Sept. 11, 2014 ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy women's soccer will host Marist Friday at 7 p.m. and Ball State Sunday at 12 p.m. for this weekend's Navy Invitational. Both matches will be streamed live for free on PatriotLeague.tv. Live statistics also will be available for both games.
Delaware, who does not play Navy, is the fourth team at the invitational. The Blue Hens will begin the invitational on Friday at 4 p.m. against Ball State and also will conclude on Sunday against Marist at 2:30 p.m. Both matches will be available to follow along via gametracker on navysports.com.
Scouting Navy's Opponents:
Friday vs. Marist (1-2-0):
• Navy leads Marist 2-0 in the all-time series and have outscored the Red Foxes, 12-1 in the two previous meetings. Navy and Marist last played one another on Sept. 13, 2002 as the Mids defeated the Red Foxes, 8-0 at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
• Marist has opened the season 1-2-0 with a win over UMass-Lowell, 2-1 and losses to Seton Hall, 2-0 and Cornel, 1-0 both of which were at home.
• Forward Amanda Epstein leads Marist's offense with one goal on three shots on net.
• Goalkeeper Andrea Wicks has started all three matches for the Red Foxes, owning a 1.33 goals-against average and a .692 saves percentage (4 GA, 9 Svs).
Sunday vs. Ball State (2-1-1):
• This is the first contest played between the two programs.
• Ball State opened 2014 strong with back-to-back wins against IPFW, 3-0 and Green Bay, 2-0 but have stumbled a bit in the last two matches against Purdue, 2-0 and Morehead State, 2-2.
• The Cardinals have jumped on their opponents early, scoring six of their first seven goals in the first half.
• Forward Gabby Veldman leads the squad with six points on two goals and two assists. Veldman has tallied both Cardinal game winners. Veldman and Cailey Starck each have recorded two assists.
• Goalkeeper Brooke Dennis has started all four contests for Ball State, tallying an impressive 0.95 goals-against average and a .833 saves percentage (4 GA, 20 Svs.).
Last Time Out
Vs. Maryland:
• Navy and Maryland battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie Monday night at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in front of 2,522. With the tie, Navy extended its unbeaten streak to four games and is 2-0-2 during the span.
• Despite the slow start to begin the contest, Navy grabbed an early 1-0 lead in 34th minute. Senior defender Julie Schumacher (Plantation, Fla.) began the play with a pass to the top of the 18 in the direction of Rachel Hunter (Raleigh, N.C.), who took one touch and rifled her shot right underneath the cross bar. With Hunter's goal, Navy has scored first in five of its first six matches.
• Maryland (2-2-1) however responded in the 43rd match to tie the match, 1-1 off a corner kick. Lauren Berman sent her corner kick into the crowded 18-yard box where Navy junior defender Lexi Ricketts attempted to clear but was kept in by Maryland's Riley Barger. Barger evaded one Navy defender at the top of the box and launched her shot past Navy goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) for the equalizer.
• In the first overtime, Maryland looked for the game winner with three different opportunities on net. In the 95th minute, the Terrapins had their best opportunity when Sarah Fichtner went one-on-one with Wetherby, but the Navy goalie came up with the first of her three saves during the first overtime.
Navy Invitational
• Since 1996, Navy has accrued a 23-4-3 record at its annual invitational. The Mids largest margin of victory was against Pittsburgh, 8-1 on Sept. 7, 1996 and their largest defeat was against Ohio State, 2-0 during the same invitational on Sept. 9, 1996.
• Navy has won its last seven matches of the invitational, three of which have been overtime wins.
• Of the 24 different squads to compete against Navy at the invitational, Rider, Davidson and Towson have faced the Mids each three times, which is the most amongst the 24 teams.
• Eight of Navy's matches have gone into overtime and own a 3-2-3 record, winning the last two last season (Duquesne, 1-0; St. Bonaventure, 3-2).
NSCAA Top 25 Poll
• Following its win over then-No. 24 James Madison, Navy received two points in the recent NSCAA top 25 national poll.
• Navy and Boston University, who is receiving 13 votes, are the only two Patriot League schools who are currently receiving votes.
• Navy's two one-goal losses have come at the hands of UConn and UMBC. UConn is currently receiving 21 votes and UMBC made the NCAA Tournament last season and is 4-1 to begin 2014.
Road Warriors
• Navy began its 2014 slate with five matches on the road. The Mids battled with UMBC and UConn on opening weekend. Navy lost two one-goal games, 1-0 at UMBC and 2-1 at UConn.
• Navy then continued with two matches in Florida, tying with USF, 1-1 and concluded with a 3-1 win over Stetson.
• The Mids finished their five-game road trip with an impressive 1-0 win over No. 24 James Madison.
• Navy is 112-78-19 all-time when it plays away from home. The Mids were 5-2 on the road in 2013 and are currently 2-2-1.
• It's the first time in program history that the Mids began a season on the road for the first five matches.
Knocking Off The Best
• Navy recorded its second win over a top-25 team in program history with a 1-0 win over No. 24 James Madison.
• The Mids now own a 2-14-1 record against top-25 programs. Navy earned its first win over then-No. 9 Penn State, 1-0 on Oct. 26, 2006. Navy then went on to tie then-No. 20 William & Mary, 0-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mids advanced on penalty kicks.
Freshman Firsts
• Navy freshman have been busy through five games, tallying six points on two goals and two assists.
• Forward MacAdam paces all Navy freshmen with two goals, including the game winner over No. 24 James Madison. The Mids are 2-0 when MacAdam records a goal.
• Forward Natalie Dzhandzhapanyan has recorded two assists, one against UConn and one against Stetson.
• Midfielder Meghan Hegarty set up teammate Rachel Hunter for the go-ahead goal vs. Maryland for her first career assist on Sept. 8.
Parking / Shuttle Information
Fans are reminded that the general public does not have access to drive their vehicles on to the U.S. Naval Academy. Fans may park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for $5 and take a shuttle that will run every 10 minutes starting at 4:30 PM, one hour prior to the Navy-Maryland women's game and will continue running until one hour after the completion of the Navy-Maryland men's game. Dogs are not permitted inside the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
