Aug. 27, 2012

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Junior forward Ashlynn Soellner (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute to lift Navy (3-1) to a come-from-behind, 3-2, win over George Mason (2-2) in women's soccer on Monday evening at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

After falling behind 2-1 in the 78th minute, Navy sophomore forward Morgan Dankanich (Glenmoore, Pa.) evened the contest with her second goal of the night in the 81st minute and Soellner knocked in the game-winner with just 32 seconds left in the second half.

"We battled tonight and we did some good things and created a lot of chances," head coach Carin Gabarra said. "It's always good to get a win against a quality team like George Mason. But we still have to learn how to manage games and put games away early on when we have the chance."

The Mids got on the scoreboard in the 15th minute when Dankanich headed in a cross from junior forward Paloma Perez (Mobile, Ala.) and the game remained at 1-0 until the 74th minute.

The Patriots struck with back-to-back goals in a four-minute span, first on Mary Kate Lowry's tally in the 74th and then on Tiana Kallenberger's goal in the 78th to take a 2-1 lead.

The Mids kept battling, however, and it took just three minutes for Dankanich to net her second of the game, and third of the season, when she connected on a cross from sophomore forward Lily Kraemer (Pitman, N.J.) after a throw-in from senior Fallon Puppolo (Sankt Leon, Germany).

That set up Soellner's late-game heroics, as she took sophomore defender Julie Schumacher's (Plantation, Fla.) cross from the right side after a feed from Perez, settled it, and knocked it in for the go-ahead tally.

The goal was Soellner's eight game-winner of her career and the 14th overall.

In 2010, Soellner also decided the fate of the Navy-George Mason game as she headed in the game-winner in overtime for the 1-0 victory. Navy now leads the all-time series against George Mason, 5-1-1.

Junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Hoerner (Lititz, Pa.) earned her third straight win, making four saves. Hoerner made a leaping save in the 64th minute to tip a George Mason shot just over the cross bar and out of play. Hoerner also made a diving save on a free kick in the 87th minute to keep the game knotted at 2-2 just before Soellner's tally.

Hoerner also received a nice defensive effort from sophomore midfielder Rachel Hunter (Raleigh, N.C.), who hustled back in the 60th minute to break up a George Mason scoring chance by disrupting a pass to a forward who would have otherwise been wide open.

George Mason held an overall advantage on shots, 15-13, and shots on goal were even at 6-6.

After being shutout in the season-opener to No. 13 Maryland, the Mids have scored 11 goals during its current three-game winning streak.

"Our offense has been clicking lately," Gabarra said. "And that's because of the way we attack, the way we possess, the way we are making chances and getting behind defenses. The team has been paying a lot of attention to details and is learning different ways to do things."

Perez and Schumacher, who were honored earlier on Monday as the Patriot League Women's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, each were back in the scoring column on Monday with assists.

Dankanich registered a two-goal game for the first time in her career on Monday and with seven points is right behind Perez (8) as the team's top two scorers.

Navy won its 240th game in program history on Monday, and as the program's only coach, Gabarra is just one win shy of tying Glenn Warner (241) for the most wins by a soccer coach (either gender) in the history of the Naval Academy.

The game was originally scheduled for Sunday but was postponed due to poor weather conditions.

The Mids will next play at Jacksonville on Friday at 6:00 PM.