ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team saw its 2018 season come to a dramatic end on Tuesday night as archival Army came away with a 1-0 golden goal victory in double overtime in a quarterfinal matchup in the Patriot League Tournament. Similar to the two programs' regular season matchup 18 days ago, the fans at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility were treated to a hard-fought battle between two hungry teams that were looking to advance in the conference tournament. Unfortunately for the third-seeded Midshipmen (11-6-3), the sixth-seeded Black Knights (7-5-7) received the game-winning goal from Erynn Johns 73 seconds into the second overtime period at 101:33.
 
"That was such a tough contest between two teams that didn't want give up an inch; it was an even game the entire time," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "In a game with such a small margin for error, we knew that one play would make all the difference. For Army it was a set piece in double overtime."
 
Unlike the teams' regular season matchup that saw three goals scored over 90 minutes, including an Army marker 72 seconds into the game, Tuesday night's quarterfinal matchup was devoid of those big firework moments on offense for the majority of the contest.
 
In the first half, Navy put together a pair of quality looks on goal over the opening 15 minutes. Cadie Higginson (Jr., New Orleans, La.) nearly put the Mids up 1-0 as she rifled a shot to the back of the net in the 10th minute, but her score was waved off due to an offsides call. A little over four minutes later, Eleanor Pratt (Sr., New Orleans, La.) took a pass from Karli Sottung (Sr., Westfield, N.J.) and squared up a hard shot on goal from 25 yards out. Sydney Cassalia, Army's All-Patriot League Second Team honoree, was up for the challenge in goal and made a diving save to preserve the 0-0 contest.
 
The game went into halftime scoreless with Army holding a 6-3 advantage in shots. Sydney Fortson (Jr., Claremont, Calif.) made two saves over the opening stanza to backstop the Mids' effort in goal.
 
In the second half, Higginson was around the action again as she recorded back-to-back shots over a period of five seconds in the 49th minute. After her initial shot was blocked, she controlled the rebound and ripped a shot directly into Cassalia.
 
The Black Knights' best look to break the stalemate came in the 52nd minute when Emily Torres headed a Sydney Witham corner kick on frame only to see Baseley McClaskey (Jr., Grand Junction, Colo.) jump off the near post to deflect the ball away, saving Navy from giving up the near certain score. 
 
Navy held the ball for the majority of the next 38 minutes and built strong possessions only to have their looks at goal thwarted away late. The Mids' last best opportunity came in the 84th minute when Denisse Ramirez (So., Union City, Calif.) came up the right wing and looped a cross toward the top of the 18-yard box where Pratt nearly met the ball in stride, but a late short-hop left her shot on goal just a bit off allowing Cassalia to make the save.
 
After 90 minutes of regulation, the scoreboard still showed a 0-0 mark.
 
Neither team was able to generate much offense in the first 10-minute overtime period as Army tallied one shot that was off target, while Navy was blanked.
 
In the second period of sudden victory soccer, the Black Knights took advantage of a set piece opportunity from 30 yards out. Witham was the player, who got the play going as she lofted the free kick into the box towards Johns, who gathered the loose ball in a scramble and connected for the shot and goal at 101:33.
 
In the 1-0 loss, Navy was outshot by Army, 13-7 and 5-3 in the shots on goal category. The Black Knights also held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Fortson made three saves in defeat for the Mids.
 
Tuesday night marked the final collegiate action for Navy's talented seven player senior class of defender Mary August (Arnold, Md.), forward Ash Fairow (Jacksonville, N.C.), goalkeeper MaryKate Helms (Maysville, N.C.), forward Anabell Motley (Asheville, N.C.), midfielder Eleanor Pratt (New Orleans, La.), midfielder Karli Sottung (Westfield, N.J.) and defender Kayla Robinson (Evanston, Ill). During their four years as Midshipmen, Navy's Class of 2019 won 47 games and appeared in the Patriot League Tournament in all four years.
 
"This was such a great year for our team," said Gabarra. "Our seniors deserve so much credit for that. They provided great leadership both on and off the field. This is going to hurt for them as they are all soccer junkies that wanted to continue their careers deeper into the postseason. They all had strong impacts on our program this year. I'm sad for them that we couldn't come out with a win tonight.
 
"We lost a really significant class of seniors last year and this class stepped right up. Their leadership was everything. They're all good, hard fighters and gave us really important minutes this year and throughout their careers. They've all come a long away and have improved significantly soccer-wise and as leaders since stepping foot on the Yard four years ago. We couldn't have asked anything more from them. They'll definitely be missed."
 
Navy finishes its 2018 campaign with an 11-6-3 record.