ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer will have quick turnaround from Wednesday night's contest versus Loyola as the team hits the road for another matchup against one of the Patriot League preseason favorites on Saturday afternoon. Kicking off at 1 p.m. at Nickerson Field, the Mids (4-3-3, 1-1 PL) will take on the Boston University Terriers (4-6, 1-1 PL) in a matchup of teams picked first and third in the Patriot League Preseason Coaches Poll, respectively. Both the Mids and Terriers will be looking to get back in the win column after dropping 1-0 decisions on Wednesday, Navy to Loyola and Boston to Colgate. 

The Navy-Boston game will have live stats provided online, as well as be broadcast on the ESPN+ platform. 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
Boston University
The Terriers come into Saturday's game with a 4-6 with victories over Providence (Aug. 21, 2-1); UMass Lowell (Aug. 25, 2-1); UMass (Sept. 8, 1-0) and Lafayette (Sept. 17, 2-1) ... Two of Boston's losses came versus Power 5 opponents as they fell to R/V Michigan (Aug. 28, 6-2) and Boston College (Sept. 4, 3-1) ... Boston University is 2-2 over its past four games with aforementioned wins over UMass and Lafayette ... After knocking off Lafayette in the league opener on the strength of goals by Morgan Fagan and Amy Thompson, the squad was shut out on Wednesday as none of its four shots on goal were able to make its way past Colgate's goalkeeper; Thompson led the Terriers' attack with three of those attempts on frame ... The Terriers were picked third out of 10 teams in the Patriot League's preseason coaches poll with 141 voting points and six first-place votes.

Navy vs. Boston
Saturday will be the 12th meeting between the two schools in a series that began with Boston joining the Patriot League for the 2013 season ... Since Sept. 20, 2013, the Terriers lead the series 8-3 and have outscored the Mids, 13-5 all-time ... After winning the first-ever matchup at home in 2013 by a 1-0 score, the Mids dropped six straight, including three postseason bouts before flipping the script in 2017 with a 1-0 victory in Annapolis ... Eight of the 10 contests between the schools have had one-goal margins of victory, while the other three were by two goals (Nov. 7, 2014, Oct. 29, 2016 and Sept. 25, 2021) ... Navy's three wins in this series have all come at home.

Last 5 Matchups
Dating back to 2016, the Mids are 2-3 and have been outscored by the Terriers, 8-4
    Sept. 25, 2021 (H): Boston 3 - Navy 1
    Oct. 26, 2019 (H): Navy 1 - Boston 0, 2 OT
    Oct. 5, 2018 (A): Boston 1 - Navy 0
    Oct. 2, 2017 (H): Navy 1 - Boston 0
    Nov. 4, 2016 (N): Boston 2 - Navy 1 (Patriot League Semifinals)

Most Recent Matchup: September 25, 2021 in Annapolis
In a showdown of the two teams picked atop the 2021 Patriot League Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, the visiting Boston University Terriers topped the Navy Midshipmen by a score of 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers took advantage of their chances in the first half to build a 2-0 lead before the Mids were forced to try and come back in the second half in front of their home fans at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Jenna Daunt led Navy's effort in the second half as she found the back of the net less than three minutes into the second period.

Navy began the game with great energy and a handful of high percentage scoring looks within the opening 20 minutes. A deep throw-in into the box by Sadie McCaleb and a header flick-on by Amanda Graziano set up Alexa Riddle for a volley shot on goal that looped up towards the upper-90 in the 11th minute only for Boston's goalkeeper Celia Braun to snag it out of the air. Less than four minutes later Riddle was the creator of Navy's next scoring chance as she spun around her defender deep in the corner and whipped a cross into the six-yard box where the on-coming Daunt cracked a shot out of mid-air though her shot loudly rang off the post.
 
With the score still knotted at 0-0 and a little over 20 minutes left before halftime, the Terriers broke through with the game's first goal at 24:32 as the visitors built up the left wing and found an open Amy Thompson in the center of the goal box for the one-touch shot and score.
 
