The Navy women's soccer team will kick off its 2018 season with a pair of home non-conference matchups at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The Mids will welcome No. 20 North Carolina State on Thursday night at 8 p.m. before the University of Pacific comes to Annapolis for a Sunday afternoon tilt at 1 p.m. Both contests are the back ends of home-and-home series that saw the Mids on the road in North Carolina versus the Wolfpack in 2016 and in Northern California against the Tigers in 2017.
Navy vs. North Carolina State
The Mids and Wolfpack will meet for the fifth time ever and third time in six years on Thursday ... In a series that began in 2003, N.C. State has gone 4-0 all-time over Navy with the teams most recently facing off on Aug. 28, 2016 in Raleigh ... The host Wolfpack won 4-1 as they extended a 1-0 halftime lead over the second half of the contest ... 11 current Navy players saw action that afternoon versus N.C. State.
Navy vs. Pacific
The Mids and Tigers have met just two times prior to this coming Sunday, once in 2003 and once in 2017 ... Including a 2-0 victory over Pacific last season on Sept. 1 in Stockton, Calif., Navy is 2-0 all-time in the series ... The 2017 matchup between the Mids and Tigers saw
Ash Fairow break the visitors onto the scoreboard early with a goal in the 20th minute before
Alex Jackson added an insurance marker in the 34th minute to put Navy up 2-0 ...
Sydney Fortson made a career-high 11 saves in goal for Navy.
Comparing the Teams
| (2017 Stats) |
Navy |
NC State |
Pacific |
| Record |
16-4-1 |
15-5-2 |
5-13-2 |
| Goals/Gm |
2.10 |
1.82 |
1.00 |
| Assists/Gm |
2.14 |
2.00 |
0.65 |
| Shots/Gm |
14.3 |
10.7 |
13.1 |
| GK Saves/Gm |
3.8 |
3.3 |
5.8 |
Returning Leaders
| (2017 Stats) |
Navy |
NC State |
Pacific |
| Goals |
Fairow, 13 |
King, 17 |
Thorolfsdottir, 4 |
| Assists |
McClaskey, 9 |
Keogh, 10 |
Aas / Arnett, 2 |
| Points |
Fairow, 27 |
King, 40 |
Thorolfsdottir, 9 |
| Shots |
Fairow, 43 |
King, 61 |
Thorolfsdottir, 44 |
| GK Saves |
Fortson, 74 |
Wootten, 64 |
Heslop, 49 |
Parking / Shuttle / Ticket 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 one hour prior to the game (7:00 PM/Thursday and 12:00 PM/Sunday) and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium. Dogs are not permitted inside the
Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
Free Admission
New for the 2018 season all soccer contests at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility will be free of charge.
Meet the Mids Promotion: Sunday Post-Game Autograph Session
The ever popular 'Meet the Mids' promo is back for the 2018 season. On Sunday, fans will have the opportunity to pick up their new 2018 Navy Women's Soccer poster and get it autographed by the entire Midshipmen team following the conclusion of the Navy-Pacific contest.
Season Outlook: Six Returning Starters & Seven Seniors to Lead Mids in 2018
One year after going 16-4-1 and 8-0-1 in the Patriot League, the Navy women's soccer team was picked again to finish strong in the conference. Runners-up to Bucknell in the Patriot League finals, the preseason poll released last Thursday saw the Midshipmen atop the standings with 11 first-place votes and 154 cumulative points. Accompanying the news of the Mids' first-place selection was the announcement that junior
Alex Jackson was chosen as the Preseason Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and
Sydney Fortson was named to the first team.
Under the direction of 26th-year head coach
Carin Gabarra, the program returns 18 letterwinners and six starters from 2017. The seven-player senior class of
Mary August,
Ash Fairow,
MaryKate Helms,
Anabell Motley,
Eleanor Pratt,
Kayla Robinson and team captain
Karli Sottung will provide a strong foundation with experience and leadership both on and off the field for the Mids as they begin hunt for the fourth Patriot League title in program history.
