ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Coming off of a 2-0 weekend with victories over Towson and the University of Maryland on the road, the Navy women's soccer team will continue its action away from Annapolis with a pair of matchups in the Buckeye State this Thursday and Sunday. First up for the Mids (3-0-1) is a Thursday afternoon tilt in Athens, Ohio versus the Ohio University Bobcats (2-0). Kickoff between the two teams meeting for the first time in program history is set for 4 p.m. as Chessa Field. Two days and a short trip up US-33 later, Navy will face its stiffest test of the season with a showdown at Ohio State University on Sunday. Currently receiving votes for the Top-25 poll, the Buckeyes (2-2) will welcome the Mids to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus for a noon kickoff.

Live stats will be provided by both host institutions, while Ohio University will be streaming Thursday's game on their YouTube channel and Ohio State will broadcast their game over on BigTen Network Plus (BTN+). Sunday's action will require fans to subscribe prior to tuning into the action. 

Scouting the Competition
Ohio University
The Bobcats come into Thursday's matchup with a 2-0 record with a 1-0 victory over VMI on Aug. 19 and 2-0 win against Marshall on Aug. 26 ...They most recently tried to play James Madison on Sunday, Aug. 29, but inclement weather conditions forced the cancellation of the game at halftime ... Ohio was picked eighth of 12 teams in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll after going 3-7 in its abbreviated 2021 spring season ... An experienced squad, the Bobcats return five fifth-year graduate students and seven seniors.

Ohio State University
Just outside the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 National Poll (fourth team out with 53 voting points), the Buckeyes have navigated a difficult non-conference slate so far that has seen them knock off MAC squads in Akron (4-1) and Bowling Green (3-1), but fall to nationally-ranked teams in the form of No. 15 BYU, 3-0 and No. 2 North Carolina, 2-0 ... In their setback to the Tar Heels, the Buckeyes out-shot their visitors, 18-13, including a 9-4 mark in shots on goal ... Before playing Navy on Sunday, Ohio State will host No. 18 UCF on Thursday ... The Buckeyes were selected third in the Big Ten's preseason coaches poll ... Ohio State returns 10 of 11 starters from last year's team, including six of it's top-seven point scorers.

Navy vs. Ohio University / Mid-American Conference
Thursday marks first-ever meeting between the Mids and Bobcats ... All-time, Navy has squared off with Mid-American Conference teams on five separate occasions, posting a 2-2-1 record (Ball State 0-0-1; Bowling Green 1-1-0; Buffalo 1-1-0) ... Navy's most recent matchup with a MAC team was against Buffalo on Aug. 22, 2019 in Annapolis; the Mids defeated the Bulls by a score of 1-0 in that game ... The first Navy vs. MAC tilt came on Sept. 4, 2004 when the Mids hosted the Falcons of Bowling Green and came away with a 3-1 victory.

Last 5 Matchups vs. MAC
In the last five matchups dating back to 2004, the Mids are 2-2-1 with a 7-7 tie in scoring over that span.
    Aug. 22, 2019 (H): Navy 1 - Buffalo 0
    Sept. 4, 2016 (A): Buffalo 3 - Navy 1
    Sept. 11, 2016 (H): Bowling Green 2 - Navy 1 (2OT)
    Sept. 14, 2014 (H): Navy 1 - Ball State 1 (2 OT)
    Sept. 4, 2004 (H): Navy 3 - Bowling Green 1

Navy vs. Ohio State / Big Ten Conference
Sunday will be the second meeting between the two schools in a series that began in 1996 ... In that one previous matchup on Sept. 8, 1996, the Buckeyes came into Annapolis and knocked off the Mids, 2-0 ... Navy has gone toe-to-toe with Big Ten opponents 21 times with a 3-15-3 all-time mark (Iowa 0-0-1; Maryland 2-10-2; Ohio State 0-1-0; Penn State 1-3-0; Wisconsin 0-1-0) ... Just this past Sunday, the Mids came from behind to defeat the Terps on the road, 3-1 in College Park ... With the ideology of iron sharpening iron, the Midshipmen and head coach Carin Gabarra have made it a priority for the program to go up against the nation's best each and every non-conference campaign as Navy has played at least one Power 5 school in every season dating back to 2002; overall Navy has competed versus P5 institutions in 26 of 29 seasons with the only campaigns without a P5 opponent being the program's first two years, 1993, 1994, as well as 2001.

