ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2021 Star is on the line for women's soccer on Saturday night when Navy hosts service academy rival Army at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. In a matchup of two highly competitive squads that are in the midst of a fight for positioning in the Patriot League standings, the Mids (8-5-2, 3-2-1 PL) will look to reign supreme over the Black Knights (5-6-3, 2-2-2 PL) and extend their all-time series lead. Navy comes into Saturday's showdown playing a successful brand of soccer as the Mids have won three straight games while outscoring their opponents, 9-1. The two teams both currently reside inside the top-six of the Patriot League standings and are separated by just two points as Navy is ranked fourth with 10 points (3-2-1) and Army is sixth with 8 points (2-2-2). The action in Annapolis is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Women's Soccer Star Match is the third Army-Navy contest of the weekend as Navy's men's and women's cross country programs vie for academy supremacy versus Army on Friday afternoon in New York. All of these competitions are part of the 2021-22 Star Series presented by USAA. Prior to the results of the cross country action, Navy holds a 3-1 lead through four early fall matchups.

ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Parking / Shuttle / Ticket / Masking Information / White Out Promo
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 and take a shuttle that will run every 10 minutes starting one hour before the game 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. All soccer contests at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility will be free of charge. Masks will not be required for vaccinated individuals while unvaccinated fans are asked to wear a mask if they are unable to maintain proper social distancing. Additionally, all fans will be required to wear a mask during their trip on the shuttle, regardless of vaccination status. 

Additionally, Saturday's game is a "White Out." Fans are encouraged to wear white to match the team and everyone attending can pick up a white 'Sing Second' pom-pom when they enter the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

Scouting the Competition
Army
The Black Knights come into Saturday's game with a 5-6-3 record with victories over Marist (Aug. 26, 1-0); Saint Peter's (Aug. 29, 2-1 2OT); William & Mary (Sept. 3, 2-1); Holy Cross (Sept. 22, 5-1) and Colgate (Oct. 9, 2-1) ... Amongst common non-Patriot League opponents both the Mids and Black Knights have played and dropped contests against Air Force (Navy: 1-0 and Army: 2-0), while inside the Patriot League they've shared four common foes, Lehigh (Army-Loss / Navy-Win); Loyola (A-Tie / N-Win); American (A-Loss / N-Win) and Colgate (A-Win / N-Tie) ... Most recently, the Black Knights dropped a 1-0 decision on the road to the Lafayette Leopards on a go-ahead goal in the 80th minute; Army outshot Lafayette 8-5 though both teams recorded three shots on goal during the contest; additionally, the Black Knights held a 15-0 advantage in corner kicks ... Army was picked fourth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League's preseason coaches poll after going 4-1 in their abbreviated 2021 spring season.

Navy vs. Army
Saturday will be the 34th meeting between the two schools in a series that began in Navy's second year of varsity existence in 1994 ... Over the first 33 matchups, Navy is 17-12-4 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 3-1-1 over the past five matchups ... The teams did not meet during the 2020-21 season due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic ... The Mids' senior class of 2022 has secured two Star wins (Oct. 12, 2018: 2-1 and Sept. 27, 2019: 1-0), as well as a Patriot League Championship Final victory over the Black Knights (Nov. 11, 2019: 2-1) ... All-time, Navy has outscored Army, 41-27 ... In games played in Annapolis, the Mids are 11-5-0 with a 6-1 mark over the last seven contests at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility going back to the 2009 season ... In dedicated Star matchups, Navy is 14-8-4 over Army.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2017, the Mids are 3-1-1 and have outscored the Black Knights, 5-3
    Nov. 11, 2019 (H): Navy 2 - Army 1 (Patriot League Championship)
    Sept. 27, 2019 (A): Navy 1 - Army 0
    Oct. 30, 2018 (H): Army 1 - Navy 0 2OT (Patriot League Quarterfinals) 
    Oct. 12, 2018 (H): Navy 2 - Army 1
    Oct. 13, 2017 (A): Navy 0 - Army 0

Most Recent Matchup: November 11, 2019 in Annapolis ~ Patriot League Championship
The Navy women's soccer team found itself in a 90-minute battle with its service academy rival, Army with the 2019 Patriot League Championship on the line on Nov. 11 at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Trailing early 1-0 as the third-seeded Black Knights found the back of the net in the 20th minute, the top-seeded Mids regrouped at halftime and went into full comeback mode with then-sophomores Carolyn Mang and Victoria Tran leading the way. On the strength of Mang's game-tying goal in the 61st minute and Tran's go-ahead goal in the 79th minute, Navy secured its first Patriot League Championship since 2007.
 
In a rematch of a September 27 showdown at West Point that saw the Mids edge the Black Knights with a Mang goal in the 74th minute, the action on Sunday was similar as both teams were locked in defensively and forcing their opponent's offense to pick and choose their spots. After the teams combined for 13 shots in their regular season matchup, seven for Navy and six for Army, Sunday's game saw the teams register 14 total shots, though Navy had an advantage at 10-4.
 