Forwards
• The Mids return a trio of talented senior goal scorers with:
Ash Fairow,
Anabell Motley and
Eleanor Pratt.
• Fairow, the 2017 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year found the back of the net 13 times last season, though more importantly notched those goals over 11 different games. For her career she's scored 23 goals and added five assists.
• After seeing the majority of her time off the bench in offensive roles in 2017, Pratt is projected in Navy's starting attack this season. As a junior, she scored nine goals and added an assist.
• Motley and junior
Regan McQuain will bring upperclass veteran experience to the forward equation with four goals and seven assists over 60 career appearances to Motley's name and a goal and assist over 28 games in McQuain's career.
• Four underclassmen:
Gabby Gordon (So.),
Hannah Miller (Fr.),
Tori Mitchell (Fr.) and
Gina Peraino (Fr.) are expected to challenge for playing time immediately and give Navy a variety of different looks. Gordon (5'8) and Mitchell (5'9) both provide length up top, while Miller and Peraino are celebrated high school goal scorers with numerous accolades to their name.
Midfielders
• The Mids returns a pair of starting midfielders in the form of senior team captain
Karli Sottung and junior
Cadie Higginson.
• One of five Mids to play and start all 21 games in 2017, Sottung will add a veteran presence to the central midfield after playing on the wing in each of her first three seasons. Over that time she's scored four goals with three assists.
• Higginson will operate from the central midfield once again in 2018. In her first year in the starting lineup as last season, Higginson played in and started 20 games and scored a goal along with three assists.
• The program will tap into its youth to fill out its midfield corps as three sophomores return:
Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan,
Emily Keast and
Amy Luttges, and three freshmen will be experiencing their first year of collegiate action:
Molly Gillcrist,
Carolyn Mang and
Victoria Tran. Dzhandzhapanyan was limited by injuries to nine games in 2017, while Keast was a go-to reserve option for the Mids with 20 appearances. Luttges played in 12 contest for Navy as a freshman in the central midfield.
• The freshmen class has skilled playmakers from near and far as Mang and Tran made a name for themselves nearby in Forest Hill and Clarksville, Maryland, respectively. Gillcrist honed her skills in Southern California.
Defenders
• An experience quartet of Mids return to make up the foundation of Navy's 2018 defense with juniors
Alex Jackson and
Baseley McClaskey back in the starting and seniors
Mary August and
Kayla Robinson stepping up into spots vacated due to graduation.
• A starter in all 43 games played by Navy in 2016 and 2017, Jackson earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors in 2017 after manning the center back position for 1,738 minutes, as well as venturing into the attacking third and netting three goals and three assists.
• Joining the starting lineup as a sophomore, McClaskey provided strong wide marker skills and a penchant for kick-starting the Mids' offense from the wing as illustrated by her Patriot League-leading nine assists.
• Battling back from injuries early in her career, Robinson appeared in 13 games with three starts all as an outside marking back.
• A key contributor either in the starting lineup (26 career starts) or off the bench (24 career games) August has earned her way back into the starting XI as a central defender in 2018.
•
Denisse Ramirez and
Lexie Silva were both popular choices as defensive subs in 2017 as Ramirez appeared 19 times off the bench and Silva 14 times; the same should be true in 2018.
• Freshman
Avery Fries and sophomore
Kate Asaro will both challenge for playing time as members of a deep defensive corps.
Goalkeepers
• The Mids return four goalkeepers from last season and add freshmen
Megan LaMendola to its ranks.
• Junior
Sydney Fortson, the reigning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year is in line for the starting role once again after backstopping the Mids in all 21 games last season. The California native went 16-4-1 with a 0.90 goals against average and had a hand in 13 shutouts (9 solo/4 combined).
• Senior
MaryKate Helms and junior
Ashley Sweet appeared in four games each in 2017 and will provide quality depth alongside sophomore
Molly Swiger.
•
Megan LaMendola joins the corps of goalkeepers after a decorated career with Har-Ber HS and the Arkansas Comets club team.
