ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team begins its 2022 season this Thursday night with a home tilt against The Citadel ('22: 10-7-2) at 7 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The contest against the Bulldogs is part of a larger five-game season opening homestand that will also include a Sunday matinee versus Western Carolina ('22: 11-8-1) at 1 p.m. this weekend. Overall, Navy fans will have the chance to watch their home team in action in Annapolis on 11 different occasions this 2022 season. The Mids were announced last week as the preseason favorites for the 2022 Patriot League Championship.

All of the women's soccer action this week will have live stats provided online, as well as ESPN+ broadcasts. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Parking / Shuttle / Ticket Information
Fans are reminded that the general public does not have access to drive their vehicles on to the U.S. Naval Academy. Fans may park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a fee and take a shuttle that will run every 10 minutes starting one hour before the game and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium. Dogs are not permitted inside the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. All soccer contests at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility will be free of charge. 

Navy vs. The Citadel | Navy vs. Western Carolina
Thursday marks the fifth meeting between the Mids and Bulldogs and first time since September of 2019 ... In that meeting, three years ago in Charleston, the Mids rolled the Bulldogs by a score of 4-1; current seniors Caitlin Doran (1 SOG, 42 mins), Sadie McCaleb (31 mins) and Olivia Foster (8 mins) all saw action for Navy that afternoon ... All-time in series that dates back to 2004, Navy is undefeated in four meetings versus The Citadel and has outscored the Bulldogs, 19-2. In matchups in Annapolis, Navy has posted 5-0 (Aug. 25, 2013) and 8-0 (Oct. 24, 2004) victories.

The series between Navy and Western Carolina is much more brief as the two squads have only met on the pitch one previous time during non-conference play in 2018 ... In that matchup on Sept. 2, 2018 in Cullowhee, N.C., the Mids and Catamounts went toe-to-toe with 73 minutes of scoreless action before a significant storm with multiple periods of lightning rolled into town and forced the abrupt final of 0-0 at 72:09.

Returning Leaders

(2021 Stats)	Navy	CIT	WCU
Goals	Riddle, 9	Yosue, 11	Hahn/Marcil, 3
Assists	Dawson/Riddle, 5	Yosue, 11	Hahn/Marcil, 4
Points	Riddle, 23	Yosue, 33	Hahn/Marcil, 10
Shots	Riddle, 52	Yosue, 54	Hahn, 36
GK Saves	Gallagher, 78	Newton, 110	Mezzina, 32

Season Outlook: Eight Starters Return & Nine Freshmen Join Program as Team Seeks Third Patriot League Championship in Four Years
Coming off a run of Patriot League Championships in 2019 and 2020-21 and a second-place regular season result in 2021, the Navy women's soccer team is primed to reclaim its spot atop the conference in 2022. Though graduating a trio of four-year contributors and members of the 2021 starting lineup in the form of Avery Fries, Carolyn Mang and Victoria Tran, the Mids return over 90% of its goal scorers (30 of 33), as well as over 90% of its goalkeeper saves (80 of 85) for the 2022 campaign. The rest of the Patriot League took note of those ratios and voted Navy first in the preseason Patriot League poll ahead of Bucknell, the defending league champion and Boston University, the defending regular season champion. Additionally, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Alexa Riddle and junior midfielder Katie Herrmann were selected to the preseason All-PL team. A quartet of seniors are positioned to lead the 31-person roster both on and off the field. All-Patriot League Second Team forward Caitlin Doran and Patriot League All-Tournament Team defender Sadie McCaleb will highlight the Class of 2023's on-field performers, while Olivia Foster have been selected to lead as the team's captain. Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Burns rounds out the senior leadership corps and will bring experience to the goalkeeper union.

The junior and sophomore classes of the team are slated to provide the majority of this year's team on-field foundation with the potential of five or six starters coming from the junior class and another three or four hailing from the Mids' deep group of sophomores. The juniors are highlighted by a trio of All-Patriot League honorees from last season; defender Chloe Dawson, goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher and the aforementioned Herrmann. Kassidy Borden and Kieffer Williamson figure to seen significant time in Navy's defensive alignment, while Jenna Daunt will join Herrmann in the midfield as a two-way threat. The sophomore movement is led by Riddle, who paced the entire Patriot League in scoring as a rookie last fall. Similar to Riddle, Amanda Graziano made an immediate impact in Navy's offensive efforts as a freshman in 2021 as she tallied three goals and two assists, while starting 16 games. The duo of Tatum Kelly and Rylee Rives gave the Mids' height and athleticism in the midfield and defensive ranks as Kelly suited up in the backfield in 19 games with 18 starts and Rives appeared in all 20 contests for Navy as a wing midfielder.

These returning players and 30th-year head coach Carin Gabarra will welcome a large nine-player freshmen class this fall.

Position-by-Position
Forwards
The highest-scoring team in the Patriot League in 2021, Navy comes back with nearly all of its forwards and will be looking ahead to repeating and potentially improving upon that 1.65 goals per game scoring average. The fast-action trio of Riddle, Doran and Graziano return 18 combined goals and another eight assists. The 2022 roster has upwards of 10 to 12 players who could see time up front on the attack for Navy this season.

