ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team will be heading into enemy territory this weekend with the purpose of obtaining the 2019 Star for women's soccer. Playing at Army's Malek Stadium at Clinton Field on Friday night, the Mids (9-1, 1-0 PL) will look to come away with their second straight Star win over the Black Knights (3-3-3, 0-0-1 PL) after a hard-earned 2-1 regular season victory last year in Annapolis. The contest is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff with the action streamed live online via the Patriot League Network.

Friday's game is the second between the Navy and Army athletic departments as part of the 2019-20 Star Series presented by USAA. Last Friday, Navy's sprint football team gave the 1-0 lead in the series on the strength of its 14-7 victory over Army.

Last Time Out
Navy carried over its winning ways into Patriot League play as the Mids extended their winning streak to eight games with a 1-0 decision over the Colgate Raiders in the Patriot League opener for both teams last Saturday night, Sept. 21. In a matchup of two squads that were picked to finish near the top of the conference standings, the Mids received a second half goal by Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan and a critical team save from Kaitlynn Johns off the goal line in the 72nd minute that helped preserve the victory over the Raiders at Beyer-Small '76 Field.

Dzhandzhapanyan got Navy on the scoreboard at 56:52 when she was on the receiving end of a header flick-on by Jeana Freeman at the back side of the net for the easy put-in. The goal was her first of the 2019 season. Johns started the play with a cross in from the left wing.
 
Colgate looked to eliminate its one-goal deficit as within the next two minutes, the Raiders worked down the field and had numbers, setting up a dangerous cross from the left wing that forced Sydney Fortson to jump off her line and cut off the pass in the air. Navy continued its shutout cause in the 72nd minute when Johns extended her leg and deflected a Leah Lewis shot on goal off of the line at the tail end of a chaotic corner kick situation.

For the game, Colgate outshot Navy, 11-7. The Raiders also held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. The shutout was the 21st of Fortson's decorated career as she moved into sole possession of third place all-time in the program's record books.

Navy vs. Army
Friday will be the 32nd meeting between the two schools in a series that began in Navy's second year of varsity existence in 1994 ... Over the first 31 matchups, Navy is 15-12-4 versus Army ... Starting on Sept. 20, 1994 and going through Nov. 8, 1997, Army took the first five games of the series ... Games six through 11 went the way of Mids from Oct. 30, 1998 through Oct. 26, 2001 ... Most recently, Navy has gone 2-1-2 over the past five matchups ... The Mids' senior class of 2020 has secured two Star wins (Sept. 16, 2016 - W, 1-0; Oct. 12, 2018 - W, 2-1) and two ties (Sept. 18, 2015 - T, 2-2; Oct. 13, 2017 - T, 0-0) ... All-time, Navy has outscored Army, 38-26 ... In games played at West Point, the Mids are 4-5-4 with a 1-1-2 mark over the last four contests at Clinton Field going back to the 2012 season.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2015, the Mids are 2-1-2 and have outscored the Black Knights, 5-4
Oct. 30, 2018 (H-PLQ): Army 1 - Navy 0 (2ot)
Oct. 12, 2018 (H): Navy 2 - Army 1
Oct. 13, 2017 (A): Navy 0 - Army 0
Sept. 16, 2016 (H): Navy 1 - Army 0
Sept. 18, 2015 (A): Navy 2 - Army 2

2018 Series
Army and Navy faced off twice during the 2018 season, once in the regular season, a 2-1 come-from-behind victory on Oct. 12 for the Mids and once in the postseason, a 1-0 golden goal win on Oct. 30 for the Black Knights.

Oct. 12 - On Friday, Oct. 12 in Annapolis, Navy pulled off a dramatic 2-1 victory over archrival Army in the 2018 Women's Soccer Star Game. Trailing 1-0 with less than eight minutes to play in regulation, the Mids received a pair of goals from the New Orleans duo of junior Cadie Higginson and senior Eleanor Pratt. Higginson netted Navy's game-tying goal in the 83rd minute before Pratt curled in the game-winner with just 44 seconds left to complete the comeback over the Black Knights.

