ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team continued playing its brand of crisp soccer on Saturday and for the seventh time in nine games, the team came away with a 1-0 victory as the Mids (15-2-1, 6-1-1 PL) knocked off the Boston University Terriers (5-11-2, 2-5-1 PL) in a double overtime contest at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Playing its second overtime game in three games, the Mids came away victorious on the strength of a Baseley McClaskey (Sr., Grand Junction, Colo.) golden goal in the 106th minute. The Mids' sixth shutout in conference play helped the team secured the 2019 Patriot League regular season title.
 
"We played well today," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We came out ready to play once again. After an initial feeling out process both teams settled in and it became a very good, evenly-matched soccer game on both ends. Our possession was good and we did a good job of finding our wide forwards, who were making things happen as we attacked. We were also very solid up the middle. BU is traditionally a top-level team, that knows how to win in the regular season and win championships come tournament time, so we always know it's going to be a tight, competitive game; today was no different. I'm happy with the way we played. They [BU] found some areas to exploit us that we'll need to fine tune moving forward, but overall I'm very pleased. This was a good soccer game that was fun to watch. I appreciate the little extra edge that we had in the box that helped us get the goal when it mattered most."
 
The opening of the game saw both teams feel each other out with three shots each over the first 20 minutes. Boston University looked to break onto the scoreboard first when Anna Heilferty put a shot towards goal, but ring it off the crossbar in the ninth minute. Navy had two high percentage looks in the ensuing 10 minutes as Kaitlyn McKeown (Fr., Newbury Park, Calif.) hit a curling shot with a high arch towards the upper-90 before the Terriers' goalie Morgan Messner lept up to make the save. McKeown's fellow freshman forward Jeana Freeman (Raleigh, N.C.) also put a shot towards frame when she received a cross from Kaitlynn Johns (Fr., Austin, Texas) from the left wing and made a quick turn and shot, though the ball sailed just high.
 
The even play continued over the remainder of the first half as each squad recorded three shots. Victoria Tran (So., Clarksville, Md.) and Carolyn Mang (So., Forest Hill, Md.) both tested Messner with shots on goal, but were denied. Tran's effort was particularly notable as she carried the ball through BU's defense with a series of scissor dribbles before unleashing a shot at the top of the 18-yard box that required a long stretch by Messner to keep the game knotted at 0-0.
 
Coming out of the locker room to start the second half with the game deadlocked at 0-0, Navy picked up its offensive pace and intensity as the Mids controlled the majority of the possession and tallied the better scoring opportunities. McClaskey was at the forefront of many of these scoring chances as she had solid looks at the goal in both the 53rd and 63rd minutes, unfortunately both shots were a hair wide.
 
Cadie Higginson (Sr., New Orleans, La.) may have had the best look of the second half as she gained possession of the bounding ball following service from a free kick and ripped a shot on goal that passed Messner, but was swept await at the last moment by a Boston defender at the goal line for a team save in the 70th minute. Less than eight minutes later, Alex Jackson (Sr., Centennial, Colo.) came through with Navy's own team save as she turned aside a Chloee Sagmoe shot on goal that had beat Sydney Fortson (Sr., Claremont, Calif.).
 
After 90 minutes of hard-fought, edge of your seat action, the fans at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility were treated to overtime soccer for the second consecutive home contest. Similar to last week's Saturday morning showdown versus Bucknell, Navy came out in the extra time with a nose for the goal. Within the first 3:30 of the first overtime period, the Mids had already tallied three shots as Higginson, McClaskey and Tran had all struck balls towards the goal, though all just a bit off target and away from danger for Boston's defense. The visitors best chance to secure the sudden victory golden goal came in the 95th minute when Shannon Keefe's shot range off the crossbar.
 
Those first 10 minutes were not enough to decide a victor and the game moved onto a second overtime period. Unlike the first period of extra time, the second period saw fewer scoring chances as neither team recorded a shot for the first five-plus minutes. All of that changed at 105:33 when Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Jr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) found space in the box to loft a light cross towards the mouth of the goal to a waiting McClaskey, who headed home the ball for the sudden victory golden goal.
 
"Baseley has been so important for us all year, especially on set pieces, but also within the flow of the game," said Gabarra. "Her soccer IQ and ability to play final passes is excellent. She's really come into her own in the midfield this year. We've never really used her there traditionally before this year, but its paid off as she's been a part of most of our goals. She's certainly someone that we need to leave on the field in the big moments. That's a tribute to her and her high level of play.
 
"As a unit, I thought we were very solid in the midfield with her, Higginson, Mang and Tran today. They do such a good job of defending, but also coming out of the midfield to the attacking side and finding seams to help us possess moving forward. Those four have done an excellent job all year."
 
For the game, Navy outshot Boston, 21-11 with a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids' pressure in the attacking third resulted in five corner kicks on Saturday versus two for the Terriers.
 
Fortson was credited with two saves to earn her ninth shutout of the season. As a team, the Mids have turned in 12 clean sheets over 18 games and have a 0.38 goals against average. Coming into the weekend, Navy's then-0.40 GAA was ninth-lowest in the NCAA Division I ranks.
 
"Our defense was strong once again today," commented Gabarra. "Boston University is a talented offensive team that can attack from many different angles. Our defenders were tight on their one-on-one assignments and did well to keep their shape throughout the game."
 
Navy will round out its regular season with a home game on Friday, Nov. 1 against Loyola. Following a ceremony to honor its senior class, the Mids and Greyhounds will kick off at 7 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

2019 Patriot League Standings
      (through Saturday night)
1-Navy (6-1-1)       19 points *Clinched first place
2-Army (4-2-2)       14 points *Clinched PL Tournament berth (top-6)
3-Loyola (3-2-3)     12 points
4-Bucknell (3-3-2)   11 points
T5-Lehigh (3-4-1)     10 points
T5-Holy Cross (2-1-4) 10 points || Sun. vs. Lafayette
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T7-Lafayette (2-2-3)     9 points  || Sun. at Holy Cross
T7-Colgate (2-3-3)        9 points 
9-Boston (2-5-1)         7 points
10-American (0-4-4)    4 points