WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy women's soccer team dropped a midweek matchup at American on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 1-0. Tied through the first 82 minutes of action at Reeves Field, the Eagles (3-6-4, 3-2-1 PL) received a goal by Brooke Steel at 82:29 to down the Mids (6-6-3, 1-5 PL) and gained an important three points in the Patriot League standings.

"We were good in all facets of the game today," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We held possession, connected passes, defended and had great energy, but the name of the game is scoring and we didn't find the back of the net. The longer the game went scoreless, the more confident American grew; if we could have put away one of our earlier chances the game would have had a completely different feel.

"Our execution in the final third continues to be lacking. We just haven't been able to make that final key pass or take that key shot in the key moment."

The first half was extremely evenly matched and saw 45 minutes go by without either side finding their way onto the scoreboard. Mattie Gallagher (Sr., Gilbertsville, Pa.) turned aside the host Eagles' first shot on goal of the stanza just 78 seconds into the game when she grabbed Bella Vozar's header attempt.

Navy's lone shot on goal of the half came just over 10 minutes later when Kassidy Borden (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) found Alexa Riddle (Jr., Tomball, Texas) on a throw-in. After receiving the pass, Riddle spun around the American defender that was draped over her and ripped a low line drive shot from just outside the 18-yard box though Julia Kato leapt into action and dove on the shot.

The back-and-forth nature of the first half continued as Tatum Kelly (Jr., Pinehurst, N.C.) came up big in the 26th minute as she lunged in front of Morissa Lambert's shot towards the goal and quickly thwarted the Eagles' scoring opportunity.

A little over 15 minutes late, the Mids registered their next challenge to the scoreless draw as Jordan Townsend (So., Marriottsville, Md.) played a long lead pass over the top towards Kat Healey (King George, Va.), though the senior's attempt was short-circuited when Kato charged off her line and intercepted the pass.

Coming out of the locker room knotted at 0-0, Navy was extremely active in the attacking third during the initial run of play in the second half, but the visitors were unable to tie together their final passes for a shot on goal. After withstanding that early blitz by Navy out over the first four minutes of the second half, American registered the first shot on goal of the period when Phoebe Merrigan launched a free kick on goal towards the upper 90, though Gallagher was able to jump up and snatch it.

The Mids' offense continued aggressively looking for the first goal of the game and in the 53rd minute, Riddle curled a cross to the opposite side of the field to Emma Romano (So., Syosset, N.Y.). After controlling the pass, Romano slid the ball back towards the penalty spot and Jenna Daunt (Sr., Haymarket, Va.), who unleashed a pair of shots, but unfortunately for the Mids' captain an Eagle defender was in front of both efforts.

Ten minutes later, Healey finally was able to test Kato when she ripped a long range shot on goal, though the American goalkeeper denied the attempt.

Only two shots were officially recorded over the ensuing 15 minutes, both for the Eagles. The second shot by American was especially dangerous as it came off a low cross that Gallagher dove outwards in the box to deflect and throw off the timing of a potential wide-open look by Fisayo Iluyomade. Instead of the tempting scoring chance, the deflection forced Iluyomade into an awkward rushed shot that sailed high of the net.

Navy's offensive builds picked right back up soon after and Amanda Graziano (Jr., Middlebury, Conn.) slipped a lead pass through American's defense for the on-coming Riddle, but similar to the first half, Kato was active off her line and sprinted outside the box to meet Riddle head-on and interrupted the one-on-one opportunity without a shot being taken in the 82nd minute.

Thriving off that defensive stand, the Eagles put away the first and only goal of the contest at 82:29 when Eliza Fisher found Brooke Steel for the eventual game-winner.

Down 1-0 with less than eight minutes to go, the Mids went down swinging as a four-part constructed play in the 87th minute saw Borden loft a ball over the top to Mimi Abusham (So., Los Alamitos, Calif.), who quickly flicked on the pass to Rylee Rives (Jr., Arlington, Texas) and eventually Graziano. With the Eagles' defense on their heels, Graziano took aim at the net only so see a defender dive in late and block the shot away from the goal.

For the game, American out-shot Navy, 12-7 with a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids' pressure on the attack, while not resulting in official shots, garnered the visitors a 7-3 edge in corner kicks.

Navy will now turn its attention to the 2023 Army-Navy Star Game this Saturday night. The action between the Mids and Black Knights is set for 7 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis.