy Determined to Build Upon Successful Beginnings

* Navy elevated to varsity status in the June of 2006, and has kicked off its Division I tenure in fine fashion, reeling off 26 wins and earning league tournament appearances in each of its first two seasons.

* A year after setting the NCAA record for most wins by a first-year program, the Mids produced an impressive 13-5 mark in 2009. Riding an attack that featured six 20-plus goal scorers and boasting the nation's seventh-ranked scoring defense, Navy continued to make strides, winning its first postseason contest and advancing to the Patriot League Championship.

* With two-time defending league scoring champion Erin Rawlick leading the way, optimism is high for a Navy team in 2010 that returns 10 starters, four all-conference performers (Rawlick, Caitlin Mandrin Hill, Katrina Nietsch and Elaina Ponchione) and nearly all of its scoring from last spring (top-nine scorers are back).

* Navy has further positioned itself for a strong run at its first conference crown and NCAA berth with the addition of 16 talented freshmen and 19 newcomers.

Coach Timchal Says:

"To date, this is the best class I have had the privilege to recruit to the Academy. It's a large group that will bring lots of speed and really raise our overall level of athleticism. We're excited about bringing these young women here and believe they will play a major role in helping us take that next step as a program."

Mids Tab Rawlick as 2010 Captain

* Senior attacker Erin Rawlick, a two-time First-Team All-Patriot League selection and the conference's leading scorer in each of the last two seasons, has been elected by her peers to serve as the Navy women's lacrosse team captain for the 2010 season. In the Academy's first two seasons of varsity competition, Rawlick, the third midshipman to serve as captain, has been the primary catalyst in the program's rapid ascent.

* The Forest Hill, Md. product has scored 122 goals and racked up a conference-best 183 points over the course of Navy's first 35 games. To put that into perspective, that's a sterling 5.23 points per game - the third-highest clip nationally over the last two seasons. Syracuse's Katie Rowan (6.35), a three-time First-Team IWLCA All-American, and Northwestern's Hannah Nielsen (5.68), a two-time Tewaaraton winner, are the only players to boast higher scoring averages.

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2010-02-05