LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Navy women's soccer team, the two-time defending Patriot League Champions, had an inauspicious start to league play on Saturday as the Mids dropped a 4-2 contest on the road at Bucknell. Playing at the Bison's (4-4-1) Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, the Mids (4-4-1) found themselves in an early deficit as the host squad jumped ahead 1-0 in the fourth minute of play. Eventually down 3-0 early in the second half, Navy mounted a two-goal unanswered streak over the middle portion of the second period before Bucknell tallied a late insurance goal.
 
Caitlin Doran (Jr., Queens, N.Y.) was around both of the Mids' goals on Saturday as she scored the team's first marker in the 60th minute before watching a shot of hers in the 82nd minute deflect off a Bison defender for an own goal.
 
"We have a big problem being ready to start games," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "This has been an issue this season and continues to bite us; we can't keep having to dig out of deficits, especially in the first five or 10 minutes every game. We can't just play halves, we have to play full games. You're not going to win many games playing like we did in the first half today. It's tough to play on the road, especially against league foes. Their [Bucknell's] effort, mentality and intangibles were all better than us today.
 
"Bucknell plays a very direct style of long balls and attacking. We were very poor defensively and had no answers for their offense. Our whole team was ineffective in stopping them."
 
The host Bison went up 1-0 in the fourth minute when Rylee Donaldson received a long ball over the top and dribbled in 1-on-1 with Navy's goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher (So., Gilbertsville, Pa.) before burying a shot into the far side of the net at 3:52.
 
Down 1-0, Katie Herrmann (So., Charlotte, N.C.) threw herself into Navy's comeback attempt as twice in a matter of three minutes she fought for high percentage looks as she received a lead pass at the top of 18-yard box and spun around a defender before whipping shot towards the upper-90 where Bucknell's goalkeeper Jenna Hall leapt up and batted the shot over the crossbar in the 13th minute. Herrmann's second shot came off of a set piece as she headed Sadie McCaleb's (Jr., Loganton, Pa.) corner kick just high of the goal.
 
Bucknell extended its lead in the 25th minute as Kelley Francis recovered a loose ball in the box after a corner kick and powered a shot into the back of the net.
 
After that goal, Navy immediately re-calibrated its attack with six new players entering the game. Unfortunately for the visitors from Annapolis, these changes didn't result in a plethora of new scoring chances as Bucknell's defense held Navy without a shot for the final 20 minutes.
 
Coming off of a first half in which they recorded just three total shots, the Mids were much more active in the attacking third to start the second stanza as they took three shots within the first seven minutes of action. Navy's third attempt was well built as Alexa Riddle (Fr., Tomball, Texas) dribbled up the left wing and found Jenna Daunt (So., Haymarket, Va.) for a shot that was slightly off target.
 
Unable to draw closer on the scoreboard after that initial run of play, the Mids saw the Bison increase their lead to 3-0 on the strength of Rylee Donaldson's second goal of the game at 56:12.
 
Doran, Navy's leading goal scorer so far in 2021, left her mark in the Mids' second half offensive revival as she received a long, bouncing punt from Gallagher in stride and sprinted in untouched for a breakaway and a goal at 59:33. Less than five minutes later, she had eyes for the goal again though her shot rang off the crossbar. After 20 minutes off looking for a second goal, Doran played a leading role in Navy's second score as she put a looping ball towards the net that was seemingly going wide until a Bucknell defender deflected the ball past her own goalkeeper for an own goal at 81:10.
 
With the Mids edging closer at 3-2 and less than 10 minutes left in regulation, the host Bison put the game out of reach with an insurance goal in the 86th minute.
 
For the game, Bucknell outshot Navy, 17-10 with an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal. The Bison also held an 8-3 edge in corner kick opportunities.
 
Navy will have a quick turnaround before its second Patriot League competition as the Mids will play their second straight road game on Wednesday night at Loyola. Kickoff between the Mids and Greyhounds is set for 7 p.m. in Baltimore.