RALEIGH, N.C. - Coming off of a thrilling and victorious Patriot League Tournament last weekend the Navy women's soccer team will be competing this Friday night in its first NCAA Tournament contest since 2007. Navy's first round matchup will take place in Raleigh, N.C. against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at 7 p.m. at Dail Soccer Field. Advancing in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament last Friday night over Loyola via penalty kicks, 4-3, the Mids then had to come from behind for a 2-1 victory versus their service academy rivals, the Army Black Knights on Sunday after trailing at the half, 1-0. Last weekend's success resulted in the team securing the Patriot League's automatic qualifying bid into the 2019 NCAA Tournament. 

All-time, this will be the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance by the program as it qualified in 2003, 2006 and 2007 previously; the Mids' 2006 NCAA Tournament was memorable as the team advanced to the second round after drawing with William & Mary in regulation, 0-0 before edging the Tribe, 5-4 in PKs. Navy is no stranger to N.C. State as the two teams have met five times in their respective series, most recently with the teams facing off last Aug. 16 in the first game of the 2018 season.

Friday's action will be streamed live on the ACC Network+. Live stats will also be provided by N.C. State.

Navy vs. North Carolina State
The Mids and Wolfpack will meet for the sixth time ever and fourth time in seven years on Friday ... In a series that began in 2003, N.C. State has gone 5-0 all-time over Navy with the teams last meeting on Aug. 16, 2018 in Annapolis ... 11 current Navy players saw action in that 2018 matchup versus N.C. State ... In three of those five matchups, the game was decided by one goal.
    Aug. 16, 2018 (H): N.C. State 2 - Navy 1
    Aug. 28, 2016 (A): N.C. State 4 - Navy 1
    Aug. 23, 2013 (H): N.C. State 3 - Navy 2
    Aug. 21, 2011 (A): N.C. State 1 - Navy 0
    Oct. 6, 2003 (A): N.C. State 3 - Navy 0

2018 Navy - N.C. State Recap
Navy kicked off its 2018 campaign on Aug. 16 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 goal before the Wolfpack received a pair of second-half scores from Tziarra King.

The early action 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 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 set up Molly Gillcrist for a shot that was pushed just wide in the 25th minute. 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.

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.

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.

Navy in the NCAA Tournament
In the Mids' history in the NCAA Tournament, the team is 0-3-1 and has advanced once to the second round of the tournament in 2006 when they went to penalty kicks versus William & Mary on Nov. 10, 2006. After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Mids outscored the Tribe, 5-4 in the best-of-five shootout.

All-Time Results
    Nov. 16, 2007 at No. 12 West Virginia (1st Rnd): WVU 4 - Navy 0
    Nov. 12, 2006 at No. 1 North Carolina (2nd Rnd): UNC 4 - Navy 0 
    Nov. 10, 2006 vs. William & Mary in Chapel Hill (1st Rnd): Navy 0 - W&M 0 
        (Navy advances 5-4 on PKs)
    Nov. 14, 2003 at No. 5 Penn State (1st Rnd): PSU 5 - Navy 1 

Last TIme Out (Sunday, Nov. 10 vs. Army - PL Finals)
Finding itself in a tight, one-goal game Sunday afternoon was nothing new for the Navy women's soccer team as the squad has been a part of 11 straight games that have ended tied or with a one-goal result dating back to Sept. 21. That experience and composure paid dividends for the Mids as they found themselves in a 90-minute battle with their service academy rivals, the Army Black Knights with the 2019 Patriot League Championship on the line. Trailing early 1-0 as the third-seeded Black Knights (9-7-4) found the back of the net in the 20th minute, the top-seeded Mids (16-2-3) regrouped at halftime and went into full comeback mode with sophomores Carolyn Mang and Victoria Tran leading the way. On the strength of Mang's game-tying goal in the 61st minute and Tran's go-ahead goal in the 79th minute, Navy secured its first Patriot League Championship since 2007 much to the delight of its loud, boisterous fan base at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility on Sunday.
 
After the Mids tallied the first two shots of the game, the Black Knights made their first attempt count when Morgan Walsh dashed through the midfield and found herself in one-on-one with Sydney Fortson in the 20th minute. Unfortunately for the Mids, Walsh slotted her shot low past Fortson to put Army up 1-0.

Coming out of the locker room looking to overcome a one-goal deficit, the Mids immediately went to work with two shots on goal in the first 11 minutes of action. This momentum would eventually result in the team's first goal of the day in the 61st minute. After a Sadie McCaleb throw-in was batted around in the box, Emily Keast got underneath the ball and flicked it over her head into space near Mang. Confidently and controlled, Mang gathered the bouncing ball and ripped a low line drive shot to the opposition corner past the outstretched arms of Sydney Cassalia.

Exhibiting a never-say-die attitude and willingness to find the way to win, Tran took over with a play that will rest in the annals of Patriot League Championship history. On the receiving end of a McCaleb throw-in to the box, Tran chested down the ball, put a spin move on her defender, had her initial shot blocked, but stayed composed and now off her backside spun around and whipped her leg at the ball to put a blast to the far side of the goal with no chance of a Cassalia save.
 
Up 2-1 at 78:28, the Mids' defense tightened up and didn't allow a Black Knight shot the rest of the way to secure the victory and 2019 Patriot League Championship.
 
For the game, Navy outshot Army, 10-4 with a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. Navy also led in corner kicks, 6-1. Both goalkeepers were credited with two saves in the contest.

Comparing the Teams

(2019 Stats)	Navy	N.C. State
Record	16-2-3 / 6-1-2 PL	10-6-4 / 4-2-4 ACC
Goals/Gm	1.33	1.55
Assists/Gm	1.33	1.65
Shots/Gm	15.7	13.0
Goals Against Avg.	0.41	0.96
GK Saves/Gm	2.0	3.2

Individual Leaders

(2019 Stats)	Navy	N.C. State
Goals	Mang, 5	King, 13
Assists	McClaskey, 6	Walkling, 8
Points	McClaskey, 14	King, 32
Shots	McClaskey, 54	King, 70
GK Saves	Fortson, 36	Berlin, 57