ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team will kick off its 2019 season with a pair of home non-conference games at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Returning seven starters from its 2018 team that finished third in the Patriot League and just two points out of first place, the Mids have their eyes focused squarely on getting back to the Patriot League Tournament for the 22nd time and walking away with the league title. Two talented teams in Buffalo and No. 24 LSU will make their way to Annapolis this weekend as Navy begins that quest. The Mids and Bulls will face off on Thursday night at 7 p.m. before the reigning SEC Champions, the LSU Tigers will go head-to-head with the Mids on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Navy vs. Buffalo
Thursday marks the second meeting between the Mids and Bulls ... The first and only previous meeting occurred Sept. 4, 2016 in Western New York ... After taking an early 1-0 lead over the host Bulls in the 10th minute on a Clare MacAdam goal, Buffalo scored the final three goals of the game with tallies in the 44th, 73rd and 77th minute to earn the 3-1 victory ... Four of Navy's seven seniors, Alex Jackson (90 minutes), Cadie Higginson (59 mins.), Baseley McClaskey (14 mins.) and Regan McQuain (four mins.) saw action in this contest. 

Navy vs. LSU
Sunday's matchup is another second-ever meeting as the Mids and Tigers rekindle a series that has been dormant since 2006 ... In the one and only meeting between the two squads, Navy knocked off LSU, 2-0 on Sept. 8, 2006 ... Playing at home, the Mids used second half goals by Cassie Barbaresi and Katie Traster and four saves by Louisiana native Lizzie Barnes to notch the shutout ... Current Navy senior midfielder Cadie Higginson hails from New Orleans, less than 100 miles southeast of the LSU campus.

Comparing the Teams

(2018 Stats)	Navy	Buffalo	LSU
Record	11-6-3	11-8	13-7-4
Goals/Gm	1.35	1.84	1.38
Assists/Gm	1.1	2.21	1.04
Shots/Gm	12.3	13.5	14.8
GK Saves/Gm	3.0	5.0	4.6

Returning Leaders

(2018 Stats)	Navy	Buffalo	LSU
Goals	McClaskey, 7	Barberic, 7	Cutura/Thompson, 3
Assists	McClaskey, 9	Barberic, 7	Cutura, 5
Points	McClaskey, 23	Barberic, 21	Cutura, 11
Shots	McClaskey, 28	Barberic, 56	Cutura, 42
GK Saves	Fortson, 57	Kelly, 88	N/A

Parking / Shuttle / Ticket Information
Fans are reminded that the general public does not have access to drive their vehicles on to the U.S. Naval Academy. Fans may park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for $5 and take a shuttle that will run every 10 minutes starting one hour prior to the game (6:00 PM/Thursday and 12:00 PM/Sunday) and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium. Dogs are not permitted inside the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

Free Admission
All soccer contests at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility will be free of charge.

Meet the Mids Promotion: Sunday Post-Game Autograph Session
The ever popular 'Meet the Mids' promo is back for the 2019 season. On Sunday, fans will have the opportunity to pick up their new 2019 Navy Women's Soccer poster and get it autographed by the entire Midshipmen team following the conclusion of the Navy-LSU contest.

Season Outlook: Seven Returning Starters & Seven Seniors to Lead Mids in 2019
One year after going 11-6-3 and 7-2 in the Patriot League, the Navy women's soccer team was picked again to finish strong in the conference. Finishing third in the 2018 Patriot League regular season standings, the Mids were selected to finish in third place in the 2019 Patriot League Preseason Coaches poll. Alongside the news of the Mids' third-place selection was the announcement that senior Alex Jackson was chosen as the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and fellow seniors Cadie Higginson and Baseley McClaskey were named to the Patriot League Preseason All-League Team.

Participants in eight consecutive Patriot League tournaments, Navy has its eye on a ninth straight berth and fourth ever Patriot League title going into the 2019 season. Boston University and Colgate, the two teams that finished last season ahead of Navy in the standings were also picked ahead of the Mids in Thursday's preseason poll. The Terriers, the defending Patriot League champions, tallied 154 points and 12 first-place votes to rank first ahead of the Raiders, who recorded 146 points and six first-place votes, and the Mids, who picked up 136 points and two first-place votes.

Under the direction of 27th-year head coach Carin Gabarra, the program returns 15 letterwinners and seven starters from 2018. The seven-player senior class of team captain Sydney Fortson, Cadie Higginson, Alex Jackson, Baseley McClaskey, Regan McQuain, Lexie Silva and Ashley Sweet will provide a strong foundation with experience and leadership both on and off the field for the Mids this season.

Forwards
• Following the graduation of the talented trio of Ash Fairow, Anabell Motley and Eleanor Pratt, the Mids will be looking to a variety of youthful players to step up and take on a leading role in the attack this season as five of the seven players listed as forwards are either sophomores or freshmen.
• Senior Regan McQuain will return as a member of the starting lineup again in 2019. After starting 11 of the Mids' 20 contests as a junior, McQuain will look to add speed and creative play-making to Navy's attack as she's tallied three assists in each of her last two seasons.
• Sophomore Hannah Miller is another returner, who saw her fair share of time in the starting lineup in 2018 as she appeared in 19 games with 12 starts. Not afraid of physicality, Miller took 13 shots last season with eight on target for a 62% shots on goal percentage; the best on the team amongst players with 10 or more shots.
• Junior Gabby Gordon and sophomore Gina Peraino each have 10 or more games of collegiate experience under their belts and will provide the forward corps with depth.
• The freshmen class is led by the duo of Caitlin Doran and Jeana Freeman. Talented strikers from New York and North Carolina, each earned a host of high school accolades, including Team MVP and All-State honors. Hailing from Michigan, Olivia Foster is the third member of Navy's freshmen class at the forward position.