-Doran took the baton for the forward rotation early as she netted three game-winning goals over Navy's first four games last fall; she'd later add a fourth game-winner in Patriot League play versus Loyola on Sept. 22. On the way to an all-league accolade, Doran finished with six goals and one assist with appearances in all 20 games as a then-junior.

-A member of the starting lineup in the Mids' opener against Loyola Marymount, Graziano also suited up in all 20 games and was the most frequent starter of the trio as she walked out with the first XI 16 times as a freshman. Around the action throughout the year, she tallied her first assist at Maryland in late August before finding the back of the net three games later against Mount St. Mary's. Graziano played a leading role in Navy's victory over Army in October as she curled a in-swinging corner kick into the far upper-90 over the Black Knights' goalkeeper for the go-ahead score.

-Slow out of the gate as she battled some preseason ailments, Riddle notched a goal and assist in non-conference matchups versus Maryland and Mount St. Mary's before moving into the starting lineup full-time during Patriot League play and catching fire. In the final nine regular season games of the season for Navy, the All-North Region Third Team honoree registered points in eight of those contests, including two goals at American on Oct. 13 and two more versus Lafayette on Oct. 27. In total, she scored seven goals with two assists against Patriot League foes.

-Foster, the senior team captain for Navy in 2022, also found her way into the scoring column last season as she powered home a penalty kick versus Delaware State on Oct. 4 for her first collegiate goal.

-A quartet of sophomores and three more freshmen will provide depth to Mids' attack early on as they look to garner important reps in the college game. Amongst this group, Emma Frommelt and Tori Liesen saw the most action with Frommelt appearing in 12 games, while Liesen stepped on the pitch on 10 occasions. Frommelt netted the game-winning goal in Navy's non-conference tilt against Delaware State. Additionally, Lilliana Gemma and Ashley Yi combined to play in four non-Patriot League games.

-The freshmen class of attackers consists of Mimi Abusham, Marlee Heaven and Isabella Romano. The trio garnered accolades throughout their respective high school and club careers, Abusham on the West Coast and Heaven and Romano on the East Coast. Playing for Los Alamitos HS, Abusham concluded her interscholastic career as the 2021-22 Orange County Player of the Year after scoring 21 goals with 14 assists. A fast-rising striker from the nearby Rockville, Maryland, Heaven broke through as a sophomore when she tied Montgomery High School's scoring record with 22 goals and six assists en route to earning First Team All-State honors. Hailing from Long Island, Romano participated in the 2021 Girls Soccer High School All-American Game with her twin sister and fellow Midshipman Emma Romano in the fall after a stellar career at Syosset High School in which she was a three-time All-New York State selection.

Midfielders
The largest change to Navy's Starting XI occurs in the midfield where four-time All-Patriot League honoree Victoria Tran and 2021 team captain Carolyn Mang graduated from the program. Herrmann and Daunt will bring experience to the midfield as the team tests out different shapes and additional starters. The Mids' junior, sophomore and freshmen classes will all look to provide answers to the midfield puzzle.

-Herrmann led all Navy midfielders in scoring and playing time last season as she recorded three goals and two assists over 1,471 minutes of action. She tallied points in the first two games of the 2021 season, an assist versus Loyola Marymount in the opener and a goal against George Washington before coming through later in the campaign with Patriot League goals versus Army and Lafayette. Herrmann played seven complete games as a sophomore and saw 766 of a potential 830 minutes of action in Patriot League contests.

-Similar to her classmate, Daunt left her mark in league competitions as she posted all six of her points against league foes. In back-to-back games in late September and early October, Daunt found the back of the net for goals versus Boston University and Colgate. Two weeks later, she added an assist on Herrmann's goal against Army. Her last assist of 2021 came in Navy's final game of the regular season versus Lafayette.

-The race to fill the third and potentially fourth positions (depending on the coaching staff's preferred shape) in Navy's midfield is wide open with starting and rotational roles up for grabs. Two of the more experienced options in the midfield are juniors Kat Healey and Sophie Ewing. Both players saw time in 13 games last season with over 500 minutes of combined action. Ewing tallied her first career assist on Oct. 4 versus Delaware State, while Healey recorded six shots during the season.

-The sophomore class has a trio of candidates with prime playing time in their sights. Of the threesome of Rylee Rives, Sophie Utsinger and Ellie Wiltse-Hiatt, Rives saw the most time as she appeared in all 20 contests with three starts as a freshman. She made an immediate impact as she fought her way into the box score in Navy's second game of the season with a goal at home against George Washington on Aug. 22. Rives would later add assists versus Mount St. Mary's and Lehigh. 

-Utsinger saw a bit less usage than Rives as she stepped onto the pitch on six different occasions, including with the Starting XI against Delaware State. In her first collegiate start, she played 67 minutes and netted a goal with her first shot on frame.

-Wiltse-Hiatt will be looking to make up for lost time as she was unfortunately injured during the preseason lead up to 2021 and was sidelined throughout the year.
 
