ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team kicked off its 2021 campaign with an exciting 2-1 victory over Loyola Marymount in front of its home crowd at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility on Thursday night. The Mids (1-0) almost immediately gave their home fans something to cheer about when freshman Tatum Kelly (Pinehurst, N.C.) found the back of the net in the seventh minute. Navy used its quick striking offense again in the second half as less than four minutes into the stanza, Caitlin Doran (Jr., Queens, N.Y.) stole the ball away from the Lions' (0-1) goalie and slotted a shot into the empty net to put the hosts up by the eventual final score of 2-1.
 
"It's always challenging to play a first game when you don't know a lot about your opponent and they don't know a lot about you," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "I think we learned a lot about ourselves tonight; we learned about some of our strengths, some of our weaknesses, and things that we need to get better at and focus on moving forward. It was fun to get out there tonight. It was fun to be back on our field with our home fans, in our home environment and with the buzz about Glenn Warner. I'm really proud of our fight and our effort. It was a tight contest. It was a very north/south game for a while with a lot of services into the box. Credit to LMU, they have some very talented soccer players and they kept serving and running at us. They challenged us throughout. We're excited to come out of our home opener with a win."
 
Navy got its 2021 season off to a roaring start as the Mids' first shot of the campaign resulted in a goal. With Katie Herrmann (So., Charlotte, N.C.) lining up over a free kick from 30 yards out, the sophomore chipped the ball into the box and to the head of the on-coming Kelly, who flicked a looping header into the upper left corner of the net past LMU's leaping goalie at 6:15.
 
That 1-0 score didn't last long as the visiting Lions evened the score at 1-1 just 84 seconds later at 7:29 with a Sierra Dunphy goal off of a set play.
 
Mattie Gallagher (So., Gilbertsville, Pa.) made sure LMU didn't pull ahead after that as she turned aside the Lions' next shot on goal less than three minutes later.
 
Navy turned its attention to finding that go-ahead goal as it received five combined shots over the next 20 minutes from the duo of Doran and sophomore Chloe Dawson (Fairfax, Va.). Both of Dawson's attempts challenged LMU's keeper Kendyll Humphreys, but were denied.
 
With the score tied at 1-1 at halftime, the Mids held a slight edge in shots, 8-6, though both teams had two shots on goal. The Lions kept the Mids on their toes on defense with six corner kicks in the opening 45 minutes.
 
Coming out of the intermission, Navy dialed up the same prolific formula that it did in the first half as the Mids' first shot on goal of the second half turned into a score. In this instance, Doran was wholly responsible for Navy's tally as she sprinted towards the goal and pressured LMU's newly-inserted goalkeeper Sadie Kenny into misplaying a back pass and turning the ball over for the quick score at 48:01.
 
"You know what you're going to get with Caitlin Doran," commented Gabarra. "The passion is written all over her face. She learned a lot about herself this offseason as a detailer during plebe summer. I think a lot of those experiences are going to carry over onto the field because of the way she carries herself. Everyone should look up to her mentality. That showed throughout the game, but especially on that game-winning goal."
 
Over the final 41-plus minutes, Gallagher and the Mids' defense came up large and withstood all of the Lions' potential game-tying attempts. Within the first two minutes following Doran's goal, Gallagher corralled a pair of LMU shots on goals. The sophomore keeper closed out the competitive 2-1 victory with her fifth save of the game with 29 seconds left in regulation when she grabbed Lexie Yela's shot on goal at 89:31.
 
For the game, Loyola Marymount outshot Navy 13-10, with a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Lions also held a 10-2 margin in corner kicks over the course of the match.
 
"You have to give a lot of credit to our five seniors in the way that every member of our team was prepared to play tonight," said Gabarra in closing. "It's their job to integrate the plebes and promote this team atmosphere, its community and the ability to put the team first; that's what they've done. Our freshmen step on the field and don't play like freshmen because they feel at home and feel like they have a part, a voice and a role. Our seniors did such a good job with bringing our team together through a very hard preseason and being mentally prepared for our first game."
 
Navy will continue its 2021 opening homestand with a Sunday afternoon tilt versus George Washington. The Mids and Colonials are scheduled for a 4 p.m. kickoff at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.