Midfielders
• The midfield will be one of the strengths for the 2019 Navy team from the get-go as the squad returns seven players, who all received significant minutes last season. A trio of All-Patriot League performers headline this talented group with Cadie Higginson (1st Tm) and Victoria Tran (2nd Tm) patrolling the central midfield and Baseley McClaskey (1st Tm) joining the midfield after three years as an outside defender, who frequently joined the transition.
• Higginson will operate from the central midfield once again in 2019. An outstanding athlete and talented two-way player, Higginson saw the most minutes amongst midfielders as she played 1,688 minutes, while finding the back of the net on three occasions, all during Patriot League action.
• Following her breakout 2018 campaign, McClaskey will be plugged into Navy's midfield this season, a skilled ball striker, McClaskey was a weapon both on overlapping runs down the wings or off of restarts. She led the team in goals, assists, points and game-winning goals last season.
• Tran is Navy's third returning All-Patriot League midfielder. After a slow start to her freshman campaign in non-conference action, Tran entered the starting lineup mid-year and never looked back. A game-winning golden goal versus American highlighted her award-winning rookie season.
• One of four Mids with 19 or more starts in 2018, Dzhandzhapanyan saw her first significant collegiate action in 2018 and left her mark with a pair of goals and nearly 1,200 minutes of playing time.
• Keast and Mang were both go-to players off the bench for the Mids in 2018 and regularly saw 30-45 minutes per game of action. Versatile in their respective skill sets, Keast brings athleticism to the wing, while Mang is a quick, creative ball-handler up the middle.
• With such a deep crop of returning midfielders, only one freshman is currently listed as a midfielder, Kaitlyn McKeown from Southern California. The reigning Marmonte League MVP, McKeown played all over the field in high school and club soccer, finding success as a forward, midfield and defense.

Defenders
• Though losing three starters from its lockdown 2018 unit, Navy's defense still boasts a strong foundation with the reigning Patriot League Defender of the Year, senior Alex Jackson stationed in the middle. Following the graduation of starters Mary August and Kayla Robinson and the movement of Baseley McClaskey up to the midfield, the Mids will rely on a group of underclassmen to join the starting lineup, while counting on important minutes off the bench from a pair of experienced veterans.
• A starter in all 63 games played by Navy in 2016, 2017 and 2018, Jackson was named the 2018 Patriot League Defender of the Year after playing a critical role in a shutdown defense that allowed one or fewer goals in 15 games and held opponents to just 3.95 shots on goal per game. Jackson played 1,859 of a possible 1,864 minutes last season, only coming off the field in the final five minutes of a 3-0 game late in October.
• Through spring ball and the preseason training, the Mids coaching staff envisions sophomore Avery Fries, as well as freshmen Kaitlynn Johns and Gracie Checkan playing vital minutes in the defensive third. Fries appeared in six games as a freshman, including four tilts versus Patriot League opponents.
• The duo of Johns and Checkan bring size and skill to the backfield with Johns standing 5'10 and Checkan 5'8. Johns will bring a skillful touch to the Mids as she played midfield in high school and earned All-District nods all four year that she suited up for Vista Ridge HS in Austin, Texas. Checkan, originally a Class of 2022 commit, spent the 2018-19 academic year rehabbing an injury that she suffered in late spring 2018 before re-applying with the Class of 2023.
• Denisse Ramirez and Lexie Silva were both popular choices off the bench in defensive roles for Navy last season and will be looked upon in 2019 to provide the same spark. Ramirez appeared in 18 games as a sophomore, while Silva saw the field 11 times before a midseason injury sidelined her down the stretch. Both Ramirez and Silva started one game each last season.
• Freshman Sadie McCaleb is one more name to watch on defense as the Pennsylvania native will be counted on to see significant minutes should an opening arise.

Goalkeepers
• The Mids return four goalkeepers from last season and add freshman Kaitlyn Burns to its ranks.
• Senior Sydney Fortson enters her third year atop the depth chart for Navy's goalkeeping unit. An All-Patriot League Third Team honoree in 2018, Fortson provides the Mids with a calm, veteran presence with excellent size and athleticism. As a junior last season, she backstopped Navy to 11 victories with eight shutouts and an 0.85 goals against average.
• Senior Ashley Sweet and junior Molly Swiger will be competing for backup minutes behind Fortson to start the season. Swiger saw action in two games during the 2018 campaign with one start at Howard.
• Sophomore Megan LaMendola adds depth to Navy's goalkeeping corps after receiving important practice reps in 2018.
• Freshman Kaitlyn Burns made the short trip from Frederick to Annapolis and will be the donning the Blue & Gold after a strong interscholastic and club career at Oakdale HS and the Soccer Association of Columbia (SAC).