-Mirroring the forward depth chart, three freshmen are joining the midfielder ranks with a pair of Maryland natives in Mori Sokoloff and Jordan Townsend, as well as an Arizona native in Sarah McCarthy. A transfer from the University of Maryland, Sokoloff has four games of collegiate experience under her belt as she suited up with the Terrapin squad in nearby College Park in 2021. Prior to playing in the Big Ten, she competed locally with Maryland United FC and at the Severn School. Also local, Townsend hails from Marriottsville and Liberty High School in central Maryland. While competing at Liberty, she was a four-time All-Carroll County honoree and capped her career with a nod as the 2021 Carroll County Defensive Player of the Year. McCarthy also brings an award-winning pedigree to the program as she was twice named the Desert Vista High School's Midfielder of the Year, in addition to spots on the All-6A Central Region First Team in 2022. 

Defenders
All four classes are represented on the early season depth chart of Navy defenders, though the upperclass figures to play a prominent role with four of the six dedicated defenders; senior Sadie McCaleb, juniors Kassidy Borden, Chloe Dawson and Kieffer Williamson. As a unit in 2021, Navy's defense allowed one or fewer goals in each of the final nine contests of the season with shutouts of Loyola, American and Holy Cross.

-McCaleb is the most experienced of the group with 49 games played over her first three seasons with 24 starts. Last season, the Pennsylvania native played and started 18 times for the Mids and added four assists, two versus George Washington with single helpers against Loyola and Lehigh. For her efforts against Bucknell in the Patriot League Semifinals, McCaleb was named to the 2021 Patriot League All-Tournament Team.

-The most-decorated member of Navy's defensive alignment, Dawson followed up her 2020-21 Patriot League Rookie of the Year award with a spot on the All-Patriot League Second Team last fall as a sophomore. An asset on both defense and in transition up the wing, Dawson assisted on a team-high five Midshipmen goals last season, including a pair at Maryland on Aug. 29. Over her 19 appearances, she saw 1,559 minutes of action and played complete games five different times.

-After gaining valuable experience as a freshman in 2020-21, Borden once again found herself as a go-to option for the Midshipmen on defense. Seeing action in all 20 games for Navy as a sophomore last season, Borden clocked in over 1,000 minutes of time on the pitch in 2021 and aided the Mids' offense with a goal in their 2-0 win over Loyola on Sept. 22. Eight times she played over 60 minutes in a game.

-After seeing limited action as a freshman in 2020-21, Williamson took a giant leap forward in 2021 in terms of added responsibilities and playing time. One of the team's more trusted options off the bench, Williamson appeared in 18 contests as a sophomore and made a pair of starts. In total, she played 561 minutes, including 25 or more minutes in five Patriot League tilts.

-Sophomore Tatum Kelly was a staple of Navy's starting lineup from the get-go as she broke training camp with a role on defense. Competing in 19 games with 18 starts over the entirety of her freshman season, Kelly used her physicality with great success on both offense and defense. A weapon in the box on free kick opportunities, she scored her first collegiate goal just seven minutes into the 2021 season opener against Loyola Marymount. The most-used defender for Navy last season, Kelly was on the field for 1,637 minutes and was rewarded for her play in the Patriot League Semifinals with a spot on the league's all-tournament team.

-The sixth member of Navy's defensive unit is freshman Emma Romano. On the national radar throughout her high school career, Romano's senior season concluded with All-New York State Class AA honors and a selection to the 2021 Girls Soccer High School All-American game. 

Goalkeepers
Navy's goalkeeping depth chart has seen some changes from 2021 to 2022, but the name at the top remains the same as junior Mattie Gallagher will be looked upon to see the majority of action in goal for the Mids this fall. Senior Kaitlyn Burns returns for her fourth year with the team, while upstart freshmen Talley Applewhite and Kirsten Baxa having been fighting hard in training camp to make an impression and be in line for back-up duties. Navy's goalkeeping unit was another bastion of strength in 2021 as it only allowed 21 goals over 20 games for a 1.01 goals against average to go along with six shutouts.

-Gallagher was at the forefront of the 2021 goalkeeping union with 18 appearances and a 9-6-2 record. Back-stopping clean sheet efforts versus Towson, Loyola, American and Holy Cross, she was rewarded with a spot on the All-Patriot League Second Team as a sophomore. With the intensity ratcheting up with Patriot League play, Gallagher allowed one or less goals in eight of her final nine games of the season. Overall, she had posted a 1.12 goals against average to go along with a .796 save percentage.

-Burns made her collegiate debut last season as she helped complete the combined shutout of Delaware State on Oct. 4. Playing in the final 19 minutes of the contest, Burns turned aside one shot on goal to seal the clean sheet.

-The freshmen duo of Applewhite and Baxa came to Annapolis following highly-regarded high school careers. Competing at St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Va., Applewhite was named First Team All-State (VISAA) all three years that soccer was played in Virginia and capped her time with the honor of 2021 VISAA Player of the Year after leading St. Catherine's to the VISAA State Championship. Baxa left her mark in the Houston area as she was a four-time All-District 19-6A First Team honoree, as well as the 2019 and 2021 District 19-6A Goalkeeper of the Year.