ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A pair of seniors helped the Mids tie the game late, but the Navy women's soccer team (6-4-3, 1-3-0 PL) could not pull off the Senior Day comeback in a 3-2 loss to Patriot League foe Boston University (5-4-3, 2-1-1 PL) on Sunday afternoon at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
Navy seniors Katie Herrmann and Jenna Daunt both used second-half goals to erase a 2-0 deficit, but an 85th-minute tally from the Terriers' Abigail McNulty proved to be the difference maker in a contest that saw all five goals scored in the final 43 minutes of play.
 
"I thought we came out today, on senior day, with a ton of fight and commitment," said Navy head coach Carin Gabarra. "This game had end-to-end action with both teams getting chances. Ultimately, we cannot allow three goals and expect a positive result."
 
A back-and-forth pace early set the tone, as multiple off-target chances from Boston in the opening minutes was followed by Navy sophomore Marlee Heaven deflecting a cross from junior Alexa Riddle in the sixth minute that went wide. A Natalie Godoy shot in the eighth minute then went right off the Navy crossbar, while Navy senior goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher took charge to knock the ball away from Godoy on a breakaway in the 11th minute and senior Kassidy Borden then blocked Morgan Fagan's shot on the resulting loose ball.
 
With the end-to-end action continuing, the Mids nearly took the lead in the 34th minute when Rylee Rives put a header on net off a corner kick, but Celia Braun got a piece of it near the left post before the BU defenders cleared out the rebound.
 
Boston quickly took the lead in the second half when Giulianna Gianino lasered a free kick from just outside the 18-yard line in the 48th minute, going to the top right corner past an outstretched Gallagher. Gallagher kept the deficit at 1-0 with saves in the 49th and 50th minutes, but the Terriers struck again in the 55th minute when McNulty beat two defenders and snuck a shot in on Gallagher's short side to widen the BU lead.
 
Navy responded right away in the 56th minute when a Boston foul on Heaven in the box set up a penalty kick, as Herrmann got her first goal of the season by going to the left as Braun dove right. Gallagher then made another save with a diving stop on Godoy in the 58th minute, but Braun answered by denying Riddle's long-range shot in the 60th minute and Mimi Abusham's shot on the ensuing corner kick was blocked by the BU defense.
 
Daunt found the equalizer in the 76th minute when a Riddle cross was stopped by a Terrier, as the ensuing loose-ball scrum saw Daunt pull it out and kick it over a diving Braun. With the two sides again trading chances over the next 10 minutes, Boston retook the lead when it countered a Navy goal kick in the 85th minute and Mackenzie Stickelman passed it to McNulty, who raced in and placed her shot to the far corner away from Gallagher, notching her second goal of the afternoon. Heaven tried to bring the game even again in the 87th minute when she had a throw-in deflected to her, but her shot sailed high and ended up being the last scoring opportunity for the Mids.
 
Braun closed the day with two saves in the winning effort, while Gallagher registered four saves in the other net. Boston outshot Navy, 18-17, while the Mids had more corner-kick attempts, 5-4.
 
"We still believe we are an excellent team and we need to battle it out in the remaining conference games to try to earn a spot in postseason play," added Gabarra.
 
Navy continues Patriot League action when it heads to Lewisburg, Pa., on Oct. 6 for a 7 p.m. contest at Bucknell.