WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the strength of an Emily Keast (Jr., Springfield, Va.) goal late in the first half, the Navy women's soccer team came away with 1-0 win on the road over American on Wednesday afternoon. The Mids (14-2-1, 5-1-1 PL) bolstered their grip on the top of the Patriot League with a complete team effort that saw their offense outshoot the Eagles (5-8-3, 0-4-3 PL), 18-10 and their defense post shutout number 11 of 2019.
 
"We've been getting better all year and today was another example of that improvement," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "There's a lot of parity in the Patriot League and these games are hard. We played a good American team on the road for a midweek conference game, there's a lot of adversity there and I like that because it challenges our team. We constantly have to find new ways to win as every game has brought different styles, lineups, tactics, fields and weather conditions. We showed a lot of resiliency and grit today to get the job done.
 
"Defensively, we were solid today. We like to think that we have 11 defenders on the field at every moment. No one defends alone and no one attacks alone. We try to stay condensed and move as a unit. Our intensity today and in these last few games has been really good. We have this competitiveness to us and this edge that we haven't had in a while. That's what helps us defensively. We saw some places that we can be exposed and American took advantage of that a few times so we need to continue working and getting better."
 
Navy began Wednesday's game at Reeves Field by flexing its offensive muscle early and often with five shots in the opening 20 minutes. Of that series of shots, three required American's goalkeeper, Morgan Lang to make a save.
 
Sydney Fortson (Sr., Claremont, Calif.) had her number called for the first time in the 30th minute when she turned aside a Samm Francucci shot on goal. That was the Eagles' only shot on frame during the first half.
 
With the host team held at bay by Navy's defense, the Mids were able to drum up additional looks on the offensive end over the final 15 minutes of the half. With a new look and energy to their lineup due to various substitutions, Navy's reserves registered four shots before the half expired. The two shots that resonated the loudest on the scoreboard were a Caitlin Doran (Fr., Queens, N.Y.) shot on goal that deflected off Lang and Keast's powerful put-back on the loose ball to the back of the net at 41:28. Both Keast's score and Doran's assist were the first of their respective 2019 seasons.
 
At the half, Navy was outshooting American, 10-4 with a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Coming out of the halftime intermission, the action was a little more even in the second half as the teams split 14 combined shots, eight in favor of Navy and six for American.
 
Within the first 10 minutes of the second period both teams had taken a shot on goal as Olivia Mahony put a shot on frame versus Fortson at 47:00 before Alex Jackson (Sr., Centennial, Colo.) tried to increase the Mids' lead in the 54th minute. In both instances the opposing goalkeeper made the save.
 
The game continued with Navy ahead by a score of 1-0 into the 72nd minute when American's Morgan Brinson challenged the Mids' defensive duo of Jackson and Fortson. After Brinson chased down a through ball, all three players collided in the middle of the box before Brinson recovered and pushed her eventual shot wide.
 
Navy's last best look for an insurance goal came in the 87th minute when Kaitlynn Johns (Fr., Austin, Texas) struck a high looping cross towards the back post where a charging Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Jr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) connected with a header shot that skipped wide of the goal.
 
In the Mids' 1-0 win, the visitors outshot the Eagles, 18-10 with an 8-3 ratio in shots on goal. Navy also held a 5-3 margin in corner kicks over American.
 
In her eighth clean sheet of 2019, Fortson finished with three saves.
 
"We're a deep team," said Gabarra when asked about Navy's last two game-winning goals coming from reserves. "Something that I challenge the team with is when we make changes, we need energy and we need our team to get better in that moment. When your time comes, it may be two minutes or it might be 90 minutes or anywhere in between, we need to make sure those players are ready to make a difference and make an impact. If our players go in and don't make an impact it's going to change the team and how we play. Everyone knows their role and everyone is solid in their role; they have to find ways every time they get out there to be motivated to get it done no matter the minutes they play."
 
Navy will be back in action with its penultimate Patriot League regular season game of 2019 on Saturday morning against Boston University. The Mids and Terriers are set for an 11 a.m. kickoff at Navy's Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.