ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Early season Patriot League play continues for the Navy women's soccer team this Wednesday night at Loyola. Looking to turn their fortunes around after dropping their league opener to Bucknell on Saturday, the Mids (4-4-1, 0-1 PL) will take on a Greyhound (4-4-1, 1-0 PL) team that they played twice this spring, including in the Patriot League Semifinals on April 14. Though Navy is undefeated in its past six meetings with Loyola, the two squads have played extremely competitive games during that span with three one-goal victories and two more double overtime ties; the initial win in this streak was a 4-0 victory in 2017. The Mids and Greyhounds have met in each of the past two Patriot League postseason tournaments with Navy edging Loyola in both showdowns, once in penalty kicks and once in regulation. The Wednesday night matchup is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore. Wednesday night's game is the first of three in a row for Navy against teams that were in the Patriot League Tournament this past April.

The Navy-Loyola game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats provided by the host Greyhounds. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Scouting the Competition
Loyola
The Greyhounds come into Wednesday's game with a 4-4-1 record with victories over Marist (Aug. 19, 1-0); Iona (Aug. 29, 5-1); Howard (Sept. 9, 2-0) and Colgate (Sept. 18, 2-1, OT) to their name ... Two of the Greyhounds' four losses have come against teams ranked or receiving votes in the top-25, #22 Clemson, 4-0 and R/V Princeton, 2-1 ... Navy and Loyola have yet to play a common opponent ... The Bison were picked fifth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League's preseason coaches poll after going 3-2-1 in their abbreviated 2021 spring season.

Navy vs. Loyola
In a series that dates back to the first-ever NCAA Division I game for Navy on Sept. 4, 1993, the Mids are 10-3-4 all-time against the Greyhounds ... After dropping the first two games of the series in 1993 and 1994, Navy has fallen to Loyola just once, a Sept. 24, 2016 meeting by a score of 2-1 in double overtime (10-1-4 record) ... Since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2013, Navy is 5-1-3 in six regular season meetings ... The teams have met five times in Baltimore with an even 2-2-1 mark.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2018, Navy is 3-0-2 and has outscored Loyola, 5-2
    April 14, 2021 (H): Navy 1 - Loyola 0 (Patriot League Semifinals)
    March 27, 2021 (A): Navy 1 - Loyola 0, OT
    Nov. 8, 2019 (H): Navy 1 - Loyola 1 (Patriot League Semifinals, Navy advances 4-3 on PK)
    Nov. 1, 2019 (H): Navy 0 - Loyola 0
    Sept. 21, 2018 (A): Navy 2 - Loyola 1

Who's Happy to See the Hounds
Navy returns five players from previous meetings that have tallied either a goal, assist or save against Loyola ...
   Caitlin Doran - Game-winning goal, 3/27/21
   Katie Herrmann - Game-winning goal, 4/14/21
   Avery Fries - Assist on Doran's game-winner, 3/27/21
   Molly Gillcrist - Assist on Alex Jackson's goal, 9/21/18
   Mattie Gallagher - Back-to-Back shutouts, 3/27/21 and 4/14/21 with 6 combined saves ... she'll also be happy to see her older sister Kaleigh, who's appeared in eight games for Loyola in '          '21

Most Recent Matchup: April 14, 2021 in Annapolis
With a spot in the 2020-21 Patriot League Championship Finals on the line, the Navy women's soccer team left it all out on the line in a hard fought, physical semifinal matchup versus the Loyola Greyhounds at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. In a rematch of the 2019 Patriot League Semifinals that went to penalty kicks, the host Midshipmen made sure that they wouldn't need to dial up that extra time magic as freshman Katie Herrmann spun a Greyhound defender and snuck her shot just under the crossbar in the 53rd minute. Fellow freshman Mattie Gallagher made sure that 1-0 lead stood up as the Mids' goalkeeper made a leaping save with 1:19 left in regulation to clinch the shutout and advance Navy to the Patriot League Finals.

Navy controlled much of the early action on Wednesday night as the hosts tallied the game's first four shots over the opening 17 minutes. Victoria Tran and Herrmann both had dangerous scoring opportunities during this stretch as Tran received a pass from Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan at the top of the 18 and immediately juked a defender and put a low shot on goal that Loyola's keeper Paige Sim dove upon. Herrmann's attempt came after splitting two Greyhound defenders and finding open space. The freshman lofted her shot over Sim, but off it caromed off the crossbar.

Loyola's first and only shot on goal came in the 18th minute when Kaleigh Gallagher tested her younger sister, Navy's goalie, Mattie Gallagher. The younger Gallagher sibling was up for the task and easily denied the scoring chance.

Though Navy kept the pressure up over the ensuing 25-plus minutes with multiple corner kicks and deep crosses, but the hosts only were credited with one more shot. Scoreless at the half, the Mids held advantages over the Greyhounds in shots (5-1) and corner kicks (4-0).

Coming out in the second half, an intense and urgent Navy club kept its eye towards the goal. On the Mids' first scoring opportunity of the stanza, Emily Keast dribbled in the center of the field near the 18 before laying off a short pass to her fellow midfielder Herrmann, who spun around her defender and ripped a shot under the crossbar into the upper-90.

With the score 1-0, Gallagher was called upon down the stretch as the freshman keeper made saves in the 59th and 77th minute. A little over 10 minutes later, she made her most important save of the game as she leapt up to push a Gillian Borton shot over the goal at 88:41.

That fourth save of the game nearly sealed the shutout, but not without one final gasp by the visiting Greyhounds, who had a corner kick with 57 seconds remaining and a Nicole Rivas' shot off of a free kick with 15 seconds left on the clock that was blocked by a Midshipmen defender.

For the game, Navy outshot Loyola, 9-5, though the Greyhounds had a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids ended with a 6-1 margin in corner kicks.

Comparing the Teams

2021 Stats	Navy	Loyola
Record	4-4-1, 0-1-0 PL	4-4-1, 1-0-0 PL
Goals/Gm	1.44	1.22
Assists/Gm	1.33	1.33
Shots/Gm	14.1	7.7
Goals Against Average	1.41	1.30
GK Saves/Gm	4.33	5.00

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Loyola
Goals	Doran, 4	Tempert, 3
Assists	Dawson, 3	Mirr, 2
Points	Doran, 8	Tempert, 6
Shots	Riddle, 19	DeSmit, 22
GK Saves	Gallagher, 38	Sim, 42

Last Time Out: September 18 vs. Bucknell
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 Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, the Mids 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 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.

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 before burying a shot into the far side of the net at 3:52.

Down 1-0, Katie Herrmann 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 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 dribbled up the left wing and found Jenna Daunt 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.