Last 5 Matchups vs. Big Ten
In the last five matchups dating back to 2015, the Mids are 2-2-1 with the Maryland Terps holding a slight 9-8 advantage in total goals scored.
    Aug. 29, 2021 (A): Navy 3 - Maryland 1
    Aug. 26, 2018 (H): Navy 0 - Maryland 0
    Aug. 20, 2017 (A): Maryland 3 - Navy 0
    Sept. 7, 2016 (H): Navy 5 - Maryland 3
    Aug. 23, 2015 (A): Maryland 2 - Navy 0

Comparing the Teams

2021 Fall Stats	Navy	Ohio U.	Ohio State
Record	3-0-1	2-0	2-2
Goals/Gm	2.00	1.50	1.75
Assists/Gm	2.00	1.00	2.75
Shots/Gm	13.5	18.0	23.3
Goals Against Average	0.95	0.00	1.75
GK Saves/Gm	5.00	3.50	2.50

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Ohio U.	Ohio State
Goals	Doran, 3	Robertson, 2	Sears, 3
Assists	Dawson/McCaleb, 2	Berg/Clayton, 1	Fischer, 3
Points	Doran, 6	Robertson, 4	Fischer, 7
Shots	Doran, 10	Robertson, 10	Dudukovich, 18
GK Saves	Gallagher, 20	Wexell, 7	Kolinski, 10

Last Time Out: August 29 at Maryland
Playing the University of Maryland for the 14th time in program history, the Navy women's soccer team found itself in an early 1-0 hole before flipping the script and coming from behind to secure the team's second-ever win over the Terps by a score of 3-1 on Sunday. Making the short trip to College Park and Ludwig Field on Sunday afternoon, the Mids (3-0-1) fell behind 55 seconds into the contest to a fast-starting Terrapin (3-1-0) team. From that point in the action, Navy slowly made in-roads on the scoreboard knotting the game in the 33rd minute before pushing ahead in the 52nd and adding an insurance marker in the 62nd minute to give the visitors their first victory in College Park.
 
Jeana Freeman drew Navy even in the first half, while Caitlin Doran netted the go-ahead goal for her second game-winner of the week. Freshman Alexa Riddle scored her first collegiate goal to give the Mids their final 3-1 result. Sophomore defender Chloe Dawson had a hand in both Freeman and Riddle's goals for the first multi-assist game of her young career. In goal, Mattie Gallagher spearheaded Navy's defensive effort as she stopped Maryland's final five shots on goal after giving up the early marker.
 
The action on Sunday had an inauspicious start as the host Terrapins jumped ahead just 55 seconds into the game when Mikayla Dayes scored. Now down 1-0, the Mids started to settle in and look for avenues to notch the game-tying goal. In a series of crisp passes, Riddle dribbled up the right wing and hit Dawson on an overlapping run. Once in control of the ball, Dawson whipped a smooth cross on the ground into the box to the waiting Freeman, who fired her shot into the goal at 32:23.
  
Coming out after halftime, the Mids were a team on a mission as the visitors recorded three shots in the first six and a half minutes. That third shot was particularly beneficial to Navy as Doran dialed up her third goal of the season at 51:28. On Maryland's side of midfield, Amanda Graziano pressured a Terrapin defender into a turnover, came in possession of the ball and slotted a pass to Doran on a breakaway for the go-ahead marker.
 
The action quickly transitioned into Navy's defensive zone as Maryland was determined to re-tie the contest with a quartet of shots within 90 seconds, including one shot that rang off the post. The Terps' comeback attempt continued with two more shots over the ensuing two minutes. Surviving that test, the Mids netted an insurance goal at 62:00 when Dawson found space up the right wing and pressed deep into the Terps' zone before crossing the ball into the 18 to Riddle, who didn't waste time in quickly depositing her shot past Maryland's goalkeeper.
 
In the 3-1 victory, Navy was outshot by Maryland, 19-11 with the Terps also holding a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. Gallagher made five saves to improve her record to 3-0-1 this fall.
 
Prior to today over the previous 13 meetings in this intrastate series that began in 1996, Maryland held a 10-1-2 record over Navy with a spotless 8-0 mark in games played in College Park.