CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Navy women's soccer team turned in a strong performance on Sunday afternoon in the second game of its three-game road trip. Taking on an energized team from The Citadel in a game played at the military institution's parade grounds, Navy quickly put its stamp on the game with a Baseley McClaskey (Sr., Grand Junction, Colo.) goal in the 12th minute and never looked back. With the added hurdle of a 77-minute weather delay, the Mids (3-1) finished the contest victorious over the Bulldogs (2-2) by a score of 4-1.
 
Four different Navy players found their way into the box score with goals on Sunday, including the trio of Denisse Ramirez (Jr., Union City, Calif.), Cadie Higginson (Sr., New Orleans, La.) and McClaskey, who all notched one goal, while assisting on another. Carolyn Mang (So., Forest Hill, Md.) closed the Mids' scoring on Sunday with her first career goal in the 78th minute.
 
"Any win is a great win and getting one on the road is even better," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "The Citadel was a really motivated opponent, who came out flying to start the game. This was one of their biggest games of the year and playing at their parade field added to the intensity. It really required us to show our mental toughness. We stayed calm in the face of some adverse conditions today.
 
"I'm pleased with our defense once again as they did a great job of holding down a skilled Citadel offense. Offensively, we did a good job of converting our set pieces and continued improving in our decision making in the attacking third."
 
The action at Summerall Field started out fast and furious as both teams looked to make their mark on the scoreboard early. The host Bulldogs nearly took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute as Ellie Burgess received a bounding header and one-timed a shot that rang off the crossbar.
 
A little over two minutes later, Navy's offense took its turn in challenging for a goal as Jeana Freeman (Fr., Raleigh, N.C.) dribbled into the left corner before whipping a strong cross into the box to a waiting Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Jr., Diamond Bar, Calif.), whose touch just went wide.
 
The Mids kept the action in the attacking third as McClaskey and Alex Jackson (Sr., Centennial, Colo.) tested the Bulldogs' goalkeeper Maddie Somogyi with back-to-back shots on goal in the 10th and 11th minutes, respectively. Jackson's attempt was particularly difficult for Somogyi as she headed a McClaskey free kick on frame to the far side, requiring Somogyi to stretch out and make a diving save.
 
Navy's fifth shot of the young game proved prosperous as McClaskey found the back of the net for her first goal of the season. After Higginson took a short pass from Ramirez, the Mids' central midfielder chipped a well-placed pass over the top to a streaking McClaskey, who quickly settled the ball and shot beyond the outstretched arms of Somogyi at 11:33.
 
The Mids peppered the Bulldogs' goalkeeper twice again in short order over the next seven minutes, but alas the game stayed a 1-0 margin.
 
The Citadel's best scoring chance in the final 20 minutes of the first half came in the 26^th minute when the Bulldogs played a ball over the top to Hannah Roth, who was forcibly met by a sliding Sydney Fortson (Sr., Claremont, Calif.), who had sprinted off her line to make the save.
 
Navy expanded its lead to 2-0 in the 34th minute when Ramirez hit an in-swinging corner kick into the upper right 90. That goal by Ramirez was the second of her career and first since September of 2017.
 
Up 2-0 on the scoreboard at the half, the visiting Mids held advantages in both shots (9-4) and shots on goal (7-2).
 
Almost as quickly as the teams came out of the locker room after the halftime intermission, they were back in the locker room as lightning strikes were detected in the Charleston area six-and-a-half minutes into the second half. The delay in action carried on for over 75 minutes before the teams picked up their contest.
 
The break didn't affect The Citadel as the Bulldogs cut their deficit to just one when Logan Dix converted a penalty kick at 53:53.
 
Less than 14 minutes later at 67:08, it was Navy's turn at the penalty spot as Higginson calmly notched her second such conversion in 2019.
 
With the score 3-1, the Mids pushed their lead up to 4-1 when Mang found the back of the net with her first career goal. Starting with a McClaskey free kick from 40 yards out, Mang was on the receiving end of a Jackson header for the goal at 77:20.
 
For the game, Navy outshot The Citadel, 19-7 with a 12-4 margin in shots on goal. The Bulldogs were credited with three more corner kicks than the Mids, 5-2.
 
Fortson made a season-high three saves as she improved her record to 3-1 on the season.
 
Four goals were a season-high for Navy and the largest offensive output in nearly two years dating back to Sept. 22, 2017 when it defeated Loyola, 4-0.
 
The Mids will wrap up their action-packed Labor Day weekend with their third game in four days with a Monday afternoon tilt at Hampton University. Kickoff between the Mids and Pirates is set for 4 p.m. at the HU Soccer Complex.