WILSON, N.C. – The Navy women's soccer team saw it whirlwind 2020-21 season end on Tuesday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as New Mexico advanced in penalty kicks, 4-2 after the game went final with a 1-1 draw. Playing in a true neutral site matchup with the Lobos (10-1-1) at the Gillette Soccer Complex in Wilson, North Carolina, the Mids (4-4-3) went up 1-0 within 29 seconds as Molly Gillcrist (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) recorded her first career collegiate goal in grand fashion. Navy held that one-goal advantage through 70 minutes as Mattie Gallagher (Fr., Gilbertsville, Pa.) was active in goal making seven saves. Tied 1-1 through two overtimes, New Mexico converted four of its five penalty kick opportunities to advance into the second round of the national tournament.
 
"That was a great collegiate soccer game," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We were here to play and we were in it the entire game. It's hard to win two PK games in a row. New Mexico is a very good team that is really well coached. We battled for 110 minutes and unfortunately we didn't execute as well in PKs as we did the last game. I'm super proud of our effort, our intensity and our drive throughout the game. Our seniors have provided us with such great leadership this year. This was a special team to do what they did this season. There was never a complaint, never an excuse; this team just came ready to go and ready to train every day. They've been there for each other since day one.
 
"I thought we prepared for them [UNM] very well. We knew they play a little longer and were good at finding second balls, being creative with their chances and throwing a lot of people into their attack. I thought we succeeded in our transition play and midfield activity. We'd win a ball and find the open player quickly; transitioning quickly into offense. Our game plan was solid; we did some good things. Both teams had good chances and both teams could've scored more goals. It was a quality and entertaining game to watch. I'm really proud of our effort tonight."
 
In a series of events that has occurred four times in Navy's shortened 11-game season, the Mids netted a first half goal in less than eight minutes. Gillcrist's marker on Tuesday challenged Victoria Tran's (Jr., Clarksville, Md.) score on April 9 versus American for the fastest goal in program history as she sprinted down the left wing and received a long over-the-top ball from Chloe Dawson (Fr., Fairfax, Va.) just 29 seconds into the contest.
 
Taking on a New Mexico team that averaged 2.55 goals a game coming into the NCAA Tournament, that early score invigorated Navy as the Mids immediately started looking for a second tally. After a pair of attempts skipped wide of New Mexico's goal, Navy found its accuracy in the middle portion of the first half with three shots on target in quick succession as Gillcrist, Tran and Emily Keast (Sr., Springfield, Va.) all tested Emily Johnson, the Lobos' keeper.
 
The game went into the halftime intermission with Navy ahead on the scoreboard, 1-0. Both teams were credited with six shots, though the Mids had a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal.
 
In the second half, New Mexico was able to start making more in-roads in Navy's defensive third and showcasing its potent offense. Lucky for the Mids, Gallagher was active and spot-on in her goalkeeping performance. Within the first eight minutes of the second stanza, she had already turned aside a pair of shots. The freshman's third save of the half in the 67th minute brought the fans at Gillette to their feet as she denied Alessia Garcia's penalty kick attempt as she leapt off her line diving to the right.
 
Feeling that momentum, Navy marched down the field and less than four minutes later nearly increased its lead to two goals when Jeana Freeman (So., Raleigh, N.C.) dribbled down the left wing towards the corner before whipping a square pass into the box to an un-coming Jenna Daunt (Fr., Haymarket, Va.). Unfortunately for the Mids, the ball arrived just a tick behind Daunt, who was winding up for the one-timer shot.
 
The back-and-forth action continued and New Mexico immediately fired back as the Lobos quickly transitioned the ball down the field and were able to knot the game at 1-1 with a goal from Garcia at 70:22.
 
With the score tied, both sides battled for the go-ahead goal over the final 19 minutes of regulation action. Strong play by the goalkeepers for each respective side made sure that the game would go into overtime as both Gallagher and Johnson tallied two additional saves. Keast and Daunt were credited with Navy's shots on goal during this final stretch.
 
In the first overtime period, the Mids held a slight edge in possession, though they had the most dangerous scoring chance as three minutes in, Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Sr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) forced a turnover from one of New Mexico's last defenders and darted into space towards the loose ball. Recognizing that Johnson was sprinting out from her goalkeeper position to potentially play the 50-50 ball, Dzhandzhapanyan tried to chip her, though her shot curled wide of the empty net. That was the only shot attempt for each side in the opening overtime stanza.
 
The script flipped in the second period of extra time as the Lobos controlled the possession and forced the Mids into a series of uncomfortable positions, including a run of three corner kicks within 78 seconds in the 107 and 108th minutes. Gallagher made sure that the game would end in a tie when she saved Jadyn Edwards' shot on goal with 35 seconds left in overtime play.
 
Competing in their second straight penalty kick shootout and third in two seasons, the Mids dialed up the plan that worked 10 days ago in the Patriot League Finals as Molly Swiger (Sr., Johns Creek, Ga.) came off the bench and was inserted for penalty kicks. She had a strong start in goal as she dove to her right and turned aside New Mexico's first attempt. Carolyn Mang (Jr., Forest Hill, Md.) took advantage of that opening and immediately put Navy up 1-0 with her conversion in the bottom of the first round of shots. In the second round, the teams flip-flopped their results with the Lobos finding success and the Mids missing their shot. In the third round both teams converted as Kat Healey (Fr., King George, Va.) drew Navy even at 2-2 with a calmly struck shot to Johnson's left. New Mexico was able to advance into the next round of the NCAA Tournament with a perfect two-for-two showing over the fourth and fifth rounds to seal the 4-2 penalty kick outcome.
 
In the game, New Mexico outshot Navy, 18-11 with an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal. The corner kick battle was nearly even as the Lobos had just a 5-4 edge.
 
Tuesday night's action marked the final collegiate games in the careers of Navy's Senior Class of 2021; Emily Keast, Molly Swiger and team captain Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan.
 
"It was challenging to just all of a sudden have an NCAA season in the spring when your seniors are normally done playing and your juniors are stepping up into a leadership role," remarked Gabarra. "There were all types of different dynamics this season, we thought 'how was this going to work with both upper classes' … It was seamless and that was because of our seniors and their leadership. They started to train the younger players how to lead, but they gave the juniors responsibility so they could step up and lead in their own way and learn from the seniors and use their guidance. It was a two-way mentorship and it all worked out really well. All of our success is because of these players and their resilience and attitude towards understanding what we're trying to do and their drive to get it done."
 
Navy closes its 2020-21 campaign with a 4-4-3 record and the fifth Patriot League Championship in program history. Since coming back from a 22-day ROM mandate for the Naval Academy and playing its first post-ROM match on March 27, the Mids did not lose a game going 4-0-3 over seven contests.