SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Navy women's soccer team was tested early and often in a tough non-conference season opener on the road at UTSA on Thursday night. Taking on an experienced Roadrunner (1-0) squad, the Mids (0-1) were unable to match the host's efficiency on set pieces as UTSA found the back of the net in the first half off a corner kick before adding a second half insurance goal on a free kick from 35 yards out. Down 2-0 late, senior Amanda Graziano (Middlebury, Conn.) drew Navy within one for a final result of 2-1 at Park West Athletics Complex.

"I'm proud of the effort that we showcased this evening," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We fought to the end in some tough conditions. The deciding factor in the final result was mentality and focus on set pieces. We defended them nearly flawlessly in the run of play, but when they got set pieces, they made plays and we didn't; that was the difference between winning and losing."

UTSA controlled the majority of the action in the first half as the Roadrunners tallied all three combined shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes. The hosts broke into the scoring column early as a bounding corner kick eventually resulted in a goal by Zoe May at 6:29. The high arching ball went to the back of the six-yard box and saw multiple Midshipmen attempt to clear it away, though the ball kept deflecting around before May flicked it toward goal and one final deflection off a Navy defender helped the ball ricochet past the Mids' goalkeeper, Talley Applewhite (Jr., Midlothian, Va.).

Down 1-0, the Mids regained their footing in quick order as Applewhite and the defense withstood all of the Roadrunners' future efforts over the next 30-plus minutes. On its heels and focusing on defense, Navy's offense took some time to begin making in-roads in UTSA's defensive third. The Mids' best first half look came in the final minute of the opening period when Kayana Adlam (Fr., Orlando, Fla.) curled a deep, looping cross into the six-yard box where a pair of Navy attackers crashed towards the ball, but a last-second leap and punch by UTSA goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler negated the scoring opportunity.

The action in the second half was a bit more aggressive for both sides as the ball started moving from end-to-end. Entering the game after halftime, freshman goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood (Fr., Cypress, Texas) was tested early and often as she faced three shots in the first four-and-a-half minutes, including a quick, reactive point-blank save on an Izzy Lane shot from inside the box.

Navy's offense recorded its first official shot in the 60th minute as Alexa Riddle (Sr., Tomball, Texas) was credited with a shot on target as her cross into the middle of the six went a tad long and made its way to Kessler in the crease. A little over two minutes later, the Tomball Memorial High School connection of Stramrood-to-Riddle nearly resulted in the Mids' first goal of the game, as Stramrood rocked a goal kick that bounced and was deflected into open space where Riddle chased down the ball and went one-on-one with the Roadrunners' keeper, though Kessler jumped off her line and batted away Riddle's shot before she was fully square.

UTSA netted an important insurance goal in the 66th minute off a set piece and a cross in from the right wing by Olivia Alvarez to a charging Kameron Kloza, who headed the pass into the back of the net.

Following an aggressive play off her line by Stramrood to snag a deep, dangerous pass in the 80th minute   Riddle forced the action on the other end of the field with long, left-footed shot from just outside the 18-yard box. Kessler was up to task with her third save of the contest.

Navy thwarted UTSA's hopes of a shutout with 65 seconds left in regulation when Mimi Abusham (Jr., Los Alamitos, Calif.) dribbled past her defender and whipped a crisp cross to Amanda Graziano, who controlled the ball on two touches and quickly laced a left-footed shot into the lower right corner of the goal mouth past the out-stretched arms of Kessler.

For the game, UTSA out-shot Navy, 16-5 with a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. Splitting time in goal, Applewhite was credited with two saves in the first half before Stramrood turned aside four in the second stanza. The action in the Lone Star State was physical with a combined 26 fouls called to go along with three yellow cards.

"They had a very direct brand of attack," said Gabarra in closing. It was definitely a challenge to defend. We might not play a team with that style again this year or in seasons to come. Our attack was a little slow to develop to start tonight, but we eventually turned in some of the best looks from either side during the run of play.

"We had five freshmen make their collegiate debuts tonight. They were up to the test of DI soccer and will only grow from this experience."

Navy's season-opening road trip in Texas will conclude on Sunday with a 12-noon (ET) matchup at Rice University in Houston. Similar to tonight's tilt, Sunday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.