ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Coming off an exciting 1-0 overtime win over Bucknell on Saturday, the Navy women's soccer team will jump right back into Patriot League action on Wednesday with a 3 p.m. road matchup at American University. Sitting atop the Patriot League standings with a 4-1-1 record (13-2-1 overall), the Mids will look to continue its postseason push in their final regular season road game of 2019. After going 5-4 in non-conference play, the Eagles (5-7-3, 0-3-3 PL) have struggled in league action and currently sit in 10th place, five points out of the playoffs. American will be providing live video on the Patriot League Network, as well as live stats for the contest at Reeves Field.

2019 Patriot League Standings
1-Navy (4-1-1)      13 points  || Wednesday at American
2-Loyola (3-1-2)    11 points  || Wed. at Bucknell
3-Army (3-2-1)      10 points  || Wed. at Lafayette
T4-Lehigh (3-3)        9 points  || Wed. at Colgate
T4-Bucknell (3-3)     9 points  || Wed. vs. Loyola
6-Lafayette (2-2-2)   8 points  || Wed. vs. Army
T7-Holy Cross (1-1-4) 7 points || Wed. at Boston
T7-Boston (2-3-1)     7 points  || Wed. vs. Holy Cross
Colgate (1-3-2)         5 points  || Wed. vs. Lehigh
American (0-3-3)      3 points  || Wed. vs. Navy

Last Time Out
Navy dominated Bucknell in all facets of the game on Saturday, Oct. 19, but a multitude of unlucky bounces and clutch saves forced the Mids to take their fight versus the Bison into overtime. The contest between the top-two teams in the Patriot League was decided in the 96th minute when Carolyn Mang headed home a Baseley McClaskey corner kick on the Mids' (13-2-1, 4-1-1 PL) 26th shot of the day to earn the 1-0 victory. Coming into Saturday ranked second in the conference, the Bison (5-10, 3-3 PL) recorded five saves and saw three Midshipmen shots clank off either the post or crossbar throughout the game at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

At the end of an exciting, but frustrating opening 45 minutes for Navy, the scoreboard showed a 0-0 score, though the Mids held a substantial 11-3 advantage in shots and 3-0 margin in shots on goal. In a competitiveness that Coach Gabarra would praise postgame, Navy came out of halftime unfazed and motivated to continue its hunt for the first goal of the contest. They did just that as the Mids unleashed another 12 shots in the second half. After Sydney Fortson turned aside Bucknell's only shot on goal of the game, an Abby Gearhart attempt in the 48th minute, it was all Navy.

Still knotted at 0-0 through the end of regulation, the Mids knew that as long as they kept the pressure on the Bison, good things were likely in their future. That drive and intensity finally paid off and left the hometown fans leaving happy 5:48 into the first overtime period. After earning their eighth corner kick of the game, McClaskey lofted a well-placed cross into the six-yard box where Mang leapt to meet the ball and power a header to the far side of the gaping net with no Bucknell defenders in sight. That final shot was Navy's 26th of the day.
 
For the game, the victorious Mids outshot the Bison, 26-6 with a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal. Navy also tallied eight corner kicks versus zero for Bucknell. In a physical contest, that illustrated what was on the line for both teams, 34 total fouls were called, 18 for the Bison and 16 for the Mids.

Navy vs. American
Wednesday will be the 28th meeting between the two nearby schools in a series that began on Sept. 7, 1994 ... Navy leads the series 17-7-3 and has outscored American, 55-28 all-time ... Navy is 7-3-2 on the road in Washington, D.C. against American ... The Mids and Eagles have gone through large momentum swings throughout this series as Navy won the first four meetings from '94-'98 before stringing together its current run of 10 straight wins from '11-'18, including two postseason victories during that span ... During this undefeated run for Navy, the Mids have outscored the Eagles, 26-5.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2015, Navy is 5-0 and has outscored American, 15-2
Sept. 26, 2018: Navy 3 - American 2 (OT)
Sept. 27, 2017: Navy 2 - American 0
Oct. 19, 2016: Navy 2 - American 0
Nov. 3, 2015: Navy 6 - American 0 (Patriot League Quarterfinals)
Oct. 21, 2015: Navy 2 - American 0

2018 Recap
Faced with a litany of obstacles on Wednesday, Sept. 26, Navy fought through everything thrown in its direction and came away with a dramatic 3-2 golden goal overtime victory over American University at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Going down 2-0 within the first 28 minutes of play and abandoning the action for an hour and 39 minutes due to a lightning delay, the Mids flipped the script and brought out a renewed energy that culminated in the exciting run of three unanswered goals to defeat the Eagles. Eleanor Pratt scored the first two goals for Navy before freshman Victoria Tran netted the game-winning sudden victory goal in the 99th minute.

American only got to celebrate its two-goal lead for 80 seconds before a strike of lightning came within the allowable radius for play and the teams were immediately ushered off the field to safety. Down 2-0, Navy used the lengthy 1:39 delay to regroup and come up with a plan to fight its way back into the game.

Pratt left her initial mark on the game at 40:29 when she calmly converted a penalty kick for Navy after Baseley McClaskey was fouled seconds earlier dribbling through the box. Now down 2-1 with the time counting down under a minute in regulation and the Mids' hopes for a game-tying goal waning by the second, Pratt came through once again for Navy as she collected a weak clearing attempt from American and hammered home a one-timer shot on goal low and past Brown to the left corner. Pratt's second goal of the game came at 89:10.

After Sydney Fortson made her third save of the night to keep it a 2-2 game, the stage was set for some underclassmen magic in the 99th minute. Working its offense up the right wing with Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan, Navy soon looked to turn the action towards the middle of the field and set up a more high percentage shot. After some quick back-and-forth between the teams at the top of the 18-yard box, sophomore Denisse Ramirez attained the ball and quickly played a lateral pass to Tran, who dribbled for space past an American defender and connected for a high arching shot over the American defense and most importantly the Eagles' goalie for the dramatic golden goal victory at 98:31.

For the game, Navy outshot American, 19-16 with a 8-5 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams recorded two corner kicks.

Comparing the Teams

(2019 Stats)	Navy	American
Record	13-2-1 / 4-1-1 PL	5-7-3 / 0-3-3 PL
Goals/Gm	1.44	1.13
Assists/Gm	1.44	0.93
Shots/Gm	14.9	11.8
Goals Against Avg.	0.44	1.51
GK Saves/Gm	2.1	5.2

Individual Leaders

(2019 Stats)	Navy	American
Goals	Mang, 4	Iluyomade, 4
Assists	McClaskey, 5	Saling, 3
Points	McClaskey, 11	Iluyomade, 8
Shots	McClaskey, 38	2 players, 24
GK Saves	Fortson, 27	Brown, 41