Navy nearly tied it up four minutes later in a chaotic series of plays as Boston's keeper aggressively charged off her line, missed the ball only to see Caitlin Doran and Graziano's shots blocked by Terrier defenders in quick succession. Back in possession of the ball once again, Graziano took aim at the wide-open goal and ripped a shot only to have a Boston defender sweep away the shot on goal inside the six-yard box for the team save.
 
Dodging those dangerous shots by Daunt and Graziano, the visiting Terriers were able to extend their lead to 2-0 at 33:20 as Jenna Oldham curled a low shot around the Mids' wall off of a free kick from 25 yards out.

Coming out of halftime trailing by two goals, the Mids immediately clawed their way back into the game as Riddle sprinted up the left wing and charged towards the net before laying off a pass to Daunt, who didn't hesitate and lofted a shot to the back upper-90 of the goal at 47:11.

Navy kept up its breakneck pace of charging to goal and looking to draw even as in the ensuing nine minutes of action the freshmen forward duo of Graziano and Riddle combined for three shots on goal, while another attempt from Riddle was blocked by a defender right after leaving her foot. The Terriers were able to withstand that run of play by the Mids and held the home squad without a shot on goal for the next 15-plus minutes and only one attempt on frame for the rest of the half.
  
In the final moments of regulation, Abigail McNulty put away an insurance goal at 89:48.
 
For the game, Navy outshot Boston, 17-13, though both teams tallied seven shots on goal. The Mids also held an advantage in corner kicks, 6-3.

Comparing the Teams

2022 Stats	Navy	Boston
Record	4-3-3	4-6-0
Goals/Gm	1.50	1.10
Assists/Gm	1.90	0.90
Shots/Gm	11.1	11.4
Goals Against Average	0.60	1.90
GK Saves/Gm	4.30	2.00

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Boston
Goals	3 Players, 2	Fagan/Gianino, 3
Assists	Graziano, 5	Matthews/McNulty, 2
Points	Graziano, 7	Fagan, 7
Shots	Doran/Riddle, 12	Thompson, 24
GK Saves	Gallagher, 43	Bennett, 15

Last Time Out: September 21 vs. Loyola
In a women's soccer matchup of clashing styles, the defensive-minded Loyola Greyhounds came away with a 1-0 victory over the aggressive attacking Navy Midshipmen on Wednesday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The two teams came into the mid-week Patriot League showdown on completely different ends of the soccer spectrum as the Mids (4-3-3, 1-1 PL) were riding high after an emphatic 4-0 win over Bucknell last Friday night, while the Greyhounds (5-3-2, 2-0 PL) had posted four straight shutouts. In an evenly-matched contest, a Zoe Willis goal off of a corner kick in the 74th minute proved to be the decisive play as the visitors held on for their second league win and fifth straight clean sheet.

The action on Wednesday night opened very evenly with the teams playing freely up and down the pitch at Glenn Warner. Over the initial 20 minutes of the game, both teams were credited with two shots each, though none of the attempts were on target. Navy's first real test of Loyola's defense came in the 22nd minute when Caitlin Doran burst through the Greyhounds' defense and took a shot that was blocked late by a defender from the side and resulted in a corner kick for the Mids.
 
Loyola had an answer of its own less than five minutes later as Baylee DeSmit sprinted around a Navy defender and put a low shot on goal that forced Mattie Gallagher into action with a diving save. Kat Healey recorded another high-percentage look for the Mids in the 37th minute when she one-timed a rebounded ball just left of the goal.
  
Coming out of the locker room, the Mids immediately took aim at the Greyhounds as Jenna Daunt slotted a pass to Alexa Riddle up the wing and saw Riddle rip a shot wide of goal in the 47th minute.
 
With the score still knotted at 0-0, Gallagher was called upon multiple times to continue the clean sheet effort over the next 25-plus minutes. In the 53th minute, she turned aside a Payton Hurley shot before denying Sarah Mirr in the 73rd.
 
The visitors finally broke the scoreless draw at 73:57 when DeSmit's corner kick was met with a diving header by Ada Clara Tempert before Zoe Willis re-directed the shot away from the on-coming Gallagher. The defensive-minded Greyhounds allowed just one shot by the Mids for the remainder of the game.
 
For the game, Loyola outshot Navy, 12-11 with a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. The visitors recorded one more corner kick than the Mids, 4-3.