Sept. 16, 2007

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - Sophomore forward June Hartman produced her first collegiate hat trick to lead VCU (2-3-1) to a 3-0 victory over the Navy women's soccer team (3-2-2) Sunday afternoon at the VCU/Ewing Sports Invitational in Richmond, Va.

After a hard-fought first half, Navy and VCU went into the locker room at halftime with the game scoreless. Navy took four shots in the opening half, including three on goal. Perhaps the Mids' best opportunity was a shot by senior forward Brigitte Fox (La Mesa, Calif.) whose shot off a corner kick was booted out of the goal by a VCU defender. Navy also had an opportunity just before the end of the half when the Rams were called for a foul and junior forward Sam Schroth's (Chester Springs, Pa.) last second shot sailed above the cross bar.

VCU showed great teamwork in scoring its first goal of the game just past the 50-minute mark. Megan Flanagan put the ball in play on a corner kick with Myriam Bouchard heading it to Hartman who headed it into the bottom right corner of the net.

Navy nearly tied the game up in the 65th minute when rookie midfielder Katie Kelly (Reston, Va.) sent her shot towards the goal, but VCU keeper Emily Niman intercepted the shot to preserve the lead.

Hartman tacked on her second goal in the 80th minute when she was able to slide past the Navy defender and her 10-yard shot made it past Navy keeper Lizzie Barnes (New Orleans, La.). VCU's third goal of the game came when Hartman gathered a loose ball and with Barnes pulled out of goal, she fired off a shot from 15 yards out.

"VCU was just better than us today," said Navy head coach Carin Gabarra. "We built some momentum at times, but we weren't really able to create any scoring opportunities from that momentum. We need to go back and figure out how to create scoring chances. If we are only going to have a few chances a game, we've got to figure out how to make the most of the momentum.

"Last year we gave up only two goals on set pieces and this year we've given up three already," added Gabarra. "We have to do a better job of defending set plays."

Navy defender Jenn Dunbar (Crofton, Md.) and midfielder CiAnna Weikle (Lakeville, Minn.) were named to the all-tournament team for there efforts over the weekend.

After dropping a 4-0 decision to William & Mary in the opening round of the invitational Friday, Navy has dropped back-to-back games for the first time since losing to Bucknell and Penn State to end the 2005 campaign. Additionally, it's the first time since October of 2005 (Army and American) that Navy has been shut out in back-to-back contests.

Navy will be back in action on Thursday when it plays host to Wagner. Action is set for 7:00 pm at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Break out your Navy blue and gold apparel and pay an admission fee of only $2 (tickets are normally $5 for adults and $3 for kids).