ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team fell victim to an early own goal and dropped a Patriot League contest to American University on Wednesday night by a score of 1-0. In a nip-and-tuck game throughout the 90 minutes of action at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, a deflected shot off a Midshipmen (8-8-1, 2-3-1 PL) defender allowed the Eagles (5-5-2, 1-4-1 PL) to collect an important three points in the crowded Patriot League table.

"I thought we were well prepared and battled all game," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We did some good things tonight, but we didn't play the possession-based soccer that we needed to in the bigger moments.

"We need to be able to keep the ball under pressure, while playing fast. We need to move when we don't have the ball and get numbers forward. All of those pieces need to fit together for us to succeed on the attacking side of the field and we just weren't able to do that tonight. We know that we're good enough to win these hard-fought league games and we've got the players to do it. The effort is definitely there; we just need to work on the possession piece and create more chances within the flow of the game better."

The visiting Eagles came out with an aggressive attacking brand of soccer to start Wednesday night as they took three shots over the opening six minutes, including attempts by Lailah Stewart and Izzy Kadzban that forced the Mids' goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood (Fr., Cypress, Texas) into action with saves. A little over four minutes from that initial rush of offense at 10:36, American's pressure resulted in a goal as a wide shot by Stewart was re-directed off a Navy defender and into the back of the net.

Ahead 1-0, the Eagles kept their pedal on the offensive gas and nearly made it 2-0 in the 16th minute when Jennifer McGuire found herself open at six-yard box for a one-touch shot on goal that required Stramrood to dive to her left for the save.

Navy started its comeback efforts shortly there after with two shots in a matter of four minutes by Hannah Mulholland (So., Chandler, Ariz.) in the 18th minute and Isabella Romano (Jr., Syosset, N.Y.) in the 22nd, though both were slightly off frame. The Mids' looks honed in on the Eagles' goal down the stretch of the first half with four attempts over the final six minutes. Alexa Riddle (Sr., Tomball, Texas) recorded their first shot on goal as she ripped a shot that was initially saved by Addison Roemer, but immediately deflected out to Marlee Heaven (Jr., Rockville, Md.), who pushed her shot wide. Emma Romano (Jr., Syosset, N.Y.) tallied the second shot on goal during this span with a dart that had eyes for the lower left corner of the goal mouth in the 43rd minute, but was denied by Roemer.

With the score 1-0 coming out after halftime, American took aim at extending its lead with a corner kick, two shots and a dangerous cross during the first 15 minutes of action. The cross in the 52nd minute saw Stramrood sky up over a host of Eagle attackers and punch the ball away from danger before crashing down to the ground.

Stramrood continued to keep American at bay with her second save of the period in the 64th minute. A little over eight minutes later, Emma Romano did her part in backing up Stramrood and keeping it a one-score contest as she sprinted in and swept away a shot by Brooke Steel that was inches away from crossing the goal line.

Navy's offense kept up its attack over the final 15 minutes of play as Chiara Cosenza (So., Westfield, N.J.) ripped a free kick that saw American's new keeper Julia Kato leap up from her position and push the shot over the cross bar in the 75th minute before Jordan Townsend (Jr., Marriottsville, Md.) headed a free kick on frame in the 89th minute for the Mids' final look.

"We were playing at this furious pace in the second half and it was affecting our ability to connect passes as well as we needed to," commented Gabarra. "We weren't taking enough looks to find the extra pass. Once we start doing that and possessing the ball longer, that makes your opponent chase you more. That should open up our options on the attack."

For the game, American out-shot Navy, 14-11 with an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. The Eagles also held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Stramrood finished with seven saves. Tonight was her fourth appearance in 2024 with seven stops.

Next up for Navy is a showdown with Army on Saturday night with the Women's Soccer Star on the line. Kickoff between the Mids and Black Knights is set for 7 p.m. at West Point.

"Saturday is a big game for us for many reasons," said Gabarra in closing. "It's big for our conference standing and it's a really big game for our institution and Navy and Marine Corps officers throughout the world. We'll refocus tomorrow and get back at it. We're a resilient team."