ANNAPOLIS, Md. - As the calendar turns to October, the race for the 2024 Patriot League Tournament heats up as Navy and Boston University goes head-to-head this Saturday afternoon with first place on the line at Nickerson Field in Boston. Currently separated in the standings by just one point, the Terriers (2-7-3, 2-0-1 PL) will look to continue to hold off the Mids (8-6, 2-1 PL). The two squads have all played the same three teams (Lehigh, Loyola and Colgate) over the opening weeks of league action. Navy heads into the 1 p.m. contest in search of the program's first win on the road versus BU as the Mids have yet to break into the win column in four all-time trips to Nickerson Field.

The Navy-Boston contest this weekend will have live stats provided online, as well as an accompanying ESPN+ broadcast. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Navy vs. Boston
Saturday will be the 14th meeting between the two schools in a series that began with Boston joining the Patriot League for the 2013 season ... Since Sept. 20, 2013, the Terriers lead the series 10-3 and have outscored the Mids, 17-7 all-time ... After winning the first-ever matchup at home in 2013 by a 1-0 score, the Mids dropped six straight, including three postseason bouts before flipping the script in 2017 with a 1-0 victory in Annapolis ... 10 of the 13 contests between the schools have had one-goal margins of victory, while the other three were by two goals (Nov. 7, 2014, Oct. 29, 2016 and Sept. 25, 2021) ... Boston has yet to drop a matchup with Navy when playing at home as the Terriers are 4-0 all-time at Nickerson Field.

Last Five Matchups
Dating back to 2018, the Mids are 1-4 and have been outscored by the Terriers, 8-4
    Oct. 1, 2023 (H): Boston 3 - Navy 2
    Sept. 24, 2022 (A): Boston 1 - Navy 0
    Sept. 25, 2021 (H): Boston 3 - Navy 1
    Oct. 26, 2019 (H): Navy 1 - Boston 0, 2 OT
    Oct. 5, 2018 (A): Boston 1 - Navy 0

Most Recent Navy-Boston Matchup: October 1, 2023 in Annapolis
A pair of seniors helped the Mids tie the game late, but the Navy women's soccer team could not pull off the Senior Day comeback in a 3-2 loss to Patriot League foe Boston University on Sunday afternoon at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Navy seniors Katie Herrmann and Jenna Daunt both used second-half goals to erase a 2-0 deficit, but an 85th-minute tally from the Terriers' Abigail McNulty proved to be the difference maker in a contest that saw all five goals scored in the final 43 minutes of play.

A back-and-forth pace early set the tone, as multiple off-target chances from Boston in the opening minutes was followed by Navy's Marlee Heaven deflecting a cross from Alexa Riddle in the sixth minute that went wide. A Natalie Godoy shot in the eighth minute then went right off the Navy crossbar, while Navy goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher took charge to knock the ball away from Godoy on a breakaway in the 11th minute and senior Kassidy Borden then blocked Morgan Fagan's shot on the resulting loose ball.
 
With the end-to-end action continuing, the Mids nearly took the lead in the 34th minute when Rylee Rives put a header on net off a corner kick, but Celia Braun got a piece of it near the left post before the BU defenders cleared out the rebound.
 
Scoreless at halftime, Boston quickly took the lead in the opening minutes of the second stanza when Giulianna Gianino lasered a free kick from just outside the 18-yard line in the 48th minute, going to the top right corner past an outstretched Gallagher. Gallagher kept the deficit at 1-0 with saves in the 49th and 50th minutes, but the Terriers struck again in the 55th minute when McNulty beat two defenders and snuck a shot in on Gallagher's short side to widen the BU lead.
 
Navy responded right away in the 56th minute when a Boston foul on Heaven in the box set up a penalty kick, as Herrmann got her first goal of the season by going to the left as Braun dove right. Gallagher then made another save with a diving stop on Godoy in the 58th minute, but Braun answered by denying Riddle's long-range shot in the 60th minute and Mimi Abusham's shot on the ensuing corner kick was blocked by the BU defense.
 
