ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team begins its 32nd season of collegiate competition this Thursday night with the first of two consecutive road games in the state of Texas. First up for the Mids ('23: 9-7-3) in 2024 is a matchup in San Antonio versus the UTSA Roadrunners ('23: 7-7-4) at Park West Athletics Complex at 8 PM (ET) before heading out east on I-10 to Houston for a Sunday matinee against the Rice Owls ('23: 3-13-2) at Holloway Field. Kickoff between Navy and Rice is scheduled for 12 PM (ET). The action in Texas will serve as a homecoming for a quintet of native Texans; seniors Alexa Riddle and Rylee Rives, and freshmen Lizzie Emerson, Natasha Stramrood and Ande Swan. This two-game road trip will be followed up by four straight home games at the Mids' Glenn Warner Soccer Facility starting on Thursday, Aug. 22 versus Sacred Heart.

All of the women's soccer action this week will have live stats provided online, as well as ESPN+ broadcasts. 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. UTSA | Navy vs. Rice | Navy vs. American Athletic Conference
This week's matchups are a pair of firsts, as the Mids have never gone head-to-head on the pitch versus either the Roadrunners or Owls ... Navy has a limited history overall versus teams from the Lone Star State with six total games and a 2-4 cumulative record: Texas A&M (0-1 all-time; 9/10/99, 6-0 L) ... Houston (1-0; 9/12/99, 4-0 W) ... Texas (0-1; 9/3/10, 5-1 L) ... Texas State (1-1; 9/5/10, 3-2 2ot L and 8/26/11, 3-0 W) ... TCU (0-1; 8/21/16, 1-0 2ot L) ... The Mids' first-ever action in Texas came in 1999 as part of the Aggieland Classic at Texas A&M; they went 1-1 with a loss to the Aggies and win over the Houston Cougars at the event ... It was 11 years before Navy returned to Texas with a two-game road trip to central Texas, first with a tilt at UT Austin followed up by a contest at Texas State ... Navy's most recent matchups versus teams from Texas came at home against Texas State and TCU ... This weekend will be the fifth and sixth-ever contests in the Lone Star State and the first since Sept. 5, 2010.

Returning Leaders

(2023 Stats)	Navy	UTSA	Rice
Goals	Cosenza/Riddle/I. Romano, 4	Morrin/Walker, 3	McKinney, 3
Assists	Graziano, 6	Hyland, 5	Gorji, 4
Points	I. Romano, 12	Walker, 8	Gorji/McKinney, 8
Shots	Riddle, 42	Walker, 23	McKinney, 17
GK Saves	Applewhite, 4	Kessler, 37	N/A

Season Outlook: 
Large Class of 2023 Graduation Leaves Abundant Opportunities for New Faces to Step Up
Coming off a 2023 campaign that saw the Navy women's soccer team finish just one point out of the Patriot League Tournament, the Mids will be looking to fight their way back into title contention this season with its 13th tournament bid in 14 years. The Naval Academy's graduation ceremony this past May saw the end of eight players' time in Annapolis and open the door for numerous returning players and newcomers to step up and grab pivotal roles in 2024. In total, nearly 30% of the Mids' goal, assist and shooting production graduated with the departure of Jenna Daunt (M), Sophie Ewing (F), Kat Healey (F) and Katie Herrmann (M). The Mids' defense took a significant hit as well with the graduation of starters Kassidy Borden (D), Chloe Dawson (D/M), Kieffer Williamson (D) and Mattie Gallagher (GK). Gallagher's record-setting career concluded with the second-most saves in program history to go along with 16 solo shutouts.

A Look at 2024
A talented quintet of seniors should spearhead Navy's leadership and production at least initially as eight freshmen make their collegiate debuts and seven sophomores return and aim to see their first substantial playing time. The Mids' senior class is led by team captain Tatum Kelly, who returns for her fourth season as a starting defender. Fellow 1/C starters, include Alexa Riddle (F), Amanda Graziano (M) and Rylee Rives (M). Emma Frommelt (M) will aid Navy's effort with three seasons of experience as one of the program's go-to options off the bench.

