ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team kicked off its 2018 campaign on Thursday night with a hard-fought contest versus No. 20 North Carolina State that saw the visiting Wolfpack (1-0) net two goals in the final 22 minutes to come from behind for a 2-1 victory. Playing at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, the Mids (0-1) took a 1-0 lead into the halftime intermission courtesy of a Kayla Robinson (Sr., Evanston, Ill.) goal before the Wolfpack received a pair of second-half scores from Tziarra King, one of 45 players nationally to be named to the preseason 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
 
"We take away quite a few positives from a game like this," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "It's fantastic for us to play a team of that level with a player like Tziarra King, who is on the Hermann Trophy Watch List. I think we realized tonight that we can play with teams like this. They are a quality team that moves the ball well. I'm happy that we were able to control the ball in transition. We connected passes and got forward. We were very disciplined in our shape and kept the ball well, but playing against a team of N.C. State's caliber you have to keep your focus for the entire game and make sure there are no mental errors. This game showed you that two mental errors against a team like that can result in two quick goals." 
 
The early action at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility saw a free flowing game with quality offensive opportunities squelched on multiple occasions. North Carolina State lined up six shots towards goal in the opening 20 minutes, but four were blocked and a fifth was saved by Sydney Fortson (Jr., Claremont, Calif.) in net for Navy. The sixth shot during that span went high.
 
Navy's offense started gaining some substance in their attacking third over the final 20 minutes of the half as Eleanor Pratt (Sr., New Orleans, La.) set up Molly Gillcrist (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) for a shot that was pushed just wide in the 25^thminute. The Mids kept an eye on the goal as a little over eight minutes later at 33:00, Robinson connected for the game's first score. The senior defender corralled a failed clear and rifled a shot towards net that deflected off a Wolfpack defender and past the visitor's goalie, Sydney Wootten. The goal was the first of Robinson's career.
 
The game went into halftime with Navy up 1-0.
 
In the second half, neither team was able to put together a substantial offensive push over the initial 20 minutes due to tight, shutdown defense. The first shot on goal for either squad came at 68:12 when N.C. State's Tziarra King took a lead pass that landed in no-man's land behind Navy's defense and in front of Fortson. Once in control of the ball, King fired a shot into the empty net.
 
Less than five minutes later, King put the Wolfpack ahead as she caused a turnover 25 yards out before dribbling into the box and finishing to the near right post at 72:26.
 
The Mids tried valiantly down the stretch to find an equalizer, but the Wolfpack allowed just one shot over the final 17-plus minutes, a wide attempt from Emily Keast (So., Springfield, Va.) in the 89^th minute.
 
In the 2-1 decision for N.C. State, the Wolfpack outshot the Mids, 13-3 with a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal. The visitors had three corner kicks in the contest versus zero for Navy.
 
Four Midshipmen made their collegiate debuts on Thursday night with Hannah Miller (Fr., Mattawan, Mich.) starting at forward and Gillcrist starting as a wing midfielder. Carolyn Mang (Fr., Forest Hill, Md.) and Gina Peraino (Fr., Downingtown, Pa.) came off the bench for Navy.
 
"We can take a lot out of this game and continue to build," said Gabarra. "Our fitness is going to get better, our tactical decisions will get better and our activity in the attacking third will continue to improve. It's early in the year; we want to get better from this and move on to our next game on Sunday."
 
Navy will be back in action on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. tilt at home versus the University of Pacific.