After the Mids tallied the first two shots of the game, the Black Knights made their first attempt count when Morgan Walsh dashed through the midfield and found herself one-on-one with Sydney Fortson in the 20th minute. Unfortunately for the Mids, Walsh slotted her shot low past Fortson to put Army up 1-0. The final 25 minutes of the opening period expired with little movement on the scoreboard as Army took two shots and Navy took two shots. 
 
Coming out of the locker room looking to overcome a one-goal deficit, the Mids immediately went to work. Within 10 minutes of kicking off the second half, Navy tested Army's goalkeeper Sydney Cassalia as Jeana Freeman flicked a header shot on goal. Though unsuccessful, the Mids' offense was finding its footing and quickly challenged Cassalia again less than 90 seconds later as Alex Jackson put a shot on goal at 55:33. This momentum would eventually result in the team's first goal of the day in the 61st minute. After a Sadie McCaleb throw-in was batted around in the box, Emily Keast got underneath the ball and flicked it over her head into space near Mang. Confidently and controlled, Mang gathered the bouncing ball and ripped a low line drive shot to the opposition corner past the outstretched arms of Cassalia.
 
With the score tied at 1-1 and less than 30 minutes left in regulation, Navy and its home crowd was invigorated once again. Over the next 18 minutes both teams would put one shot on goal in hopes of breaking the tie. First up was a soft, looping shot by Army's Alyssa Carfagno that Fortson stopped easily on the hop in the 68th minute. Exhibiting a never-say-die attitude and willingness to find the way to win, Tran took over with a play that will rest in the annals of Patriot League Championship history. On the receiving end of a McCaleb throw-in to the box, Tran chested down the ball, put a spin move on her defender, had her initial shot blocked, but stayed composed and now off her backside spun around and whipped her leg at the ball to put a blast to the far side of the goal with no chance of a Cassalia save.
 
Up 2-1 at 78:28, the Mids' defense tightened up and didn't allow a Black Knight shot the rest of the way to secure the victory and 2019 Patriot League Championship.
 
For the game, Navy outshot Army, 10-4 with a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. Navy also led in corner kicks, 6-1. Both goalkeepers were credited with two saves in the contest.

Comparing the Teams

2021 Stats	Navy	Army
Record	8-5-2, 3-2-1 PL	5-6-3, 2-2-2 PL
Goals/Gm	1.73	1.29
Assists/Gm	1.53	1.14
Shots/Gm	14.9	13.4
Goals Against Average	1.17	1.22
GK Saves/Gm	4.1	4.1

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Army
Goals	Doran, 6	Garay, 4
Assists	Riddle, 5	Murray/Talley, 3
Points	Riddle, 15	Talley, 9
Shots	Riddle, 38	Drysdale/Garay, 24
GK Saves	Gallagher, 59	Strohman, 39

Last Time Out: October 13 vs. American
The Navy women's soccer team continued its winning ways on Wednesday afternoon in Washington, D.C. as the visiting Mids used a pair of Alexa Riddle goals to defeat the American University Eagles by a score of 2-0 at Reeves Field. The high-scoring freshman put the Mids ahead early as she scored 5:01 into the game before adding a late insurance goal in the 82nd minute. Navy augmented Riddle's offensive fireworks with a staunch defensive effort as American was held to just four total shots.

For the second time in two games, Riddle added her name to the box score within the first six minutes of action as she received a lead pass from Victoria Tran in stride 25 yards out and dribbled around the charging goalkeeper to place a right-footed shot into the back of the net at 5:06. In the Mids' previous game, the freshman forward scored 83 seconds into the contest against Lehigh.

Grasping a 1-0 lead, the Mids' defense held the Eagles without a shot for the opening 20:15 of play. The host American squad had to work for another 10-plus minutes for its first shot on goal of the game. That Asia Horne attempt was handled easily by Navy's Mattie Gallagher to continue her clean sheet effort.

The second half of play opened up with more physical and midfield-based activity. The stats illustrated that as Navy took the only shot of the first 30 minutes of the stanza. The final 15 minutes of regulation saw the action open up a bit more as the Mids started peppering the Eagles' goalkeeper Julia Kato regularly with three shots on goal. After attempts by Rylee Rives and Jeana Freeman were denied by Kato, Riddle solved Kato with her second goal of the game at 81:59. Chloe Dawson started the play as she lofted a deep ball from beyond midfield. After the ball deflected off an American defender, Riddle controlled the loose ball, took two dribbles and put a high arching shot into the far upper-90 leaving Kato with no chance for a save.

Down the stretch, Navy withstood American's last attempts to remove the zero from besides its name on the scoreboard. Gallagher protected the shutout with a diving save on a Cailynn Adelman header off of a corner kick in the 87th minute. That save was Gallagher's second of the game.
 
In the 2-0 victory, the Mids outshot the Eagles, 10-4 with a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal.