ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team will look to continue to increase its streak of undefeated soccer during the month of October as the squad travels to Holy Cross in an important Patriot League matchup. 4-0-2 over its six games so far this month, the Mids (9-5-3, 4-2-1) will take on a Crusader (1-13-1, 0-6-1 PL) team that has struggled through much of its season to date. Currently situated fourth in the Patriot League standings with two regular season games to go, Navy has its attention focused squarely on clinching a top-six finish and qualification into the conference's postseason tournament as a win on Saturday would do such a thing. The action at Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. in Worcester with the game being broadcast on ESPN+.

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Patriot League Playoff Picture (league-only records noted)
1-Boston (5-1-1, 16 pts) *Clinch tournament berth ... Can clinch a top-2 seed with win over Loyola on 10/23
2-Bucknell (4-1-2, 14 pts) ... Can clinch a berth with a win or tie vs. Army on 10/23 (top-4 seed with win)
3-Loyola (4-1-2, 14 pts) ... Can clinch a berth and top-4 seed with a win over Boston U. on 10/23
4-Navy (4-2-1, 13 pts) ... Can clinch a berth and top-4 seed with a win over Holy Cross on 10/23
5-Lehigh (3-3-1, 10 pts) ... Can clinch a berth with a win over American on 10/23 and a loss/tie from either Army or Colgate
6-American/Army/Colgate (2-3-2, 8 pts) ... Cannot clinch this weekend ... American vs. Lehigh (10/23); Army vs. Bucknell (10/23); Colgate vs. Lafayette (10/23)
9-Lafayette (2-5-0, 6 pts) ... Cannot clinch this weekend
10-Holy Cross (0-6-1, 1 pt) ... Eliminated from postseason contention

Scouting the Competition
Holy Cross
The Crusaders come into Saturday's game with a 1-13-1 record with a 3-0 victory over Bryant on Sept. 5 and a 1-1 tie at American on Sept. 18 to their name ... Holy Cross has shown better defensive form in conference play with one-goal losses to Lehigh (Sept. 26, 2-1) and Loyola (Oct. 9, 1-0) ... The Crusaders' offense has struggled to hit its stride versus Patriot League opponents as they've been shut out in each of their last four conference games ... Most recently, Holy Cross fell to Lafayette on the road by a score of 2-0 after giving up a pair of goals in the first half to the host Leopards; the Crusaders were out-shot 11-7 overall and 9-1 in shots on goal ... Goalkeeper Olivia Dubin has made a Patriot League-high 86 saves over 15 games in goal ... Holy Cross was picked eighth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League's preseason coaches poll after going 1-3 in their abbreviated 2021 spring season.

Navy vs. Holy Cross
In a series that dates back to 1994 in Navy's first full season of NCAA Division I play and first year as a member of the Patriot League, the Mids are 20-3-3 all-time against the Crusaders ... A pair of consecutive ties in 2015 and 2016 broke up a streak of 14 straight wins by Navy dating back to 2001 ... Since that season, the Mids are 16-1-2 over the Crusaders with just a 1-0 loss in 2019 as the only blemish ... Navy is 8-3-2 all-time versus Holy Cross in games played in Worcester.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five matchups going back to 2015, the Mids are 2-1-2 and have outscored the Crusaders, 5-4
    Oct. 12, 2019 (A): Holy Cross 1 - Navy 0
    Sept. 13, 2018 (H): Navy 1 - Holy Cross 0
    Sept. 15, 2017 (A): Navy 2 - Holy Cross 1
    Oct. 2, 2016 (H): Navy 2 - Holy Cross 2 
    Oct. 4, 2015 (A) : Navy 0 - Holy Cross 0 

Most Recent Matchup: October 12, 2019 in Worcester
Navy dropped its first Patriot League game of the 2019 season on Saturday, October 12 at Holy Cross as the host Crusaders used a lockdown defense and a single goal in the 20th minute to come away with a 1-0 victory. In a matchup of two teams that haven't lost a game since late August, the Crusaders smothered the Mids throughout and held them to just seven total shots in the contest at Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium.

Navy controlled the majority of possession over the first 15 minutes of the game on Saturday before Holy Cross rattled off three shots in a span of 44 seconds. After the first two shots were blocked by Midshipmen defenders, the Crusaders took advantage of a corner kick opportunity at 19:30 when Mariah Brown curled a low looping cross into the box where Kelly Crowley powered a header shot in for a goal.
 
