WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a game with all types of ebbs and flows, the Navy women's soccer team closed out a wild non-conference contest in Washington, D.C. on Monday night with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over Howard University. Down 2-1 to the Bison (2-5) with just over two minutes left in regulation, the Mids (4-3-3) received a game-tying goal by freshman Tori Mitchell (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) in the 88^th minute before Baseley McClaskey (Jr., Grand Junction, Colo.) put home the game-winning goal 3:07 into the first overtime period.
 
"That first half was frustrating as we took 15 shots and only had one goal to show for," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Baseley was unbelievable in the second half for us. She was everywhere. She was constantly making things happen.
 
"We got minutes from a lot of different players tonight. Howard is a very athletic team so we had to solve some things that we haven't see a whole lot of this year. They [Howard] showed a lot of fight and ran at us for 90-plus minutes. I liked some of the fire that we showed that we hadn't necessarily tapped into a lot this season. I liked that some of the players that haven't got a lot minutes so far stepped up and gave us a lot of production. In the end though, Baseley was the difference maker."
 
After a 20 minute delay in action due to the water-logged artificial surface at Greene Stadium, the game eventually got going at a frenetic pace with ball movement up and down the field. Navy tallied four corner kicks and one shot on goal over the opening eight minutes. In a matter of two minutes Howard got its own shot on goal and another shot attempt blocked. Molly Swiger (So., Johns Creek, Ga.) and Lexie Silva (Jr., Danville, Calif.) had a hand in both of those outcomes as Swiger made the save for Navy and Silva blocked the Bison attacker's shot right off the release.
 
Following three more Navy shots on goal during a 53-second span of play between 16:45 and 17:38, the Mids' pressure finally resulted in a goal at 18:25. Coming from the chaos of a corner kick, Eleanor Pratt (Sr., New Orleans, La.) and Regan McQuain (Jr., Lafayette, Calif.) put back-to-back shots on goal only to see Howard's goalie Alayah Hightower make consecutive saves and deflecting the ball away. That final deflection off of McQuain's shot came to the foot of Alex Jackson (Jr., Centennial, Colo.), who clocked a one-timer shot into the back of the net.
 
The end-to-end action continued as Howard looked for the equalizer in the 20^th minute when Hollie Cartwright tested Swiger in goal. The second-year goalie was up to the task and made her second save of the game. 
 
Navy's pressure in Howard's end nearly resulted in a second goal in the 35^th minute when Molly Gillcrist (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) whipped a looping cross into the six-yard box where Mitchell connected for a header shot on goal. Hightower made the save on Mitchell's attempt and the game stayed a 1-0 margin in favor of the Midshipmen. 
 
That one-goal lead evaporated in the 43^rd minute when Howard drew a foul in the box and a penalty kick was awarded. The Bison's Kendall Hamilton calmly deposited her shot into the goal to make it a 1-1 contest.
 
Invigorated by that late first half goal, Howard came out in the second half looking for their own go-ahead goal. A little over 12 minutes into the second period the Bison did just that as Makela Davidson placed a well-struck ball deep into the far upper-90 from distance at 57:40.
 
After a bit of a lull, Navy's urgency picked up over the final 20 minutes of regulation. The Mids' first high percentage look on goal down the stretch came off of a McClaskey corner kick and Jackson header attempt on goal in the 79^th minute. Jackson, the Mids' center back, placed the ball low and to Hightower's side, requiring a diving save to hold the game at a 2-1 score.
 
Navy continued racking up corner kick opportunities and dangerous looks on goal with three corners between 81:16 and 83:40. Playing all over the field, McClaskey once again had a hand in a threatening look as she shot a cross into the box that deflected off of a Howard defender straight up into the air. Luckily for the Mids, Mitchell was on the receiving end of the deflection and the freshman headed the ball past Hightower for the game-tying goal at 87:19.
 
Around the action all night, McClaskey capped the wild non-conference tilt with a walk-off golden goal in the 94^th minute. Ranging up from her regular defensive position, McClaskey took a lead pass from Mary August (Sr., Arnold, Md.) and streaked toward goal before sliding a hard, low shot off of Hightower's hand for the game-winning goal. 
 
The golden goal was the 25^th in program history and the first for the Mids since Oct. 15, 2016 when Cadie Higginson (Jr., New Orleans, La.) tallied the game-winner versus Colgate. On the year, McClaskey has now scored six goals and added two assists over 10 contests.
 
For the game, Navy outshot Howard, 22-8 with a 15-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids also controlled the corner kick category by a 14-2 margin.
 
Splitting time with Swiger on Monday, Sydney Fortson (Jr., Claremont, Calif.) entered the game after halftime and earned the victory for the Mids.
 
Cognizant of the rough field conditions, injuries and an upcoming run of Patriot League conference games, a host of regular starters didn't see the field or were limited in their action on Monday thereby opening up four spots in the starting lineup for first-time 2018 starters: Anabell Motley (Sr., Asheville, N.C.), Carolyn Mang (Fr., River Hill, Md.), Silva and Swiger.
 
"We need to do better a job of starting games with that type of pace that we saw down the stretch," reflected Gabarra. "We still need to do a better job of putting away chances early. If we can do both of those we can begin playing differently, especially at the end of games when we're not in catch-up mode."
 
Navy will turn its attention back to Patriot League play this coming Friday night with a road contest at Loyola. Kickoff between the Mids and Greyhounds is set for 7:30 p.m. in Baltimore.