Severna Park’s All-Time Leading Scorer Leads Navy Women’s Lacrosse To National Ranking

Last year, former Severna Park High School lacrosse player Alyssa Chung finished her freshman year at the Naval Academy with 66 goals and 15 assists and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year and All—Patriot League first-team while playing attack for the Mids.

Chung’s offensive onslaught continued this year and has powered Navy to being ranked No. 5 in the Division I national lacrosse polls as of April 3 as they went undefeated through their first 11 games.

Chung was a two-sport athlete for the Falcons and gave up field hockey her senior year to concentrate on lacrosse. Due to a knee injury, Chung missed her freshman year and sustained another injury during her senior year but still became Severna Park’s all-time leading scorer in girls lacrosse.

“Alyssa only played two and a half seasons because of her injuries, yet she still stands out as our all-time leading scorer with 150 goals and holds the single-season record with 75,” said Falcons girls lacrosse head coach Annie Houghton. “It really makes you wonder what the numbers would look like if she had been healthy for all four years.”

Chung moved to Severna Park with her parents when she was 5 and started playing lacrosse with the Elvaton Recreation Association before switching to the Green Hornets.

“I began taking lacrosse seriously in middle school,” Chung said. “My older brother, Cian, also played lacrosse and taught me about stickwork and how to shoot.”

Chung continued to gain more confidence in her stickwork by playing club lacrosse with the M&D Lacrosse program. Those skills helped the Falcons make it to the 2023 Class 3A state championship, and Chung was named the Capital Gazette girls lacrosse Player of the Year after her junior year.

With that sensational junior year and accolades, major women’s lacrosse programs — including Northwestern and Stanford — tried to recruit Chung to bring her scoring skills to their campuses, but her childhood dream was to attend the Naval Academy.

“I always wanted to go to Navy even before playing lacrosse,” Chung said. “I always wanted to serve my country, and my dad was in the Army for 20 years, so I know how important our military is to our country.”

Chung’s exposure to the Naval Academy began as she attended numerous Navy lacrosse camps and gained more knowledge about the game while becoming familiar with the coaches and campus.

“We’re so fortunate to have had Alyssa in those camps and discover that the Naval Academy was the right fit for her,” said Navy women’s lacrosse head coach Cindy Timchal. “Alyssa has incredible lacrosse skills, is a great finisher, and has an outstanding lacrosse IQ. She’s also a left attacker that gives us a competitive edge and balances out our offense.”

Chung’s superb stickwork around the goal has been a vital part of Navy’s high-octane offense. Chung had 23 goals through seven games in March and had a season high of seven goals against Villanova on February 14.

Being an athlete at the Naval Academy comes with the academic rigors of classes, meetings, assignments, homework and the regimented schedule of being a midshipman. Chung’s typical day starts at 6:30am, with formation followed by breakfast at 7:00am. After breakfast is a steady schedule of morning classes, lunch, afternoon classes and practice. Chung usually has dinner between 7:00pm and 8:00pm, followed by three hours of homework. During her freshman year, she had to be in bed by 10:00pm.

“This winter really tested all of my teammates and me with how brutally cold it was for practices in January and February,” Chung said. “During those cold and wind-chilled days, you looked to your right and you looked to your left and everyone was working very hard, and we knew we had to put in the work if we wanted to have an outstanding season. I feel really blessed to be on this team with great and unselfish teammates.”

Navy was one of only four undefeated teams in women’s lacrosse to start the year, and being ranked number four in the nation is the highest in-season ranking in Navy’s women’s lacrosse history.

“Seeing Alyssa thriving at the Naval Academy both on the field and in the classroom is incredibly rewarding,” Houghton said. “What makes her even more special is her love for her country. She is incredibly proud to represent the United States Navy, and I would love to see her one day wearing the USA jersey in the Olympics. She would represent our nation just as proudly as she represented our program.”

In addition to striving for championships on the lacrosse field, Chung aspires to go to flight school in Pensacola, Florida, after graduation and commissioning.