ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team heads out on the road for the final time in 2023 as it will go head-to-head with Holy Cross on Friday afternoon. Both the Mids (7-7-3, 1-6 PL) and the Crusaders (5-5-5, 2-2-3 PL) will be looking to build off of non-conference wins from Tuesday after each dropping Patriot League contests previously over the weekend. The action at the Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The Navy-Holy Cross contest will only have live stats provided online.

Navy vs. Holy Cross
In a series that dates back to 1994 in Navy's first full season of NCAA Division I play and first year as a member of the Patriot League, the Mids are 21-4-3 all-time against the Crusaders ... A pair of consecutive ties in 2015 and 2016 broke up a streak of 14 straight wins by Navy dating back to 2001 ... Since that season, the Mids are 17-2-2 over the Crusaders with just a 1-0 loss in 2019 and a 2-0 setback last fall as the only blemishes ... Navy is 9-3-2 all-time versus Holy Cross in games played in Worcester.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five matchups going back to 2017, the Mids are 3-2, while the scoring is tied 4-4 during this span
    Oct. 21, 2022 (H): Holy Cross 2 - Navy 0
    Oct. 23, 2021 (A): Navy 1 - Holy Cross 0
    Oct. 12, 2019 (A): Holy Cross 1 - Navy 0
    Sept. 13, 2018 (H): Navy 1 - Holy Cross 0
    Sept. 15, 2017 (A): Navy 2 - Holy Cross 1

Most Recent Matchup: October 21, 2022 in Annapolis
Playing its final regular season home game of 2022, Navy was defeated by Holy Cross by a score of 2-0 on Friday, Oct. 21. Competitive throughout the contest at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, the Mids were unable to answer the Crusaders, who netted goals in each half.  

The game started slowly as both teams registered just one shot over the initial 12 minutes of action. The Crusaders broke through on the scoreboard shortly thereafter as Claire Carew played a cross inside the box to Katie Quinn, who finished for the game's first goal at 14:16.
 
Trailing 1-0, Navy tried to make in-roads in Holy Cross' defense third, but only recorded one shot over the ensuing 15 minutes. Mattie Gallagher did her best to hold onto the one-goal margin as she turned aside three shots between the 22nd and 26th minute.

Coming out after halftime down by a goal, the Mids kept the pressure up and took two shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. Navy's second look was particularly challenging to Olivia Dubin as Kat Healey's shot was re-directed out of the air by Marlee Heaven. Healey nearly made it three shots on goal in this early run of second half play as she ripped a free kick from 25 yards out, that rang squarely off the crossbar at 60:04.
 
With the score still 1-0 in favor of Holy Cross and less than 20 minutes left in regulation, Navy had its next threatening look as Healey played a ball off the end line out to Chloe Dawson at the top of the 18-yard box. After a few dribbles to gain distance from her nearest defender Dawson turned towards the goal and unleashed a hard shot that just missed the upper-90 to the high side.
 
Fast forwarding to the 80th minute, Mimi Abusham took her best chance at netting the game-tying goal as she curled her free kick shot around the Crusaders' wall, but Dubin was able to track the ball and snag it for her fifth save of the game.
 
Withstanding all of Navy's efforts, Holy Cross added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute as Cerys Balmer put away a bouncing ball inside the six-yard box after the Crusaders served a deep free kick.
 
In the 2-0 defeat, Navy outshot Holy Cross, 16-13, though the Crusaders held a slight 7-6 advantage in shots on goal. The visitors also posted a 5-2 final edge in corner kicks.

Comparing the Teams

2023 Stats	Navy	Holy Cross
Record / PL	7-7-3, 1-6 PL	5-5-5, 2-2-3 PL
Goals/Gm	2.12	1.07
Assists/Gm	2.12	0.80
Shots/Gm	14.0	11.7
Goals Against Average	1.18	1.00
GK Saves/Gm	3.88	3.67

Statistical Leaders

(2023 Stats)	Navy	Holy Cross
Goals	Four Players, 4	Balmer, 4
Assists	Graziano, 6	Zern, 3
Points	I. Romano, 12	Balmer, 8
Shots	Riddle, 36	Waters, 20
GK Saves	Gallagher, 60	Walsh, 33

Last Time Out: October 17 vs. Delaware State
The Navy women's soccer team received a well-rounded team effort as it shut out Delaware State 5-0 at home on Tuesday night. Playing their final non-conference game of the 2023 season, the Mids had seven different players notch either a goal or assist and a pair of goalkeepers combine for four saves in the clean sheet victory over the Hornets at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

Isabella Romano led Navy's offensive effort as she had a hand in three different first half scores with one individual goal and two more assists. Chiara Cosenza and Hannah Mulholland also had multi-point games with a goal and an assist each. Chloe Dawson and Madison Whitworth both added single scores. In goal, Talley Applewhite made three saves over the first 60 minutes of action before ceding the final 30 minutes to Cadence Yeats, who made her first collegiate save.

The action on Tuesday night started off fast as just 4:50 into the contest Kat Healey slotted a square pass inside the box to Romano, who quickly darted past a defender and rifled a shot into the upper right corner for a goal.

Applewhite came up big the Mids over the next 10-plus minutes as the sophomore goalkeeper was called upon and succeeded in denying three shots on goal by the Hornets. Invigorated by the success on the defensive side of the pitch, Navy quickly flipped the field and found the back of the net at 20:18 when Romano swung a cross in from the left wing towards Mulholland, who flicked the ball onto Cosenza. The high-scoring plebe didn't miss her chance and one-timed the volley for the Mids' second goal of the game.

Navy increased its lead out to 3-0 just under 10 minutes later when Dawson recorded her first goal of the season as Romano laid a short pass off to the senior wing, who curled a high-arching shot into the far upper-90 out of the reach of the Delaware State goalkeeper at 30:09.

Navy eventually found its fourth goal of the game shortly after kicking off the second half as Mulholland recovered a poor Delaware State clearance and didn't hesitate to re-route the ball into the back of the net with an unassisted tally at 53:37.

The Mids rounded out their scoring in the 86th minute when Mori Sokoloff slipped a crisp pass through the middle of the field onto Cosenza's foot for another quick advance into the box where the on-coming Whitworth gathered the ball in stride and shot around the Ashley Maribo for her first career score.

For the game, Navy outshot Delaware State, 27-8 with a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids also held a commanding 9-1 lead in corner kicks on Tuesday night.