ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team will be in action this week with a pair of non-conference matchups. The Mids' (5-1-0) run of play begins on Thursday with 5 p.m. home tilt versus the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (0-5-1) at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility before wrapping up three days later on the road with Sunday matchup at La Salle (3-2-1). Sunday's game at the Explorers' McCarthy Stadium is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff. Live stats will be available for both contests.

Last Time Out
Last Friday night, Navy knocked off East Tennessee State by a score of 2-1. Spearheaded by goals from sophomores Avery Fries and Carolyn Mang, the Mids improved to 5-1 overall on the season as they have now won four straight games. Visiting the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility for the first time in program history, the Buccaneers (1-2-2) were unable to mount much on offense until a late goal in the 88th minute.

Fries was able to put an end to the scoreless action at 27:57 as she took a pass, dribbled past a defender into space about 25 yards out and unleashed a high arching strike towards goal that cut just enough late to hit the bottom of the crossbar and drop into the net. The goal by Fries was the first of her career. With the score still 1-0, Navy's constant barrage of shots and corner kicks in the second half resulted in the game's second goal in the 80th minute as a Baseley McClaskey corner kick bounced over ETSU's goalkeeper to a waiting Mang, who headed the floating ball into the back of the net.

In the 2-1 victory, the Mids outshot the Bucs, 21-5, with a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. The host Midshipmen also held an advantage in corner kicks, 7-2.

Award-Winning Effort
On Monday, Avery Fries was recognized as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week. The sophomore defender was a two-way threat for the Mids as the team went undefeated in a pair of games. After helping Navy secure a 2-0 shutout on Monday, Sept. 2 at Hampton, Fries got Navy on the scoreboard first on Friday as she scored a long powerful blast to put the Mids up 1-0 over ETSU. Navy eventually would go on to defeat ETSU by a score of 2-1. For the week, she started both games and played 136 minutes, while scoring a goal on two shots. 

Fries' honor is the first of her young career and the fourth overall for the Navy women's soccer team this 2019 season.

Navy vs. Gardner-Webb (Series tied 0-0-1)
The Mids and Runnin' Bulldogs have met one time before this Thursday as the teams tied 1-1 on Aug. 31, 2018 in Boiling Springs, N.C. ... After going down early 1-0 in the 17th minute, the Mids relied on a goal by Baseley McClaskey 23 minutes later to knot the game at 1-1 against the Runnin' Bulldogs ... The final 83 minutes played out in scoreless fashion with Sydney Fortson making five saves after halftime to hold the line for the Mids ... In the 1-1 draw, Navy outshot Gardner-Webb, 16-11 with a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids were credited with 10 corner kicks versus two for the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Navy vs. La Salle (Series tied 1-1)
The Mids and Explorers will be meeting for the third time in their series that started back on Aug. 28 2005 with a 3-2 overtime win by Navy at home ... Over 10 years later, the two squads faced off for the second time ever as part of the 2015 Navy Invitational ... Playing on Sept. 11 in Annapolis, the visiting Explorers secured a 2-0 victory on the strength of goals in the 45th and 73rd minutes of action ... La Salle outshot Navy, 14-11 and 6-2 on net; both teams recorded two corner kicks.

Common Opponents
Both Navy and Gardner-Webb have hosted East Tennessee State during the early portion of their respective non-conference schedules ... On Sept. 1, the Runnin' Bulldogs and Buccaneers played to a 1-1 double overtime draw in Boiling Springs ... On Sept. 6, the Mids defeated the Buccaneers by a score of 2-1 at home in Annapolis.

Comparing the Teams

(2019 Stats)	Navy	G-W	La Salle
Record	5-1-0	0-5-1	3-2-1
Goals/Gm	1.7	1.50	0.83
Assists/Gm	1.2	1.33	0.83
Shots/Gm	16.8	15.3	12.8
GK Saves/Gm	1.7	6.8	5.3

Statistical Leaders 

(2019)	Navy	G-W	La Salle
Goals	Higginson/Mang/McClaskey, 2	Kleppe/Newton, 3	Bower, 3
Assists	Higginson/McClaskey, 2	Kleppe/Turlington, 3	Miller-People, 2
Points	Higginson/McClaskey, 6	Kleppe, 9	Bower, 6
Shots	McClaskey, 16	Kleppe, 30	Bower, 18
GK Saves	Fortson, 9	Kellogg, 26	Jenkins, 30

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 (4:00 PM) and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed (approx. 8:00 PM). 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.