ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With a spot in the 2020-21 Patriot League Championship Finals on the line Wednesday night, the Navy women's soccer team left it all out on the line in a hard fought, physical semifinal matchup versus the Loyola Greyhounds at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. In a rematch of the 2019 Patriot League Semifinals that went to penalty kicks, the host Midshipmen (4-4-1) made sure that they wouldn't need to dial up that extra time magic as freshman Katie Herrmann (Charlotte, N.C.) spun a Greyhound (3-2-1) defender and snuck her shot just under the crossbar in the 53rd minute. Fellow freshman Mattie Gallagher (Gilbertsville, Pa.) made sure that 1-0 lead stood up as the Mids' goalkeeper made a leaping save with 1:19 left in regulation to clinch the shutout and advance Navy to the Patriot League Finals on Saturday.
 
"I'm so excited for our seniors," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "It's been such a roller coaster this year for all collegiate athletes, but we've been through a lot together. Their leadership has been phenomenal and they've really guided us to this point. I'm super excited that they get to go to another Patriot League Final. That's always our goal, to win the Patriot League. We'll sit back tomorrow and go through some things that we can work on. I thought we played a very good game, but we can be better. There were certain areas where Loyola exposed us a bit. We need to fine tune those areas for the final.
 
"I thought we played some great soccer in the first half. We were creating chances and trying to get more numbers into the box because we were serving a lot, but just not getting the numbers on the end of it. Really it came down to the tenacity and grit in the box. We needed somebody to step up in a big moment and make it happen. We ratchetted up the intensity and urgency to get a goal in the second half."
 
Navy controlled much of the early action on Wednesday night as the hosts tallied the game's first four shots over the opening 17 minutes. Victoria Tran (jr., Clarksville, Md.) and Herrmann both had dangerous scoring opportunities during this stretch as Tran received a pass from Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Sr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) at the top of the 18 and immediately juked a defender and put a low shot on goal that Loyola's keeper Paige Sim dove upon. Herrmann's attempt came after splitting two Greyhound defenders and finding open space. The freshman lofted her shot over Sim, but off it caromed off the crossbar.
 
Loyola's first and only shot on goal came in the 18th minute when Kaleigh Gallagher tested her younger sister, Navy's goalie, Mattie Gallagher. The younger Gallagher sibling was up for the task and easily denied the scoring chance.
 
Though Navy kept the pressure up over the ensuing 25-plus minutes with multiple corner kicks and deep crosses, but the hosts only were credited with one more shot.
 
Scoreless at the half, the Mids held advantages over the Greyhounds in shots (5-1) and corner kicks (4-0).
 
Coming out in the second half, an intense and urgent Navy club kept its eye towards the goal. On the Mids' first scoring opportunity of the stanza, Emily Keast (Sr., Springfield, Va.) dribbled in the center of the field near the 18 before laying off a short pass to her fellow midfielder Herrmann, who spun around her defender and ripped a shot under the crossbar into the upper-90.
 
With the score 1-0, Gallagher was called upon down the stretch as the freshman keeper made saves in the 59th and 77th minute. A little over 10 minutes later, she made her most important save of the game as she leapt up to push a Gillian Borton shot over the goal at 88:41.
 
That fourth save of the game nearly sealed the shutout, but not without one final gasp by the visiting Greyhounds, who had a corner kick with 57 seconds remaining and a Nicole Rivas' shot off of a free kick with 15 seconds left on the clock that was blocked by a Midshipmen defender. 
 
For the game, Navy outshot Loyola, 9-5, though the Greyhounds had a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids ended with a 6-1 margin in corner kicks.
 
"We had a week to train for this game against Loyola so it was nice to have that extra level of preparation," said Gabarra. "We've had some ups and downs this spring with the shutdown and time away, but this time we had an entire week to prepare. We were patient and moving the ball quickly tonight. If we didn't find something the first time, we re-cycled and moved the ball out the other way. I liked our patience. We were very unified across the field."
 
Wednesday night's game was the final home match for Navy in the 2020-21 season as the Mids will travel to Hamilton, N.Y. and Colgate University for the Patriot League Championship Finals. The Raiders knocked off the Boston University Terriers in double overtime in the other semifinal. Kickoff of the contest is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. The winner of that game will receive the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship.
 
"It was great to get the level of support that we did tonight," remarked Gabarra. "We were really excited to get that support from the brigade, officers and staff. It means a lot to us. Sometimes that support and emotion is the difference between winning and losing. Our crowd really helped us with momentum tonight."