Oct. 26, 2008

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. - Sophomore Anastasia Abid (Williamsburg, Va.) put home a rebound in the 107th minute to lift the Navy women's soccer team (13-3-2, 4-0-2 PL) to a 3-2 double overtime victory over Holy Cross (3-14-1, 1-4-1 PL) on Sunday at the Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium.

The victory, coupled with Army's scoreless draw against American later in the afternoon, means that Navy will head into next weekend's finale in control of its own destiny. The Mids and Black Knights both have identical 4-0-2 marks, but Navy holds the tiebreaker edge with a three-goal lead in scoring differential in league contests (Navy: 10-2, +8; Army 5-0, +5).

With the win, the streaking Mids, unbeaten in 10 games (8-0-2) since Sept. 26, have also secured their third Patriot League postseason berth in as many seasons. Navy has now earned 12 postseason berths in its 15 years of league membership.

"I was little disappointed in the fact that we didn't put the game away in the first half and the team knows that," said Navy head coach Carin Gabarra. "We went up 1-0 and 2-1 in the first half and both of those times we were taking chances attacking when we should have had defending as our top priority. The girls know that and they played with so much heart in the second half.

"Holy Cross played great and it was an even game. I thought we started playing better in overtime and got chance after chance and then were finally able to put one away. I am very proud of the girls for coming back the way they did today."

The Midshipmen women scored twice in the contest's first 14 minutes, which would normally provide more than enough scoring for the Patriot League's top-ranked defense to work with. However, after senior Kristen Laraway (Long Valley, N.J.) drove home a 12-yard shot to put Navy onto the scoreboard just 4:33 in, Holy Cross' Katherine Donnelly deflected in teammate Shelby Stand's free kick in the eighth minute to even things at 1-1.

The goal was the first allowed by the Mids to a Patriot League opponent this season, snapping a Navy scoreless streak of 795:27 against league foes, a span of eight-plus games dating back to last season.

Navy bounced back quickly as senior Carey Young (Virginia Beach, Va.), who served Laraway for the Mids' first score, notched her second assist of the afternoon in the 14th minute , when her cross found sophomore Christine Calderon (Yorktown, Va.) for a header from eight yards out to put the Mids back on top, 2-1.

Once again though, Stand and Donnelly teamed up to bring the Crusaders back. This time it was Stand, who was on the receiving end of the game-tying tally, after slipping behind the Navy defense for a 25th-minute goal.

With the goal, Holy Cross became just the third team this season (in 19 games) to score more than one goal against the Mids, who came into the contest allowing a Patriot League-low 0.61 goals per game.

The score stood deadlocked at 2-2 through the half, and despite several close calls over the next 45 minutes, it remained that way at the end of regulation time. After the two sides had combined for four goals in the contest's first 24:11, it took 82-plus minutes before the next goal to be registered.

After sophomore Carissa Youker (Potomac, Md.) won the possession from a Crusader defender, freshman Annie Kendzior (Southlake, Texas) drove to the net and sent a booming shot that was stopped by Holy Cross keeper Mary Ferketic, but bounced out to the foot of Abid, who promptly put away her first career golden goal to give Navy its third overtime win this fall (3-0-3). Kendzior was credited with her first collegiate assist on the winner, becoming the 19th Mid to record a goal or assist this season.

Senior keeper Lizzie Barnes (New Orleans, La.) made the start for Navy and had her 567-plus minute scoreless streak snapped, allowing a pair of goals on six Holy Cross attempts on target.

Junior Beth Reed (Indianapolis, Ind.) entered the contest after halftime and made two saves, including a stop on a second-half breakaway on which she initially had lost her footing, to collect her fourth win this season. Reed boasts a 0.47 GAA and a .882 save percentage in parts of nine games this fall.

"Beth came up huge for us today," said Gabarra. "It was a key moment in the game and she stepped up and really delivered for us."

The Mids close out the regular season next Saturday when they head to Hamilton, N.Y., to face Colgate in a contest laden with playoff implications.

"We haven't played our best soccer yet, but this is the time of the year when you want to start peaking," said Gabarra. "We will learn from some of the mistakes that we made against both Army and Holy Cross and hopefully will be a better team in the playoffs because of it. We're excited where we stand, but, as it always does, our focus remains on our next opponent. Colgate is always a tough opponent to play against and we expect a hard-fought match on Saturday."

Notes: The win was the 199th in Navy history ... Young now has a career-best nine points (2 g, 5 a). Her five assists are also a career-best total.

Patriot League StandingsTm.      PL Record   Pts.        Sunday's ResultNavy*       4-0-2       14      W, 3-2 (2OT) at Holy CrossArmy*           4-0-2           14      T, 0-0 (2OT) vs. AmericanBucknell    4-2-0       12      W, 4-1, at LafayetteColgate         4-2-0       12      W, 1-0, at LehighAmerican    2-1-3       9       T, 0-0 (2OT), at ArmyHoly Cross  1-4-1       4       L, 2-3 (2OT), vs. NavyLehigh          1-5-0       3       L, 0-1, vs. ColgateLafayette   0-6-0       0       L, 1-4, vs. Bucknell
* - clinched Patriot League Tournament Berth
Remaining ScheduleOctober 31      Lehigh @ Army       7 PMNovember 1      American @ Bucknell 1 PM                        Lafayette @ Holy Cross  2 PM            Navy @ Colgate      5 PM

Patriot League Tie-Breaking Procedures