ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Playing in front of its home fans at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility for the first time since Aug. 22, the Navy women's soccer team sent its fan base home happy on Friday night with an exciting come-from-behind 2-1 victory versus Mount St. Mary's. After failing behind to the Mountaineers (1-6) in the fourth minute, the Mids (4-2-1) received a tying goal from freshman Alexa Riddle (Tomball, Texas) a little over two minutes later before fellow freshman Amanda Graziano (Middlebury, Conn.) completed the comeback with a slick goal in the 79th minute.
 
Both goals and both assists were attributed to freshmen players as Rylee Rives (Fr., Arlington, Texas) was credited with the helper on Riddle's goal before Riddle returned the favor and set up Graziano with a crisp pass in the box later in the game.
 
"We showed good depth tonight and had a lot of players involved in this victory," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Some players really did a great job of stepping in, taking on important minutes and raising our level of play. It was great to see our freshmen coming through with both goals.
 
"I was pleased with the offensive chances we got tonight. We had a lot of good builds from the wing with dangerous crosses and numbers in the box. We had some good combination plays up top. We have some holes to fill and things to work on, but I'm pleased to get a victory tonight."
 
In its final weekend of non-conference action, the Mids' depth was on display as 21 players saw time on Friday, including 14 underclassmen. After surrendering the opening goal to Mount St. Mary's at 3:36, a pair of those youthful players, Rives and Riddle made sure Navy would draw even in short order. Starting with a Sadie McCaleb (Jr., Loganton, Pa.) service into the box off of a corner kick, Rives met the cross and put a powerful header shot on goal only to see Mount St. Mary's goalkeeper Arden Lembryk sprawl out and bat the ball away. Crashing the net, Riddle connected with the loose ball and immediately fired it into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 at the 5:45 mark.
 
Unwilling to settle with just that one early goal, the host Midshipmen kept the offensive pressure on the Mountaineers with three more shots over the ensuing five minutes, including a skillful build up the right wing between Jenna Daunt (So., Haymarket, Va.), Molly Gillcrist (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) and Riddle, that culminated with a one-on-one to net, but a shot by Riddle that just eked wide of the net. They continued to get looks on the attack and registered six of the next eight shots with Riddle challenging Lembryk with an attempt on goal in the 25th minute. Navy starting goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher (So., Gilbertsville, Pa.) helped keep the score knotted at 1-1 with a save of an Elisabeth Rockhill shot two minutes later.
 
Rives had one more shot to break the tie before halftime as the sophomore rattled off a series of shots with the first being blocked and rebounding back to her before testing Lembryk with another shot on goal, the fourth overall shot on target for the Mids in the opening 45 minutes.
 
Coming out of the halftime intermission with the score still tied at 1-1, Navy's strong offensive presence kicked back into gear as the hosts recorded five shots, two on goal and earned two more corner kicks in the first 10 minutes of action in the second stanza. The Mids' best look was a blast by Daunt inside the 18 that forced Lembryk to leap up to her right and dive for the save in the 55th minute.
 
The Mount's lone high percentage look at goal in the second half came a little over four minutes later when the newly-inserted Navy goalkeeper, Megan LaMendola (Sr., Springdale, Ark.) flashed her skillset when she navigated a crowded goal crease and snatched a Rockhill shot on goal out of the air.
 
With the Mountaineers' offense quelled, the Mids' quest for the go-ahead goal continued over the final 30 minutes of action. Caitlin Doran (Jr., Queens, N.Y.) was a key catalyst on a series of looks in the beginning of this span as she was the recipient of an Emma Frommelt (Fr., Edina, Minn.) lead pass that set her up for shot that just went wide of her target.
 
Navy's persistence finally paid off in the 79th minute when Riddle dribbled up the right wing and into the box before finding a streaking Graziano in stride with a square pass 15 yards from goal. After a quick juke of a defender Graziano took one more dribble and rocketed in the go-ahead goal with a shot over Lembryk and into the back of the net at 78:13.
 
The Mids held that 2-1 margin to the final whistle and finished with a 29-7 advantage in total shots and an 8-3 edge in shots on goal. Navy's dominance on the offensive end also was illustrated with a 10-0 showing in total corner kicks.
 
Backstopping Navy during the second half, LaMendola was credited with her first collegiate victory.
 
"A lot of credit also goes out to Megan LaMendola, who came out and gave us strong minutes in goal in the second half to help us come back," said Gabarra in closing. "I also thought we got really good performances out of Sophie Ewing, Amanda Graziano and Kieffer Williamson. They all stepped up and played really well in big moments."
 
The Mids have a quick turnaround and will be back in action on Sunday when they host their service academy rival, the Air Force Falcons. Kickoff between the two squads is set for 5 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.