CATONSVILLE, Md. – After a quiet first half saw neither Navy or UMBC find its way onto the scoreboard, the visiting Mids (4-1-3) hit that next gear in the second stanza and rolled the Retrievers (2-6) to the tune of 4-1 final score on Sunday afternoon. Navy found the back of the net early and often in the second half at Retriever Soccer Park as the visitors scored twice of corner kicks in the opening 13 minutes of the period before adding two late insurance goals.

Amanda Graziano (Jr., Middlebury, Conn.) led the Mids' offensive effort as she assisted on the team's first two goals before curling in a goal of her own in the 90th minute. Rylee Rives (Jr., Arlington, Texas) and Tatum Kelly (Jr., Pinehurst, N.C.) were on the receiving end of Graziano corner kicks in the 50th and 58th minutes, respectively before Kat Healey (Sr., King George, Va.) added her name to the scoring ledger in the 80th minute.

"I'm proud of the way we converted our scoring chances in the second half," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We were able to find goals in a variety of ways; our set pieces were very dangerous today. This was another quality road win that will help us as the season progresses."

The first half saw both teams play 45 minutes of scoreless action, though UMBC was the first to make in-roads offensively as the hosts started pressuring Mattie Gallagher (Sr., Gilbertsville, Pa.) and Navy's defense almost immediately with four shots in the opening 10 minutes, including two attempts that required near horizontal leaping denials by Gallagher.

The Mids flipped the field for the ensuing 10 minutes as the visitors tallied the only two shots of the contest during that period with Graziano testing the Retrievers' goalkeeper Abbey Cowles with a long, arching shot on goal in the 18th minute as the most dangerous chance.

UMBC gathered itself offensively soon after as the Retrievers peppered Gallagher in quick succession with a trio of shots, including two on goal in the 24th minute. Those saves would help Navy take a scoreless tie into the locker room at halftime. Through the first period of play, UMBC held a 7-4 edge in total shots and a 4-2 mark in shots on goal.

After that opening first half, the fans at Retriever Soccer Park had little idea what would become of the game in the second stanza. In a precursor of the next 45 minutes, Alexa Riddle (Jr., Tomball, Texas) nearly found the back of the net just 10 seconds into the half as she got into space after the kickoff and ripped a long shot that sailed slightly over the net.

A little over four minutes later at 49:27, Graziano lofted a well-placed deep corner kick to the back of the six-yard box where Rives crashed towards the net and powered a header shot past the Retrievers' goalkeeper.

The 1-0 lead didn't last long for the Mids as the hosts came right back down the pitch and knotted the game at 1-all just 100 seconds later at 51:07 with a goal of its own.

Navy dialed up another corner kick connection six minutes later at 57:06 when Graziano put her cross into nearly the same location, but in this instance, Kelly soared over the nearest UMBC defender and snapped a header shot that hit off the crossbar, but deflected down off a Retriever player and bounced in for a goal.

Energized by their new lead, the Mids' defense stonewalled the Retrievers for the majority of the next 20-plus minutes as the host squad registered just one errant shot. With its defense clicking, Navy's offense took aim for an insurance goal and found it at 79:17 when Kassidy Borden (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) quick-played a free kick to Jenna Daunt (Sr., Haymarket, Va.), who slotted a pass to Healey. In possession of the ball, Healey zagged past a defender and unleashed a left-footed shot that immediately hit a UMBC player, but had enough pace on it to re-direct past the Retrievers' goalkeeper, who was late to react.

In control of the scoreboard by a 3-1 margin, Navy wrapped up its highest-scorning game of 2023 at 89:38 when Emma Romano (So., Syosset, N.Y.) found Graziano with a throw-in. Feeling pressure on her back, Graziano spun around the defender and struck a curling left-footed shot that passed Cowles and snuck into the upper-90 of the far post.

For the game, Navy outshot UMBC, 19-12 with an 11-5 advantage in shots on goal. In the second half, the totals were 15-5 and 9-1, respectively. The Mids also held a significant edge in corner kicks in the second period, 4-0 after each team took three in the first half.

"After a strong run of play in the non-conference, we're motivated and looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead with Patriot League competition," commented Gabarra. "We're healthy and deep as our roster has been able to see quite a lot of time during the non-conference."

Navy will be back in action on Friday night with its Patriot League home opener versus Lehigh. Kickoff between the Mids and Mountain Hawks is set for 7 p.m.
at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.