Sept. 11, 2009

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - All-American senior forward Corky Julien registered her second hat trick in four games as regionally-ranked James Madison topped the Navy women's soccer team, 3-1 on Friday evening at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

The loss snaps Navy's six-game unbeaten streak to start the year, dropping the Mids to 5-1-1. Meanwhile, for the Dukes, who went 14-7-2 and reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, it is their fourth win in five games as they improve to 4-2-0.

"That is a very, very good James Madison team - probably the most talented opponent we've seen this season," said Navy head coach Carin Gabarra. "They were quick, they possessed well and they really gave us fits in the midfield. We had to adjust our system and it worked as we had some chances towards the ends of each half, but we just didn't execute well enough tonight, especially on our set pieces."

James Madison carried the play at the outset and was quickly rewarded when Julien, a 2009 Hermann Trophy candidate and the reigning CAA Player of the Year, put the Dukes on the board in the eighth minute after a failed Navy clear attempt.

Navy sent in some fresh legs, and led by senior Jen Grijalva (Pleasanton, Calif.), who put a pair of well-struck attempts on goal, leveled the play over the final 20 minutes of the opening half, but could not find the equalizer as the Dukes began to tire.

The second half began in very similar fashion to the first - on a quick Julien goal. The talented Canadien striker ran onto junior teammate Cate Tisinger's through ball down the right side and sent home her second tally of the night from eight yards out at the 48:07 mark.

Navy would cut the deficit in half in the 81st minute as junior forward Carissa Youker (Potomac, Md.) scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season on assists from classmate Anastasia Abid (Williamsburg, Va.) and senior Brittany White (Carmel, Ind.).

Abid took the feed from White on the right side and with a quick burst of speed, sliced past a JMU defender on a dribbling run. The fleet-footed junior then played the ball back to the top of the box where Youker lofted a curling, left-footed shot over the outstretched arms of the Dukes' keeper Diane Wszalek.

The Mids appeared to have seized the contest's momentum, but their push for the equalizer was short-lived as Julien tallied her third goal of the evening, putting home a rebound off the left post at 84:53.

Senior defender Shelly Moeller (Milford, Ohio) nearly saved the day by diving to clear JMU's Jess Remmes' attempt off of the goal line after she had beat Navy keeper Beth Reed (Indianapolis, Ind.) to a loose ball at the top of the box.

Moeller's clear, however, went off the left post and in the ensuing scramble the ball wound up at the right foot of Julien, who quickly converted from point-blank range.

Reed finished the evening with seven saves, while Wszalek had four for the visiting Dukes. James Madison finished the game with an 18-7 advantage in shots, putting 10 on goal.

"It was not our best effort and now we have to get back in the win column and rebound on Sunday," said Gabarra. "At 5-1-1 we are still n a good spot, but we have to continue to work and get better."

Navy will look to get back on track this Sunday afternoon when it hosts Liberty in a 1:00 pm contest.

Match Notes: *Friday's match marked Navy's third-straight contest against a regionally-ranked opponent and its fourth in a row against a team that won 10 or more games in 2008. James Madison, the preseason favorites in the CAA, entered the week as No. 7 in the NSCAA's Mid-Atlantic Region poll.

*Through seven games, Youker leads the Patriot League in scoring with 11 points on four goals and three assists.

*Julien leads the CAA in scoring with eight goals and 16 points in six games. She also recorded a hat trick earlier this season in a 3-0 shutout of Bucknell.