Sept. 14, 2006
Navy Stats | George Mason Stats | Columbia Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The undefeated Navy women's soccer team will look to extend its winning streak this weekend when it plays host to George Mason and Columbia at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The Mids and Patriots will battle Friday at 7:00 pm in a contest featuring a pair of Mid-Atlantic region powers, while Navy closes out the weekend with a Sunday matinee against Columbia beginning at 1:00 pm.
Navy is offering two special promotions this weekend. All kids (12 and under) wearing a soccer jersey will receive free admission to Friday's contest and on Sunday, kids (12 and under) will have the opportunity to shoot in a goal on the game field.
With its pair of victories last weekend, the 6-0-0 Navy women's soccer team jumped from 10th to seventh in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Mid-Atlantic Region Poll. The Mids are on the move after turning in their fifth shutout of the season, a 2-0 victory over SEC foe LSU last Friday night. Freshman forward Cassie Barbaresi (Bradenton, Fla.) scored the game-winner in the 49th minute, while junior midfielder Katie Traster (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) scored her first tally of the season, giving the Mids an insurance goal in the 70th minute.
On Sunday, Barbaresi closed out a successful weekend with a goal and a school-record tying three assists against Butler and was rewarded by being named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week. Junior forward Brigitte Fox (La Mesa, Calif.) scored a pair of goals in the win and sophomore forward Kristen Laraway (Long Valley, N.J.) turned in her first goal of the season. Laraway became the 11th different Midshipman to score this season.
Spearheaded by sophomore keeper Lizzie Barnes (New Orleans, La.), Navy's defense is about as stingy as it has been in recent memory. Barnes is among 12 players across the country who have yet to surrender a goal. As a team, the Mids are tied with Long Beach State for 13th in goals-against average, giving up 0.167 goals per game. Navy's stable of keepers has also warded off 94.4 percent of the shots they have faced on goal, the 15th-best mark in the nation.
Offensively, Navy ranks 11th, scoring 3.00 goals per game. To date, the Mids have outscored their foes 18-1 with an amazing 18 different players contributing either a goal or an assist. Barbaresi has gotten off to a solid start as she paces the Mids with 11 points on four goals and three assists and has punched in a pair of game-winners. Fox has produced three goals and three assists, while senior forward Meggie Curran (Silver Spring, Md.) continues to flourish as both a goal scorer and play maker. Earlier this season, Curran became Navy's all-time career assists leader and already this season she is ranked among the top 30 in the country in assists per game.
George Mason enters Friday's contests against the Midshipmen with a 3-2-1 record and is coming off a 4-0 loss to 25th-ranked Georgia. The Patriots have struggled this season on the road, posting a a 0-0-1 record in true road games and a 1-2-0 record in neutral site affairs. Mason is paced by junior forward Rachel Wiggins who owns 10 points on four goals and two assists. Junior midfielder/forward Sarah Fack has stuck in two goals for the Patriots, both game-winners. Junior Kasey Davenport has started all six games in goal for George Mason, giving up eight goals (1.37 GAA) and warding off 31 shots on goal (79.5 save %).
Navy leads the series against George Mason by a narrow 2-1-1 advantage. The Mids won the inaugural meeting in 1999 in a 2-0 shutout and again blanked the Patriots in 2001, 3-0. Mason earned a 3-0 victory at home in 2000 and the two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in their last meeting in 2004.
Columbia, who will battle American in Washington D.C. Friday afternoon, owns a 2-2-1 record, and like George Mason, the Lions have also had problems on the road. Columbia lost its lone true road contest to St. John's last weekend, 1-0, and dropped a neutral site match-up against Fordham on Sunday, 2-1. Its last win came on Sept. 5 in a 2-0 shutout victory over Army at home. Senior forward Shannon Munoz has scored two of Columbia's six goals this season and is the only player to notch multiple goals, as well as more than one assist. Four other Lions have scored goals in '06, including senior Aubrey Medal who fired in the game-winner against Army. The keeper duties have been spread out amongst three players, including junior Allison Vespa who has earned three starts. She has given up one goal and made eight saves in 180 minutes of play. Sophomores Rebecca Taylor (135:00) and SaraAnn Bennett (155:00) have accounted for the other three surrendered goals and 11 saves.
The Mids and Lions have met in just one previous encounter, a 3-1 victory by Navy in 2003.
### Go Navy ###