The contest had an inauspicious start for the host Midshipmen as the Black Knights found themselves on the scoreboard just 72 seconds into the contest on the strength of a Morgan Walsh goal.

Navy's fortune finally changed with its ninth shot of the second half at 82:18. After Baseley McClaskey worked the ball up the left wing, she connected on a pass inside the 18-yard box to Higginson for a one-timer shot and goal from approximately eight yards out. 
 
Navy continued to control the action down the stretch before McClaskey once again worked a cross in from the left wing with less than 60 seconds showing on the clock. Blocking a clear by an Army defender, McClaskey gathered the ball towards left sideline before quickly turning and whipping a square pass to a charging Pratt. Now in control of the ball, Pratt took two dribbles, crossed-up the oncoming Black Knight defender, took a step and connected for a curling shot into the upper-90 for the game-winning goal with 44 seconds left.

In Navy's dramatic 2-1 victory, the hosts held advantages in shots, 18-6, shots on goal, 9-3, and corner kicks, 3-1.

Oct. 30 - Navy saw its 2018 season come to a dramatic end on Tuesday, Oct. 30 as archival Army came away with a 1-0 golden goal victory in double overtime in a quarterfinal matchup in the Patriot League Tournament. Similar to the two programs' regular season matchup 18 days ago, the fans at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility were treated to a hard-fought battle between two hungry teams that were looking to advance in the conference tournament. Unfortunately for the third-seeded Midshipmen, the sixth-seeded Black Knights received the game-winning goal from Erynn Johns 73 seconds into the second overtime period at 101:33.

Unlike the teams' regular season matchup that saw three goals scored over 90 minutes, including an Army marker 72 seconds into the game, Tuesday night's quarterfinal matchup was devoid of those big firework moments on offense for the majority of the contest. Still tied 0-0 in the second half, Cadie Higginson was around the action as she recorded back-to-back shots over a period of five seconds in the 49th minute. After her initial shot was blocked, she controlled the rebound and ripped a shot directly into Army's keeper Sydney Cassalia.
 
The Black Knights' best look to break the stalemate came in the 52nd minute when Emily Torres headed a Sydney Witham corner kick on frame only to see Baseley McClaskey jump off the near post to deflect the ball away, saving Navy from giving up the near certain score.

Going to extra-time with scoreboard still showing 0-0, neither team was able to generate much offense in the first 10-minute overtime period as Army tallied one shot that was off target, while Navy was blanked.
 
In the second period of sudden victory soccer, the Black Knights took advantage of a set piece opportunity from 30 yards out. Sydney Witham was the player, who got the play going as she lofted the free kick into the box towards Johns, who gathered the loose ball in a scramble and connected for the shot and goal at 101:33.
 
In the 1-0 loss, Navy was outshot by Army, 13-7 and 5-3 in the shots on goal category. The Black Knights also held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Comparing the Teams

(2019 Stats)	Navy	Army
Record	9-1-0	3-3-3
Home/Away	4-1-0 / 5-0-0	3-1-2 / 0-2-1
Goals/Gm	1.80	1.11
Assists/Gm	1.90	1.33
Shots/Gm	15.2	13.1
GK Saves/Gm	2.3	3.4

Statistical Leaders 

(2019)	Navy	Army
Goals	McClaskey, 3	Carfagno, 4
Assists	Dzhandzhapanyan/McClaskey, 3	Drysdale/Walsh, 3
Points	McClaskey, 9	Carfagno, 8
Shots	McClaskey, 26	Garay, 17
GK Saves	Fortson, 16	Cassalia, 31

 
Visitor Access to the United States Military Academy
Similar to the Naval Academy, West Point is a working military installation with a series of rules and regulations for visitors wishing to attend Friday night's game. Please see this LINK on how to enter the grounds.