LEWISBURG, Pa. – Playing its second Patriot League road game in four days, the Navy women's soccer team came out fast on Wednesday night with a goal in the second minute versus Bucknell and never looked back as it posted its second straight 1-0 shutout victory. The Mids (2-4, 2-1 PL, 2-0 PL South) received strong efforts from a pair of freshmen as Chloe Dawson (Fairfax, Va.) scored her first career goal, while Mattie Gallagher (Gilbertsville, Pa.) backstopped the visitors' clean sheet effort against the Bison (1-2-2, 1-2-2 PL, 1-2-1 PL South) with three saves in net. Wednesday's win at Emmitt Field helped move Navy into first place in the Patriot League South Division.
 
"I'm really proud of the team's performance tonight," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Winning on the road is never easy. We stress that set pieces are often times the difference in winning and losing and tonight we made our opportunities count. We had dangerous set pieces throughout the game; that was great to see. Chloe had an outstanding game; what a way to score your first goal! Her effort and the rest of our back four, as well as Mattie's goalkeeping were the keys to this victory tonight."  
 
Navy's offense came out ready to go as the visiting Mids tested the Bison almost immediately as Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Sr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) drove to the net and ripped a shot towards the near upper-90 where Bucknell's goalkeeper Kaylee Donnelly deflected it away just 62 seconds into the game. On the ensuing corner kick, Molly Gillcrist (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) played a short corner to Victoria Tran (Jr., Clarksville, Md.), who swung a cross towards the back side of the box to a charging Dawson, who powered a corner off the hands of Donnelly and across the goal line at 1:52.
 
The game was contested in the middle third of the field for most of the next 15 minutes before Bucknell started making in-roads on offense with a pair of shots in the 18th and 20th minutes of play. A little over three minutes later, Gallagher was called upon to make her first save of the game for Navy as she easily corralled Kenar Gelman's long shot.
 
With the clock in the first half advancing under 15 minutes to go, Gallagher was on the move again as she leapt off the line and punched away a dangerous cross on a Bison free kick from 30 yards out. The hosts continued generating looks in their offensive third as Gallagher made her second save of the half in the 40th minute. That was the sixth of seven shots for Bucknell in the first half. On the opposite side of the ledger Navy finished the opening 45-minute period with three shots.
 
Similar to the first half, the Mids' offense was clicking early as they recorded two shots and three corner kicks in the first seven minutes of action. Navy's second shot was extra dangerous as Avery Fries (Jr., Draper, Utah) played a deep set piece into the box where Tran collected the ball and tried to square up a shot on goal only to see a Bison defender dart in late and block the shot before it reached the frame.
 
After that initial of offensive action by Navy, the next 20 minutes played out with back-and-forth play, but only one combined shot, a wide attempt by Carolyn Mang (Jr., Forest Hill, Md.) in the 62nd minute.
 
The Mids' defense held the Bison without a second-half shot until the 74th minute when Claire Mensi took a lengthy strike that required Gallagher to dive off her line and smother the attempt. Over the final 16 minutes, Navy withstood Bucknell's final push for the tying goal with four total shots, including shots in the 84th and 90th minute that were blocked.
 
For the game, Bucknell outshot Navy, 12-9, though the Mids held a slight 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. The visiting Mids also held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks.
 
"Playing our second game in four days against a league opponent on the road is tough," said Gabarra in closing. "This was another gutty effort; we are still rounding into form and we got tired a few times out there, but people continued stepping up. We're in a good spot and constantly getting stronger. We're excited to be coming home for Saturday's game."
 
Navy will continue this action-packed stretch with another Patriot League South Division game on Saturday versus Lehigh. The kickoff between the Mids and Mountain Hawks is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.