ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team successfully kicked off its 2022 season with a strong team effort against The Citadel on Thursday night. Paced by the first career goals from Sophie Ewing (Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah) and Mimi Abusham (Fr., Los Alamitos, Calif.) and a staunch defensive effort by goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher (Jr., Gilbertsville, Pa.) and her backfield mates, the Mids (1-0) came away with a 2-0 shutout over the Bulldogs (0-1) before their home fans at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
Ewing netted the eventual game-winning goal at 19:05 before Abusham flicked in an insurance marker at 75:11. Gallagher earned the clean sheet with three saves.
 
"It was really great to get a result against a very organized and good Citadel team," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Seeing Sophie and Mimi get their first career goals was great. I thought we defended well and were fairly disciplined in the changes that we asked of our players in the positions that we put them in. We had a lot of people see time in the midfield. We asked a lot of them. There was a lot of running and a lot of defending in the midfield. We really didn't play our style of soccer much tonight. Moving forward we have to do a better job of holding the ball, making better decisions and attacking with numbers."
 
Navy's 2022 season opened with a stern test as The Citadel averaged nearly 2.5 goals per game last season and added eight grad transfers to its potent attack in the offseason. The Bulldogs flashed their offensive skills early with five shots over the opening 18 minutes. Gallagher was called upon twice during this run of action and came up with a pair of saves to hold The Citadel off the scoreboard.
 
The tone of the game turned quite a bit less than two minutes later when Ewing was on the receiving end of an in-swinging corner kick from Amanda Graziano (So., Middlebury, Conn.) in the middle of the six-yard box and punched home a loose ball rebound after her initial shot was saved by the Bulldogs' goalkeeper Brie Sikes. The goal was the first of her collegiate career.
 
"Sophie earned that start tonight," exclaimed Gabarra. "She was fantastic all week in training and was solid in different roles that we've asked of her. We're happy to see her step up. She came through for us in a big moment; that's what matters. That first goal kind of took the wind of them [The Citadel] a little bit."
 
Down 1-0, the visitors continued to hunt for a goal, but were unable to put any of their ensuing five attempts on frame over the final 25-plus minutes of the first half. Navy was a bit more methodical with its offense and only recorded two shots during that same stretch, though both were challenging to The Citadel and required saves.
 
At the half, The Citadel had a 10-6 lead in total shots and a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
 
The second period was filled with strong defensive efforts up and down the field. The Mids' game plan to shut down Suzuka Yosue, a three-time All-Southern Conference player with 24 career assists, proved fruitful as the Bulldogs' offense was unable to find its footing and was only able to muster two shots the entire second half. Their first attempt of the final 45 was notable as Gallagher turned aside a point-blank shot by Karen Majewski with under 20 minutes left in regulation.
 
"Our defense did a really nice job of limiting the touches and looks that #11 [Suzuka Yosue] got all night," commented Gabarra. "She's a phenomenal player and provides a spark for them. That was a key part of our game today. Additionally, Mattie came through when called upon and made a few really key saves to keep them scoreless; that's not an easy task."
 
Holding onto a 1-0 lead, Navy sealed the victory in the 76th minute when junior defender Chloe Dawson (Fairfax, Va.) launched a deep ball over the top of The Citadel's defense towards Abusham, who collected the bounding ball in stride and flicked a shot over the charging goalkeeper with the outside of her foot for her first collegiate goal.
 
"Mimi is a touch player and is very savvy," remarked Gabarra. "Her goal came from a touch that few players would think about making in that situation. It comes second nature to her."
 
The final 14-plus minutes would go into the books without incident as both sides tallied just one shot each, neither of which were on goal.
 
For the game, The Citadel outshot the Mids, 12-8, though Navy held a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. The Bulldogs recorded five more corner kick opportunities than the Mids, 9-4.
 
The shutout by Gallagher is the eighth of her career.

Navy will continue its early season action with a home Sunday matinee versus Western Carolina. First touch between the Mids and Catamounts is set for 1 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.