The Crusaders continued building off this newly-found momentum and put two more shots on goal over the final 25 minutes of the action in the first half. Sydney Fortson turned aside both of those shots to keep the game at a 1-0 margin. At the half, Holy Cross was ahead on the scoreboard, as well as in the shots (7-1) and shots on goal (3-0) categories.
 
Navy attempted to flip the script offensively in the start of the second half as the visitors tallied the first three total shots over the initial 12-plus minutes of action.
 
After Crowley tested Fortson again in the 60th minute, the Crusaders registered just one more shot for the remaining 30 minutes. With the hosts' offense nullified, it was up to the visiting Mids to try and scratch out the game-tying tally. In the final 10 minutes of regulation, Navy had three potentially dangerous scoring opportunities that were thwarted. Carolyn Mang got the first look as she won a 50-50 ball in the 80th minute and dribbled into the box, but was bodied off the ball just prior to getting a shot off. Less than four minutes later, Cadie Higginson received a ball over the top and darted into the box. With a bit of space she laid a cross along the six-yard box that skipped away late from a charging Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan. The Mids' last significant look at goal was a Baseley McClaskey free kick in the 86th minute from 20 yards out that curled low around the Holy Cross wall. Unfortunately for Navy's comeback attempt, Holy Cross' goalie Sophia Lettieri met McClaskey's shot at the goal line and fell on the ball to hold onto the shutout.
 
For the game, Holy Cross outshot Navy, 9-7 with a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams finished the contest with five corner kicks.
 
Comparing the Teams

2021 Stats	Navy	Holy Cross
Record	9-5-3, 4-2-1 PL	1-13-1, 0-6-1 PL
Goals/Gm	1.71	0.80
Assists/Gm	1.53	0.67
Shots/Gm	14.8	8.7
Goals Against Average	1.08	2.56
GK Saves/Gm	4.1	5.9

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Holy Cross
Goals	Doran/Riddle, 6	Quinn, 4
Assists	Riddle, 5	McIlvenna, 3
Points	Riddle, 17	Quinn, 8
Shots	Riddle, 43	Quinn, 21
GK Saves	Gallagher, 63	Dubin, 86

Last Time Out: October 18 at Howard University
Navy wrapped up the regular season portion of its non-conference schedule with 110 minutes of hard-fought scoreless soccer on Monday night against Howard University. Two nights after defeating their service academy rivals the Army Black Knights, the Mids exuded the same effort and passion on Monday, though they were unable to solve the Bison and find the back of the net. The Mids' 0-0 result at Greene Stadium extended their undefeated streak to six straight games.

The action at Greene Stadium started out fast and furious as the two teams combined for three shots on goal over the opening seven minutes. Jeana Freeman and Caitlin Doran recorded the Mids' two attempts, while Megan LaMendola turned aside Kyra Bolden's shot on frame for the Bison. The pace of play in the attacking third continued over the next 10 minutes with four more shots, including two more shots on goal by the visiting Mids. After Rylee Rives'  header attempt off of a corner was pushed just wide left in the 10th minute, the defensive duo of Kassidy Borden and Chloe Dawson went back-to-back with deep shots on frame within 90 seconds of each other at 18:25 and 19:50. At the half, Navy was outshooting Howard, 9-7 with a 5-2 edge in shots on goal.

After all of the offensive action in the first 45-minute stanza, the script was flipped in the second half and the Bison controlled the majority of the chances as illustrated by a 7-2 advantage in shots, though the hosts only put one of those attempts on goal. Navy's best opportunity to break the scoreless tie came in the 72nd minute when Alexa Riddle found space in the box and got a shot off that was set to beat Howard's goalkeeper, but was deflected late by a Howard defender for a team save.
 
The play in the attacking third almost came to a complete halt in the first overtime period as only one shot was recorded, a wide attempt by Riddle in the 99th minute. In the final 10 minutes of golden goal overtime, Navy and Howard desperately searched for the winning tally. Just 31 seconds into the period, Riddle tested Hightower with a shot on goal. The Mids' defense withstood the next series of blows as Navy defenders blocked shots in the 103rd and 109th minute with LaMendola snagging a Thalia Boucher shot in-between in the 107th minute. With under 10 seconds remaining to hang a crocked number on the scoreboard, Victoria Tran and Borden unleashed a pair of shots, but were unable to find the back of the net.
 
In the 0-0 draw, Howard outshot Navy 19-15, though the Mids held an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal.