ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2024 Patriot League Women's Soccer Tournament commences on Sunday with a pair of quarterfinal matchups between teams seeded three through six. For the 13th time in 14 years, the Navy women's soccer team finds itself squarely in the conversation to walk away with championship hardware as the sixth-seeded Mids (9-9-2, 3-4-2 PL) will begin their journey on the road versus the third-seeded Army Black Knights (11-5-1, 5-3-1 PL) on Sunday. Collecting four points over its last two regular season contests, Navy's defense has led the late surge as the Mids have posted back-to-back shutouts. Sunday's matchup at Malek Stadium at Clinton Field on the grounds of the United States Military Academy will be a rematch from the service academies' regular season tilt that went the way of Army on October 19; that game was also at West Point. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. The winner of Sunday's contest will advance to play either the top-seeded Bucknell Bison or Boston University Terriers on Thursday, November 7.

The Navy-Army tournament game will have live stats provided online, as well as be broadcast on the ESPN+ platform. 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 in the Patriot League Tournament
Sunday will begin the Mids' 26th trip in the Patriot League Tournament out of 31 eligible seasons in program history ... All-time, the Mids are 20-20-2 and have finished as champions in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2019 and 2020-21 ... Navy is 3-2 in five previous quarterfinal contests (2014-Win over Loyola: 4-1 / 2015-Win over American: 6-0 / 2016-Win over Colgate: 3-0 / 2018-Loss to Army: 1-0 2ot / 2022-Loss to Lehigh: 4-0)

Navy vs. Army
Sunday will be the 38th meeting between the two schools in a series that began in Navy's second year of varsity existence in 1994 ... Over the first 37 matchups, Navy is 18-15-4 versus Army ... Starting on Sept. 20, 1994 and going through Nov. 8, 1997, Army took the first five games of the series ... Games six through 11 went the way of Mids from Oct. 30, 1998 through Oct. 26, 2001 ... Most recently, the teams have split the last six matchups with Navy winning three straight between 2019 and 2021 and Army winning the past three showdowns ... All-time, Navy has outscored Army, 45-36 ... In games played at West Point, the series leans in favor of the Black Knights by a margin of 7-5-4 ... In Patriot League Tournament meetings, Army has won four of seven all-time meetings, though Navy won the last time in 2019 by a score of 2-1 (1997-A: 1-0 / 1998-N: 2-0 / 1999-N: 2-1 2ot / 2008-A: 1-0 2ot / 2011-A: 2-0 / 2018-A: 1-0 2ot / 2019-N: 2-1) ... This is the first Army-Navy Patriot League Tournament game to be played at West Point as four games occured in Annapolis and three more at neutral sites.

Last Five Matchups
In the previous five meetings dating back to 2019, the Black Knights hold a 3-2 edge and have outscored the Mids, 10-6
    Oct. 19, 2024 (A): Army 4 - Navy 0 
    Oct. 14, 2023 (H): Army 2 - Navy 1
    Oct. 15, 2022 (A): Army 2 - Navy 0
    Oct. 16, 2021 (H): Navy 3 - Army 1
    Nov. 11, 2019 (H): Navy 2 - Army 1 (PL Championship)

Most Recent Navy-Army Matchup: October 19, 2024 at West Point
Navy was unable to overcome a two-goal halftime deficit on Saturday night and ultimately lost their annual Star Match contest versus Army by a score of 4-0. Taking on a Black Knights squad on their home pitch, Malek Stadium, the Mids started out strong, matching the hosts in most facets of the game before a goal in the 26th minute turned the tide in Army's favor and from there the Black Knights were systemically able to edge away from the Mids over the remaining 64 minutes.

The standing room only crowd at Malek Stadium was treated to tight back-and-forth action right from the start as each team registered a shot attempt over the opening eight minutes of play. Army's second shot, in the 11th minute, found its way on frame and Natasha Stramrood was up the task as she skied up to the upper left corner and snagged the Bella Cooke shot out of the air. The end-to-end action continued with a Rylee Rives shot followed up shortly with a Brigid Duffy shot on goal that Stramrood corralled in the 18th minute.

Navy's first shot on goal came in the 24th minute from a build up the right wing and culminated with a swinging cross from Alexa Riddle into the box for a one-timer volley by Marlee Heaven, though Army's Sage Strohman denied the effort.

The catalyst for the Black Knights' eventual success came in the 26th minute when they converted off a chaotic corner kick possession that saw Grace Pohlidal on the receiving end of a Duffy cross to the back post and score at 25:47.

Trailing 1-0, the Mids immediately turned their attention to drawing even and nearly did, three minutes later when Riddle sprinted onto a long pass over the top of the Black Knights' defense and went one-on-one with Strohman. Taking aim at the low corner of the goal, Riddle put her shot on frame and saw it deflect through Strohman's arm, but roll away just wide of the goal.

