BOSTON – A matchup between two of the top teams in the Patriot League lived up to its billing on Friday as a 0-0 stalemate between Navy and Boston University covered the first 87:27 of action before the host Terriers (5-7-2, 4-0-1 PL) found the back of the net with a Taylor Kofton goal with less than three minutes left in regulation. Coming into the game as the only undefeated team in the conference, the Mids (7-4-3, 4-1 PL) put forth a strong defensive effort in the contest at Nickerson Field.
 
"That was a very tight and competitive game," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Each team only had one or two really good looks and they [Boston] made their last one count. Tonight's game was all about defense. Both teams received strong defensive efforts throughout and really didn't allow good, clean looks at goal all game." 
 
Boston controlled the majority of possession over most of the first half. The hosts tallied the game's first four corner kicks over the opening 28 minutes. The Terriers registered the game's first shot on goal as Taylor Kofton volleyed a weak attempt on frame at 27:28.
 
Collecting a bounding ball, Carolyn Mang (Fr., Forest Hill, Md.) put Navy's first shot on goal in the 35th minute. The freshman's shot required Morgan Messner, the Terrier's goalie, to leave her line.
 
Fortson made her second save of the first half in the 39th minute as she leapt up to save an Ann Marie Jaworski shot. Three minutes later, the junior goalkeeper caught a bit of a break as Shannon Keefe lofted a header over her on target but it deflected off the side post and bounced safely back to Fortson. 
 
Coming out of halftime tied 0-0, Victoria Tran (Fr., Clarksville, Md.) manufactured Navy's first scoring opportunity of the second half in the 56th minute as she streaked up the left wing, dribbled away from a pair of Boston defenders and whipped a shot on goal. Unfortunately for the Mids, Messner was there to make the stop.
 
Navy's midfield and defensive lineup started flexing its muscle in the second half as Boston struggled for a good portion of the opening 25 minutes of the second stanza to muster much possession and high-level scoring opportunities.
 
Down the stretch in the second half, the action flowed more freely from end-to-end though nothing changed on the scoreboard. After McKenna Doyle pushed a shot wide at 83:38, Karli Sottung (Sr., Westfield, N.J.) came back down to the opposite end 55 seconds later and tested Messner with a shot towards the crossbar. The Terriers' goalkeeper was forced to jump and deflect the shot over and out of play.
 
That all changed in the 88th minute when Doyle controlled the ball in the corner and fed Kofton at the top of the 18-yard box. After a few dribbles, Kofton square up the ball and lofted it into the far upper-90 corner of the goal to break the 0-0 tie.
 
For the game, Boston outshot Navy, 12-4 with a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Terriers also tallied five corner kicks versus one for the Mids.
 
Before Friday night's result, Boston handed Navy its last Patriot League regular season lost on Oct. 29, 2016 as the Mids went 8-0-1 in 2017 and 4-0 to start 2018.
 
"Our young players showed tonight that they are not intimidated by this stage and this caliber of an opponent; that's good to see," exclaimed Gabarra. "Our depth is important as we'll need our entire roster down the backstretch of the season. The pressure will continue to mount as we move on." 
 
Navy will step away from Patriot League play on Monday with a 5 p.m. contest at home versus Delaware State. The game between the Mids and Hornets is a precursor to the 2018 Army-Navy Star Match on Friday, Oct. 12 in Annapolis.