ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After eight early season non-conference games, the Navy women's soccer team turns its attention to Patriot League action this weekend with the first of nine in-league tilts this fall. On the docket for the Mids (4-3-1) on Saturday is a road showdown in Lewisburg, Pa. versus the Bucknell Bison (3-4-1). The contest at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium is slated for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The Navy-Bucknell game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats provided by Bucknell.

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Scouting the Competition
Bucknell
The Bison come into Saturday's game with a 3-4-1 record with victories over Youngstown State (Aug. 19, 1-0); Mount St. Mary's (Sept. 3, 2-0) and Rider (Sept. 12, 3-1) to their name ... Bucknell has split each of its last two weekends of play going 1-1 each two-game set ... Two of the Bison's four losses have come against teams ranked in the top-25, #12 West Virginia, 3-1 and #25 Hofstra, 2-0 ... Under the category of common opponents, Navy and Bucknell have both played Towson and Mount St. Mary's; Navy went 2-0, while Bucknell went 1-0-1 ... The Bison were picked ninth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League's preseason coaches poll after going 1-2-2 in their abbreviated 2021 spring season.

Navy vs. Bucknell
Saturday will be the 33rd meeting (19-11-2) between the two schools in a series that began in Navy's second year of varsity existence in 1994 ... In that Oct. 22, 1994 matchup, the Mids earned a 2-1 victory over the Bison ... Since that initial contest, the series has gone in multi-year waves numerous times ... From 1995 through 1999, Navy went 4-0-1 before the programs split six games between 2002 and 2007 with Navy winning the first three and Bucknell the later three ... More recently, the Mids won four straight from 2011 to 2014 before going 1-3-1 from 2015 to 2017 and then winning three straight, including a 1-0 victory in Lewisburg this past March 31 by a score of 1-0 ... All-time, Navy has outscored Bucknell, 50-31 and is 11-3-1 in games played in Lewisburg.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five matchups dating back to 2017, the Mids are 4-1-0 with a 9-4 advantage in scoring over that span.
    March 31, 2021 (A): Navy 1 - Bucknell 0
    Oct. 19, 2019 (H): Navy 1 - Bucknell 0, overtime
    Oct. 26, 2018 (A): Navy 3 - Bucknell 0
    Nov. 5, 2017 (H): Bucknell 3 - Navy 2 (Patriot League Finals)
    Oct. 28, 2017 (H): Navy 2 - Bucknell 1

Most Recent Matchup: March 31, 2021 in Lewisburg
Playing its second Patriot League road game in four days, Navy came out fast on March 31 with a goal in the second minute versus Bucknell and never looked back as it posted its second straight 1-0 shutout victory. The Mids received strong efforts from a pair of freshmen as Chloe Dawson scored her first career goal, while Mattie Gallagher backstopped the visitors' clean sheet effort against the Bison with three saves in net. 

Navy's offense came out ready to go as the visiting Mids tested the Bison almost immediately as Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan drove to the net and ripped a shot towards the near upper-90 where Bucknell's goalkeeper Kaylee Donnelly deflected it away just 62 seconds into the game. On the ensuing corner kick, Molly Gillcrist played a short corner to Victoria Tran, who swung a cross towards the back side of the box to a charging Dawson, who powered a corner off the hands of Donnelly and across the goal line at 1:52.
 
The game was contested in the middle third of the field for most of the next 15 minutes before Bucknell started making in-roads on offense with a pair of shots in the 18th and 20th minutes of play. A little over three minutes later, Gallagher was called upon to make her first save of the game for Navy as she easily corralled Kenar Gelman's long shot.
 
With the clock in the first half advancing under 15 minutes to go, Gallagher was on the move again as she leapt off the line and punched away a dangerous cross on a Bison free kick from 30 yards out. The hosts continued generating looks in their offensive third as Gallagher made her second save of the half in the 40th minute. That was the sixth of seven shots for Bucknell in the first half. On the opposite side of the ledger Navy finished the opening 45-minute period with three shots.
 
Similar to the first half, the Mids' offense was clicking early as they recorded two shots and three corner kicks in the first seven minutes of action. Navy's second shot was extra dangerous as Avery Fries played a deep set piece into the box where Tran collected the ball and tried to square up a shot on goal only to see a Bison defender dart in late and block the shot before it reached the frame.
  
The Mids' defense held the Bison without a second-half shot until the 74th minute when Claire Mensi took a lengthy strike that required Gallagher to dive off her line and smother the attempt. Over the final 16 minutes, Navy withstood Bucknell's final push for the tying goal with four total shots, including shots in the 84th and 90th minute that were blocked.
 
For the game, Bucknell outshot Navy, 12-9, though the Mids held a slight 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. The visiting Mids also held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks.

Comparing the Teams

2021 Fall Stats	Navy	Bucknell
Record	4-3-1	3-4-1
Goals/Gm	1.38	1.25
Assists/Gm	1.38	1.75
Shots/Gm	14.6	15.5
Goals Against Average	1.09	1.34
GK Saves/Gm	4.38	5.88

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Bucknell
Goals	Doran, 3	Donaldson, 3
Assists	Dawson, 3	Deda, 5
Points	Doran/Riddle, 6	Donaldson, 7
Shots	Riddle, 18	Donaldson, 24
GK Saves	Gallagher, 34	Hall, 46

Last Time Out: September 12 vs. Air Force
The Navy women's soccer team completed its run of early season non-conference play with a 1-0 loss to Air Force on Sunday. Playing in front of a boisterous crowd that surrounded the field at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, the Mids outplayed the Falcons in most areas of the game except the scoreboard as the visiting service academy rivals scored on one of their two shots on goal.

Playing Air Force for the first time since 2002, Navy was on the hunt early for the game's opening goal as over the first 20 minutes of action the Mids recorded all four total shots, though none were on target. Getting shut out in the shots category, Air Force made its first attempt count as the Falcons used a series of quick passes inside the 18-yard box from Catherine Bakken and Hailey Ramos to set up Jenna Rubidoux for the game's first goal at 22:19.
 
In the 29th minute, Navy recorded its first shot on goal after Victoria Tran's initial shot was blocked before Daunt gathered the deflection out of the air and snapped a header shot that was denied by Air Force's goalkeeper Cammi Bych. The scoreboard stayed at that 1-0 margin over the final 16 minutes of the first half. The teams retired to the locker room with Navy holding a 9-5 advantage in total shots.
 
Navy's comeback attempt took a while to build in the second half, as over 25 minutes expired with only one recorded shot for the hosts. From the 70th minute on, the Mids were active throughout the offensive third of the field as they took seven shots. Two days after netting the game-winning goal, Amanda Graziano nearly dialed up her late game magic again as she ripped a shot on goal that was saved by Bych in the 73rd minute. A little over two minutes later, Graziano slipped a cross to a wide-open Chloe Dawson on the backside of the box, though Dawson's shot sailed wide of the net.
 
The fast-paced action continued as Rylee Rives looked put her name in the scoring column as she out-leapt her defender on a corner kick and connected for a header shot that bounded over the cross bar in the 79th minute. The Mids' last high percentage scoring chances came five minutes later when Carolyn Mang powered a deep left-footed shot that flew over Bych, but unfortunately squarely into cross bar. With the ball deflecting back inside the 18, Alexa Riddle recovered the ball and took a shot that hit the side of net.
 
In the 1-0 loss, Navy outshot Air Force, 17-9, though both teams only recorded two shots on goal each. The Mids also held an advantage in corner kicks, 7-3.