ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Playing the first of two important Patriot League games in a span of four days, the Navy women's soccer team came out on Wednesday night with a spirited 90-minute battle against American. Close and competitive throughout, a slick re-direct goal by Jenna Daunt (Jr., Haymarket, Va.) off of a Mimi Abusham (Fr., Los Alamitos, Calif.) assist in the 64th minute stood up as the game-winner in the Mids' (6-5-3, 3-3 PL) 1-0 victory over the Eagles (1-5-6, 0-4-2 PL) in the contest at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
Mattie Gallagher (Gilbertsville, Pa.) was a standout in goal for Navy in the matchup as the junior goalkeeper turned aside eight American shots on goal, including three in the final five minutes of the contest.
 
"It was really important for us to play well tonight," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "It was also real important that we got a win based on where we are in the table right now. I was happy that we had a home game tonight, we were rested and prepared. We had some good moments. We had to adjust some of our tactics throughout the game in response to American and their style of play. They came in strong, ready to go; they battle. I thought we played a pretty good first half. If we buried a couple of chances that we had in the first half that would've changed some things for us in the second half. I give a lot of credit to American, they don't give up, they fight, they scrap, they do the work for 90 minutes, that's what wins games in tough conference competitions.
 
"A lot of credit goes out to Mattie. I thought she made one of the most spectacular saves I've ever seen, on top of a few other good saves to hold them scoreless. I thought Jenna's goal was great. To get from midfield to the near post was really excellent. Alexa Riddle had two or three good chances and made two or three good passes to challenge American. The connection we had on offense was really good. I feel most of our players had a pretty good performance. Sadie McCaleb did a great job. She played a season-high in minutes and was very effective; she was a key player for us tonight."
 
A game American squad came out Wednesday night and matched Navy in the early action as each team registered two shots over the initial 15 minutes. Over a two-minute run of play between 23:46 and 25:42, the Mids and Eagles went back-to-back with shots on goal. Katie Herrmann (Jr., Charlotte, N.C.) put Navy's shot on frame first before Izzy Kadzban tested Gallagher with a free kick attempt the was aimed for the upper left corner of the net. Gallagher was up to the task and the game remain scoreless.
 
The back-and-forth play continued as both teams searched for that first goal. A crisp series of passes from Amanda Graziano (So., Middlebury, Conn.) to Alexa Riddle (So., Tomball, Texas) and finally to Caitlin Doran (Sr., Queens, N.Y.) in the 29th minute resulted in a high percentage look at the goal, though Doran's shot was pushed just wide. Less than a minute later, Fisayo Iluyomade put American's third shot on goal of the half. Similar to the first two shots, Gallagher made the save.
 
Navy took three more shots in the half, though none were on frame. After 45 minutes of play, the Mids had outshot the Eagles, 8-6.
 
Coming out in the second half, Navy quickly rattled off three shots in a matter of four minutes. Riddle had the first look as she received a lead pass, dribbled around an American defender and found herself in a one-on-one with the Eagles' goalkeeper, Julia Kato. Unfortunately, for the Mids, Kato came off her line and deflected Riddle's shot away. Off the ensuing corner kick, the Mids had a pair of shots blocked in quick succession.
 
American countered this early Navy push with four shots over a nine-plus minute run from 52:20 to 61:32. Two of those Eagle attempts were on frame and were subsequently denied by Gallagher. The junior's save of Brooke Steel's shot in the 62nd minute was extra note-worthy as the ricochet bounced out to Cailin Panacek and glanced wide of the net.
 
A little over two minutes later, Navy broke through onto the scoreboard as Abusham tracked down a ball at the end line and whipped a cross into the six-yard box to the oncoming Daunt, who re-directed the ball off the top of her right foot sharply inside the near post at 63:33.
 
The next 15 minutes proceeded without a shot as physical play in the middle portion of the field controlled most of the action.
 
Down 1-0, American's comeback push hit its high gear in the final five minutes of regulation the Eagles put three shots on goal. Gallagher was locked in and producing at a high-level right to the end and made save on all three shots. Her save of Kadzban's shot in the 86th minute saw her soar off her line and athletically leap high to the right.  
 
For the game, American outshot Navy, 15-12 with an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Eagles also held a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
 
Next up for Navy is the 2022 Star Game at West Point versus Army. The Mids and Black Knights are scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Clinton Field.
 
"The Army game is special," said Gabarra. "It's so much fun because you can see the passion and the energy that the athletes give no matter the sport; it's Army-Navy. Unfortunately for us we're away this year so Army will have the home crowd. Fans in this rivalry really drive you and give you more energy and propel you to do a little bit more. We're going to have to match the home crowd energy for sure. I feel we're up to that challenge."