PHILADELPHIA – The Navy women's soccer team extended its winning streak to six games with a thrilling 3-2 road victory at La Salle on Sunday afternoon. Leading 1-0 at the half, the Mids (7-1) withstood a pair of comeback attempts by the host Explorers (4-3-1) that saw the teams exchange four goals over a matter 17 minutes during the middle of the second half.
 
Navy's offensive breakout was spearheaded by Kaitlyn McKeown's (Fr., Newbury Park, Calif.) first collegiate goal in the first half and a pair of scores by Alex Jackson (Sr., Centennial, Colo.) in the second half. Avery Fries (So., Draper, Utah) and Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Jr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) each had two assists on Sunday.
 
"This was a very good win," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Defeating a physical La Salle team on the road with tough conditions is great. They're a very strong Atlantic-10 team with a direct offensive style that plays a lot of long balls over the top through the air. This game could've gone either way as they hit the crossbar twice in the second half. I'm pleased with the way that we competed throughout and matched their physicality. Our offense came through with three well-built goals and our defense stood tall when we needed them down the stretch."

Sydney Fortson (Sr., Claremont, Calif.) was tested early when La Salle's Maci Bower recorded the game's first shot on goal in the 11th minute. Navy's senior goalkeeper was up to the task and denied the attempt from La Salle's leading scorer.
 
In the 17-plus minutes following that initial shot on goal, the game was condensed to the middle of the field and littered with physical play as only one off-target shot by La Salle occurred, while seven fouls were whistled. Business picked up in the offensive third in the 29th minute when Dzhandzhapanyan found McKeown for the freshman's first career goal at 28:27. McKeown was making her first collegiate start at forward on Saturday.
 
Less than 60 seconds later, the host Explorers were on the hunt for the game-tying score as Amirah Louketis put a shot squarely on frame. Once again, Fortson turned aside the scoring chance for La Salle with her second save of the game.
 
The action opened up a bit more in the final 15 minutes of the first half as each team notched two shots, though none were on goal.
 
At the half, Navy led on the scoreboard 1-0, but La Salle led in the shots (5-4) and shots on goal (2-1) categories.
 
Coming out of the locker room with a one-goal advantage, the Mids nearly made it a two-goal game as Victoria Tran (So., Clarksville, Md.) ripped a shot towards the low left corner at 49:42. The Explorers' goalkeeper Claudia Jenkins ensured that the contest stayed at 1-0 with her first save of the game.
 
After that save it was La Salle's turn to put the offensive pressure on. In the 11 minutes following Tran's shot on goal, the Explorers tallied three shots. While the first two were off target, the third a strike from Louketis  was able to find the back of the net past Fortson at 60:25 to knot the game at 1-1.
 
This goal sparked a hectic 17-minute run of play, in which Navy and La Salle traded scores back-and-forth. Exactly seven minutes after the Explorers tied the game, the Mids charged back ahead off of a corner kick situation at 67:25. With the ball passed from Baseley McClaskey (Sr., Grand Junction, Colo.) to Fries, the sophomore defender found Jackson positioned in the 18-yard box for a quick one-time shot low past Jenkins.
 
With the score 2-1, La Salle evened it back up at 76:31 when Bowers netted her fourth goal of the season.
 
This tied score predicament was even shorter than the 1-1 situation earlier in the half as Navy responded just 47 seconds later when Jackson connected for a header shot to the back of the net at 77:18. Once again, Jackson found herself in the box as the play started off of a corner kick. Fries and Dzhandzhapanyan were credited with the assists on Jackson's second goal of the game.
 
Up 3-2 with less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation, the Mids' defense stood strong to hold on for the victory. Fortson recorded her third save of the game in the 83rd minute as she stopped a Leah Giles shot. The hosts had one last gasp effort with eight seconds showing on the clock as Giles saw her shot ring off the crossbar.
 
In their 3-2 victory, the Mids were outshot by the Explorers, 13-8, though both teams registered five shots on goal. In a measure of the physicality on Sunday, 27 fouls were called during the contest.
 
Navy will now turn its attention to one final non-conference game before opening Patriot League play next Saturday at Colgate. Next up is a home tilt versus Howard University at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility on Tuesday at 5 p.m.