Position-By-Position Breakdowns
Forwards
Any team that's led by Head Coach Carin Gabarra will undoubtedly will have an aggressive attacking strategy that has depth on-top of depth of dangerous strikers. The 2024 Navy Women's Soccer team is no different as nine players are listed as part of the forward corps. Alexa Riddle, a three-time All-Patriot League honoree, headlines this group as she looks to add onto her stellar career statline of 14 goals and 8 assists over 54 games. The junior class of forwards consists of the talented trio of Mimi Abusham, Marlee Heaven and Isabella Romano. Heaven took a large step forward in 2023 as she played over 1,000 minutes and tallied four goals and an assist over 17 starts. Abusham and Romano were popular options off the bench when the Mids needed to change up their attack and looks as Abusham played in all 19 games and scored three goals and an assist over 669 minutes, while Romano saw 16 games of action and found the back of the net on four occasions and assisted on four other goals in 521 minutes. Navy will look for a similar progression from this year's sophomore class as Chiara Cosenza, Hannah Mulholland and Madison Whitworth have a year of collegiate action under their belts. Coming on in short bursts over her 16-game debut season, Cosenza showed a nose for the goal with four markers, as well as two more assists over 294 minutes of playing time. Mulholland also stepped foot on the field 16 times as a plebe and left her mark with a goal and two assists, while Whitworth registered points in her rookie campaign with a goal and an assist during limited action. Kayana Adlam and Emily Clay are newcomers to the program in 2024. After a standout career as a youth striker that included stints in Jamaica's U-20 Youth National Team training camp, Adlam's talent could see her receive time at a variety of positions as Navy's coaching staff will look to utilize her. Clay is unlikely to make an impact on the field this season, as an offseason injury has sidelined her during the team's ramp-up to 2024. 

Midfielders
The Mids' senior class will leave its biggest mark from the middle of the pitch this season with a trio of 1/C among the midfield ranks. After playing up top as a play-making forward her first three seasons, Amanda Graziano will move to the middle as Navy looks to take advantage of her vision and skillful passing over a larger portion of the pitch. Throughout her first three seasons with the Mids she's been a leading facilitator with 13 assists to go along with seven goals over 57 career games. Rylee Rives is the lone returning starter from Navy's 2023 midfield alignment. A long and active athlete, Rives broke through last season making 17 starts and scoring a pair of goals over 1,289 minutes of action. A vocal leader on- and off-the-field, Emma Frommelt will continue to provide the team and midfield unit with excellent effort when called upon. Over her first three seasons with Navy, she's played in 26 games and scored two goals, including a game-winner in 2021. Juniors Mori Sokoloff and Jordan Townsend will offer the Mids a more defensive option in the midfield in 2024. Sokoloff saw over 200 minutes of action and found the back of the net once, while assisting on two other scores last year. Though mainly called on for reserve action in 2023 over 19 contests, Townsend has 17 games of starting detail to her career resume. Navy's freshman class will have its biggest effect on the midfield to begin the 2024 season as Ande Swan, Mackenzie Morrow and Lizzie Emerson are all in consideration for starting or important reserve roles out of training camp. Swan focused primarily on the club scene as a youth with the Challenge SC ECNL club and found success as an ECNL Texas All-Conference First Team honoree in 2021-22. Morrow and Emerson had decorated high school careers that saw Morrow named North Carolina Class 3A All-State following her junior and senior seasons at Jacksonville HS, while Emerson was recognized on the All-6A Region 3 District 17 Team multiple years for her efforts at Stratford HS.

Defense
Under the guidance of Associate Head Coach Rob Blanck, Navy's defensive corps will have a plethora of new faces seeing significant action right off the bat. Tatum Kelly will lead the charge as a central defender with 53 career games and a team-high 4,381 minutes of action to her name. A threat on set pieces, she's scored one goal in each of her first three seasons. After a quiet rookie campaign in 2022, junior Emma Romano forced her way into the team's starting XI down the stretch last season and helped Navy shut out two straight Patriot League opponents to close out 2023. She increased her playing time from 119 minutes as a plebe to 773 last year. Sophomores Ali Barrow, Lucy Gaines and ClaraJane Williams were leaned upon in game-changing roles off the bench as they acquitted themselves to the collegiate game last year. Barrow was the most active of the trio as she suited up and played in all 19 games in 2023, seeing 624 minutes of playing time. Gaines was used a tad bit more infrequently with 13 games and 266 minutes of action to her name. Williams appeared in three games as a freshman and competed for 129 minutes. Two local talents from Maryland will look to leave their mark during their debut campaigns as Lauren Toms and Paige Kush join the depth of Navy's defense. As youth players both Toms and Kush were selected to All-Maryland State teams.

Goalkeeper
Associate Head Coach Mike Melton will lead the Mids' "goalkeeper union" once again this season. Following four strong years of Mattie Gallagher backstopping Navy in goal, the Mids will look to returners Talley Applewhite and Cadence Tordai, and freshman newcomer Natasha Stramrood to answer thbell and lead from the back this season. As a unit in 2023, Navy posted a 1.05 goals against average and six clean sheets, including combined efforts that saw Applewhite and Tordai split time in shutout victories over Marymount and Delaware State. A junior from Midlothian, Virginia, Applewhite also split a shutout with Gallagher in Navy's 3-0 road win at Holy Cross. Applewhite and Tordai, a sophomore from San Diego, combined for 196 minutes of action in 2023. Stramrood joins the union after a decorated youth career that culminated with honors as the Region 2-6A Goalkeeper of the Year and on the Texas All-State First Team as a senior at Tomball Memorial HS.