Sept. 23, 2010

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team has hit the halfway mark of their 20-game regular season with a 4-5-1 mark. Seven of the next 10 games for Navy will be Patriot League contests and the Mids will expect to be in the PL postseason tournament field for the fifth-straight season. Navy will meet Duquesne (3-4-1) for the first time in program history on Friday night at 7:00 pm. The Mids will then have a tough road test at Penn (3-3-0) on Sunday.

Game Day Information
Duquesne (3-4-1) at Navy (4-5-1)
Annapolis, Md. | Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 pm | Glenn Warner Soccer Facility |
Promotions: Youth Soccer Month (Free Giveaways), Elementary and Middle School Night ($2 admission), Family Night ($20 for four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks)

Game Day Information
Navy (4-5-1) at Penn (3-3-0)
Philadelphia, Pa. | Sunday, Sept. 26 at 12 pm | Rhodes Field | Live Stats

As of Late
Navy split a pair of games last weekend to reach the midway point of the regular season. The Mids used a balanced scoring attack to defeat VMI, 4-0 but fell at James Madison, 1-0. In the win over VMI, the Mids received goals from senior midfielder Anastasia Abid, senior forward Carissa Youker, and freshman forwards Hannah Morse and Paloma Perez. Alexes Lopez-Shaw and Hannah Legler combined for Navy's fourth shutout of the year in the net. Navy's game against James Madison last Sunday was head coach Carin Gabarra's 350th game at Navy. Gabarra currently has an 18-year record of 219-103-28 while on the Navy sidelines. Her win total ranks in the top-25 nationally among active head coaches.

Mids Use Balanced Scoring Attack
The Navy offense, which is currently ranked second in the Patriot League in goals per game, has been driven by a number of players. One trend for Navy this year is players scoring in back-to-back game. So far this season, players to score in back-to-back games include senior Christine Calderon, freshman Ashlynn Soellner, senior Carissa Youker (twice), senior Anastasia Abid and freshman Paloma Perez. Carissa leads the team in points (4-1=9) and Calderon and Soellner rank second in goals with three apiece.

Legler and Lopez-Shaw Form Goalkeeper Platoon
Sophomore Hannah Legler and freshman Alexes Lopez-Shaw have teamed up for four shutouts this season in the net for Navy. Usually, each goalie will play one half of the game. Legler has played 519:37 minutes, has a 1.21 GAA and a .741 save percentage. Lopez-Shaw has logged 425:23 minutes, has a 1.69 GAA and a .771 save percentage. As a team, the Mids rank third in the Patriot League in goals allowed average.

Senior Youker is Climbing Career Charts
Senior Carissa Youker has been a constant in the Navy offensive attack over the past few years. Youker led the team in goals in both `08 (7) and `09 (9) and leads the team so far this season with four goals. Youker's 22 career goals rank eighth on the all-time Navy chart. In addition, her 53 career points are just four shy from allowing her to crack the all-time top-10 career points list at Navy. Youker has also been a clutch goal scorer for the Mids in her career. She has scored 12 game-winning goals, a mark that ranks her third on the all-time list, just one shy of Justin Fisher's [`02] second-place total of 13.

Although Youker is climbing the career charts, reaching the top would be a very big achievement. Stacy Finley [`04] is Navy's career leader in goals (51), points (126) and game-winning goals (23), posting astounding numbers in each category. Finley passed away less than a year after she was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy and her No. 14 jersey has been passed down to succeeding members of the women's soccer team and is worn in her honor each year. Currently, Youker wears Finley's No. 14.

Mids' Offense Explodes for Nine Goals in Back-to-Back Games
After scoring nine goals in their first seven goals of the season, Navy doubled its season goal total in games eight and nine. Navy posted a 5-0 win over Manhattan on Sept. 12 and followed that game with a 4-0 win over VMI on Sept. 17. Six different players scored goals during the offensive barrage (including four freshmen) and six different players registered assists. The nine goals in two games were the most since Navy scored 12 goals in back-to-back games on Aug. 23 (6-2 win over Francis Marion) and Aug. 28 (6-0 win over FDU) of the 2009 season.

Trio of Freshmen Score in Win Over Manhattan
In the 5-0 win over Manhattan, three different Navy freshmen scored (Ashlynn Soellner, Sam Newhaller and Paloma Perez). It was the first time three different freshmen scored in the same game for Navy since Sept. 16, 1998, when Vanessa Solon, Justine Fisher and Danielle La Salle all scored in a 8-0 win over Howard.

Navy Holds a .841 Winning Percentage at Glenn Warner
Beginning with the inaugural season at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in 2001, Navy has posted an 84-13-7 (.841) all-time record at their home field. Navy is 8-0-2 (.900) in Patriot League contests at the GWSF over the past three seasons (2007-08).

Scouting Duquesne
The Dukes will enter Friday's game at 3-4-1. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Most recently, Duquesne lost a home game to Ball State, 3-2. Senior midfielder Kristin Vinicky leads the team with seven points (3-1=7). This is the second-straight opponent for Navy whose nickname is Dukes (James Madison).

Fast Facts on Duquesne

Location:           Pittsburgh, Pa.Founded:            1878Enrollment:         10,160Nickname:           DukesColors:                 Red & BlueConference:         Atlantic 10First Year of Soccer:       19942009 Record:            7-11 (4-7 in A10, 11th)Head Coach:         Tim Zundel

Scouting Penn
This will be the third meeting between Navy and Penn. The Quakers lead the series 1-0-1, but the teams haven't met in 10 years. Penn enters the weekend with a 3-3 mark, but will host Harvard in their Ivy League opener on Friday. Harvard is the defending Ivy League Champions. Freshman forward Kathryn Barth has scored two of Penn's five goals this season and the Quakers have only allowed four goals in six games. Penn ranks in the top-40 in the country in GAA, shutout percentage and save percentage.

Game-by-Game Series Results

10-8-00:    Navy 0, Penn 0 (2OT) in Annapolis10-25-99:   Penn 6, Navy 0   in Philadelphia

Fast Facts on Penn

Location:       Philadelphia, Pa.Founded:        1740Enrollment:     10,337Nickname:       QuakersColors:         Red & BlueConference:     Ivy LeagueHome Field:     Rhodes Field (1,000)2009 Record:        10-4-3 (4-3-0, 3rd)Head Coach:     Darren Ambrose

Around the Patriot League
* Lehigh leads the league in goals per game (2.40)
* Army sits first in the standings with a 7-2-0 record and rank in the top-10 nationally in GAA, shutout percentage and save percentage
* Shelby Strand of Holy Cross leads the league in points per game (2.17) and is ranked ninth in the nation

Up Next
Navy will begin Patriot League play at defending champion-Colgate on Oct. 1. The Mids will then play their final non-conference game against Delaware State on Oct. 3.

## GO NAVY! ##