WORCESTER, Mass. – The Navy women's soccer team turned in a strong wire-to-wire road effort at Holy Cross on Friday and came away with a 3-0 victory. Heading out on the road for the final time in 2023, the Mids (8-7-3, 2-6 PL) withstood a physical challenge from the Crusaders (5-7-5, 2-3-3 PL) and found that next gear offensively in the second half with three goals over a run of play from 56:14 to 67:05.

Rylee Rives (Jr., Arlington, Texas), Katie Herrmann (Sr., Charlotte, N.C.) and Kat Healey (Sr., King George, Va.) all scored for Navy in the win, while Mattie Gallagher (Sr., Gilbertsville, Pa.) and Talley Applewhite (So., Midlothian, Va.) shared the combined clean sheet with five total saves.

"That was a really complete performance on the road," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We were strong in the first half, but just couldn't find a goal. We kept our composure and kept fighting against a very physical opponent. Once we found that first goal, things really started coming together. We made the most of our set pieces today."

Holy Cross was aggressive out from the opening whistle with three shots, including one on goal in the initial seven minutes of action. Mimi Abusham (So., Los Alamitos, Calif.) registered Navy's first shot on target as she tested Julia Walsh in the 11th minute to no avail.

Over the ensuing 15 minutes, the host Crusaders tallied five of the next six shots, including another shot on goal that was saved by Gallagher.

Alexa Riddle (Jr., Tomball, Texas) continued to spark the Mids' offense as she ripped shots in the 27th and 36th minutes for her second and third attempts of the game. Her shot in the 36th was especially noteworthy as she raced in behind Holy Cross' defense before Walsh crashed in off her line to make a save and keep the shutout intact.

Scoreless at the halftime intermission, Navy came out of the locker room on a mission. Just over 11 minutes into the second stanza, Holy Cross' Cerys Balmer received a red card for tackling Riddle on a breakaway scoring opportunity. Setting up on a free kick chance from just outside 18, Kassidy Borden (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) drilled a shot that was stopped by Walsh, but a fortuitous bounce to Rives saw the Texan immediately play the ball into the back net at 56:14.

Up 1-0, the Mids kept their foot on the offensive pedal as 7:23 later the visitors were up 2-0 on the strength of a Herrmann header. Building off a long throw-in by Rives, Amanda Graziano (Jr., Middlebury, Conn.) flicked the ball towards the goal before a Holy Cross defender deflected the pass away. With the ball up for grabs, Herrmann got her head on it first and powered home her second goal of the season at 63:37.

Another save by Gallagher, her fifth of the game, after that goal helped Navy hold onto its 2-0 lead momentarily before Healey made it 3-0 less than four minutes later. Breaking out and dribbling into Holy Cross' final third, Ali Barrow (Fr., Alexandria, Va.) was taken down for a foul within 20 yards of the goal. Calmly taking aim for the goal on the free kick opportunity, Healey deposited her shot past Walsh at 67:05 for Navy's third goal of the game and her team-leading fifth goal of the 2023 campaign.

Leading 3-0, the Mids continued controlling the action in the Crusaders' end and recorded three more shots on goal over the final 23 minutes, though none found their way through for scores to finalize the contest with the same margin.

For the game, Navy out-shot Holy Cross, 16-14 with a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Gallagher played the first 73:32 and made five saves before Applewhite closed out the shutout with 16:28 of scoreless action in net.

"It's bittersweet that we had this outcome when we did," said Gabarra in closing. "We've been searching for a complete performance like this, where all facets of our game were hitting and we're putting goals away, for weeks. We can't make excuses, you have to control your own chances. We'll continue our fight on Wednesday. We aim to end the season on a high note and send our seniors out with a performance that'll make them proud."

Navy will conclude its 2023 season on Wednesday night with a 6 p.m. matchup versus Lafayette at home at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.