Sept. 12, 2014 Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Senior forward Morgan Dankanich (Glenmoore, Pa.) sent in the game-winning goal in the 81st minute to lead Navy women's soccer past Marist, 2-1 Friday at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Navy extended its unbeaten streak to five consecutive matches.
Tied 1-1 after 80 minutes of play, Navy strung together its best set piece of the night in the 81st minute. Senior defender Julie Schumacher (Plantation, Fla.) sent a well-placed ball to the top of the 18 where senior midfielder Rachel Hunter (Raleigh, N.C.) flicked the pass forward with her head to a streaking Dankanich. Dankanich took one touch and struck her shot to the upper 90 of the net for her 14th career game-winng goal.
"We started picking up the tempo towards the end of the second half, especially with the players having a higher sense of urgency knowing we had to score," Navy head coach Carin Gabarra said. "We fought hard and our execution paid off to earn the win."
Navy (3-2-2) put a lot of pressure on Marist (1-3-0) early, outshooting the Red Foxes, 6-0 and holding the steep advantage in corner kicks, 5-1 after 40 minutes of play.
The Mids then tallied the first goal of the contest in the 42nd minute, which started from a Schumacher free kick. Schumacher, from 35 yards, lobbed a pass just outside of the 18 for senior defender Jade Seabrook (St. Paris, Ohio) to flick a pass with her head to freshman defender Annie Morgan (Brecksville, Ohio). Morgan, with one fluid motion, looped a pass over the wall of defenders for junior midfielder Courtney Mason (Laytonsville, Md.) to finish from 12 yards out.
Marist responded in the 59th minute off its only true set piece from 20 yards out. Red Fox midfielder Amanda Epstein sent the free kick into the mobbed 18-yard box where the ball was loose between Navy defenders and Marist attackers. Marist's Marissa Mertens grabbed possession of the loose ball and tallied the equalizer with 31 minutes to go in the contest.
Navy's defense dug in for the final 31 minutes by allowing just one shot and three corner kicks. The Mids held overwhelming advantages in shots, 20-1, shots on goal, 7-1 and corner kicks, 10-4 for the game.
"I thought we played very tough, were fairly patient in our attack and had a lot of grit tonight," Gabarra said. "We played a very tough opponent in Maryland Monday and came out tonight firing with a desire to win right out of the gate."
Dankanich recorded her 33rd career goal to move up to sixth all-time in program history. Morgan, Seabrook, Hunter and Schumacher all tallied assists in the contest to give Navy 16 assists on nine goals for the season.
Navy will look ahead to Ball State, who defeated Delaware in the first match of the Navy Invitational, Sunday at 12 p.m. The match can be seen live and for free on PatriotLeague.TV with Joe Miller on the call