Daunt found the equalizer in the 76th minute when a Riddle cross was stopped by a Terrier, as the ensuing loose-ball scrum saw Daunt pull it out and kick it over a diving Braun. 

With the two sides again trading chances over the next 10 minutes, Boston retook the lead when it countered a Navy goal kick in the 85th minute and Mackenzie Stickelman passed it to McNulty, who raced in and placed her shot to the far corner away from Gallagher, notching her second goal of the afternoon. Heaven tried to bring the game even again in the 87th minute when she had a throw-in deflected to her, but her shot sailed high and ended up being the last scoring opportunity for the Mids.
 
Boston outshot Navy, 18-17 with an 8-5 edge in shots on goal, while the Mids had more corner kick attempts, 5-4.

Comparing the Teams

2024 Stats	Navy	Boston U.
Record / League	8-6-0 / 2-1-0 PL	2-7-3 / 2-0-1 PL
Home / Away	6-3-0 / 2-3-0	1-4-1 / 1-3-2
Goals/Gm	2.29	1.42
Assists/Gm	2.14	1.00
Shots/Gm	13.8	9.9
Goals Against Average	1.79	1.75
GK Saves/Gm	4.64	3.92
Common Opponent(s):	Lehigh - W, 2-0 Loyola - W, 4-3 Colgate - L, 0-3	Lehigh - W, 6-1 Loyola - T, 1-1 Colgate - W, 3-2

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Boston U.
Goals	Heaven/Riddle, 5	Gianino/Porta, 6
Assists	Graziano, 6	Aronson, 3
Points	Graziano, 14	Gianino, 14
Shots	Riddle, 31	Gianino, 22
GK Saves	Stramrood, 57	Carr, 25

Last Time Out: September 28 vs. Colgate in Annapolis 
Coming off an offensive-charged 4-3 victory over Loyola on Wednesday night, the Navy women's soccer team was unable to find that same spark on Saturday afternoon as it allowed a goal in the fourth minute to the visiting Colgate Raiders and trailed for the remaining 86-plus minutes. At the conclusion of the contest at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, the Raiders (3-8-1, 1-2 PL) earned its first Patriot League win of 2024 with a 3-0 decision over the Mids (8-6, 2-1 PL).

Colgate's offense was clicking early as on its first shot of the game the visitors found itself up 1-0 when Ari Bezanson ripped a well-struck shot from outside the 18-yard box at 3:27. The Raiders kept its foot on the offensive pedal with six of the next seven shots over the ensuing 22 minutes. The Mids' goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood was busy during this run with three saves.

The constant pressure by Colgate quickly turned into a second goal at 26:26 when Nikki DiCaprio hit Ellie Stokes streaking into space for another well-struck shot.

Navy's first shot on goal of the first half came in the 34th minute when Alexa Riddle received a long throw-in and backed her defender down close to the six-yard box before spinning and getting a shot off. The Mids' final look at breaking onto the scoreboard came in the 44th minute when Isabella Romano lofted a cross into the box that had eyes for Paige Kush, but Ella Poppinga was active off the goal line and batted the pass away.

With the score 2-0 coming out of the locker room, Colgate recreated its quick-strike start from the first half as just 3:20 into the second period, Ari Bezanson played a ball up to Paige Foa, who deked a Navy defender and netted the Raiders' third goal of the game at 48:20.

The Mids were relentless in their hunt for a goal on Saturday, but unfortunately all quests came up empty. In a span of six-plus minutes from 50:59 through 57:27, Navy registered four shots and five corner kick chances. The best look came from Ande Swan in the 58th minute when she recovered a loose ball after a corner kick and rocketed a shot on frame that forced Colgate's new goalkeeper Alli Popham to leap up from her position and punch the ball over the crossbar.

The final 32 minutes of action was dominated by midfield play as the teams combined for just five shots, three for the Raiders and two for the Mids.

For the game, Colgate out-shot Navy, 16-10 and held a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Midshipmen out-numbered the Raiders in corner kicks, 7-2. Stramrood made four saves in 67 minutes of action in goal.