Withstanding that potential game-tying look from Navy, Army ratcheted up its offensive pressure and rattled off four shots in quick succession between the 33rd and 36th minutes of play. Just three short minutes after that final shot, the Black Knights were back at it and saw them advance their lead out to 2-0 as Kaelan Bradley one-timed a bouncing ball into the back of the net at 38:08.

Coming out of the locker room down 2-0, Navy knew that it had to take a few more risks if it was to inch back into the game versus Army. Emma Romano was the first Mid to step forward for that task as she put on shot on goal in the 49th minute that was stopped by Strohman. Unfortunately, Navy's efforts to find that goal to spark a comeback never came in the second half as it was unable to make consistent in-roads into the attacking third. Rives had the next best look at goal in the 60th minute when her shot rang off the crossbar.

Army salted away the victory with goals by Duffy at 58:42 and Hannah Pohlidal at 76:20.

For the game, Army out-shot Navy 26-7 with a 12-3 advantage in shots on goal. The host Black Knights also posted a significant 11-3 margin in corner kicks.

Comparing the Teams

2024 Stats	Navy	Army
Record / PL	9-9-2 / 3-4-2 PL	11-5-1 / 5-3-1 PL
Home / Away Record	7-5-0 / 2-4-2	8-2-1 / 3-3-0
Goals/Gm	1.70	1.71
Assists/Gm	1.55	1.71
Shots/Gm	12.5	13.5
Goals Against Average	1.60	1.00
GK Saves/Gm	4.80	5.00

Statistical Leaders

	Navy	Army
Goals	Heaven, 6	Bradley/Duffy, 6
Assists	Graziano, 6	Silvestro, 6
Points	Graziano, 14	Bradley, 15
Shots	Riddle, 39	Duffy, 46
GK Saves	Stramrood, 87	Strohman, 82

Last Time Out: October 30 at Lafayette
Navy completed its 2024 regular season on Wednesday night with a road showdown at Lafayette. Fighting for a spot in the upcoming league postseason tournament, the Mids and Leopards battled for 90 minutes and left it all out on the pitch at Oaks Stadium, though neither team was able to break through onto the scoreboard as the game went final with a 0-0 draw.

After the conclusion of all of Wednesday night's action across the conference, Navy's tie allowed them to garner the six-seed in the 2024 Patriot League Tournament, while Lafayette was one spot and one point shy of extending its season as the Leopards finished the campaign in seventh place.

Natasha Stramrood led Navy's effort on Wednesday night as the freshman goalkeeper made five saves. The Mids' defense was also bolstered by three of its starting backs playing all 90 minutes: Jordan Townsend, Emma Romano and Tatum Kelly. Additionally, freshman wing back Kayana Adlam fought her way back onto the pitch to play 70 minutes after leaving in the first minute to be checked out for an injury.

The action was slow to form in the offense end of the field for both teams, though Lafayette was able to mount the first shot of the game in the third minute and later the first shot on goal in the 12th minute when Heather Plowright tested Stramrood to the near post. Twenty minutes in, Navy had yet to record a shot, though it had a pair of corner kick opportunities and three more free kick restarts in the attacking third. The visitors' third corner kick chance resulted in a shot on goal as Amanda Graziano struck an in-swinging attempt that forced the Leopards' goalkeeper Catherine Apker into action in the 22nd minute.

After three Lafayette shots missed off target over the next 15 minutes, the final seven minutes of the half saw both teams earn looks at the goal with Navy's Isabella Romano striking a shot on frame in the 38th minute before Sofia Ruggiero hit a low curling shot towards the corner of the net that saw Stramrood dive low to her right in the 43rd minute.

Coming out of the locker room knotted at 0-0, the Leopards aimed to break the tie first as April McDonald launched a high bending shot towards the back post only to have Stramrood leap up and snag it.

Navy controlled the majority of the high-percentage looks over the next 20 minutes as Alexa Riddle asserted herself all over the pitch. In the 52nd minute, she forced a turnover near midfield and immediately played Graziano into space. After a few dribbles, Graziano ripped a lengthy shot that sailed just over the crossbar. A little over seven minutes later, Riddle juked a defender near the top of the 18 and took a shot that had eyes for the lower near corner, though Apker denied it for her third save of the game.

The Mids' loudest scoring chance came in the 66th minute when Hannah Mulholland dribbled towards the box and unleashed a howitzer that whizzed past Apker, but directly into the crossbar to keep it a 0-0 game.

That would be Navy's final shot of the game as their focus moved squarely to its defense and keeping Lafayette off the scoreboard late. The Mids' backline kept a tight shape and only allowed three shots over the last 15 minutes of regulation. After their initial shot by Gretchen Waechter missed wide left, the Leopards tested Stramrood twice during this span, though the freshman goalkeeper easily handled McDonald's shot in the 77th minute before she showcased her athleticism in the 83rd minute with a springy dive to her right to snag a McDonald header attempt.

For the game, Lafayette out-shot Navy 13-6 with a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. The host team also held an edge in corner kicks, 7-5 on Wednesday night.