ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team recorded its second home win in three days as the Mids (2-2) came out fast with two goals in the opening six minutes and three overall scores in the first half to pick up a 3-2 victory over a Fairleigh Dickinson squad that was voted second in the NEC preseason coaches' poll.
Rylee Rives (Sr., Arlington, Texas) paced Navy's effort at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility against FDU (0-2-1) with her first career two-goal game.
"That's a good home win against a very talented team," remarked head coach
Carin Gabarra. "They have players that are very good on the ball, that are very composed and find passing lanes. They attack with a very good shape and made us chase a bit. We lost our composure for a good chunk of the second half and they were able to capitalize on it and made it a very tight game.
"I'm proud of our goals tonight. Our attacking shape has been good. We just need to work on our composure in the big moments and to keep possession in the midfield for longer stretches."
The action on Saturday night started out fast as the Mids found themselves on the scoreboard just 3:34 into the contest. On the attack into the Knights' final third,
Alexa Riddle (Sr., Tomball, Texas) played a lead pass up the left wing to
Marlee Heaven (Jr., Rockville, Md.), who sprinted past her defender and quickly whipped a left-footed cross towards the six-yard box with the intent of finding the on-coming
Chiara Cosenza (So., Westfield, N.J.), but an errant deflection off an FDU defender ricocheted the ball into the back of the net for an own goal.
Navy kept its foot on the offensive gas pedal with a second goal just over two minutes later at 5:47 when Riddle found Rives off a free kick passed along the ground to about 10 yards from goal. After gathering the pass, Rives dribbled through an FDU defender and found herself in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper and easily slotted her shot to the back post to make it 2-0.
"We've been focusing on having good starts," commented Gabarra about Navy's quick 2-0 lead. "I believe that it's hard to change the tempo of a game after it's begun so you really want to have a good start. You want to be the one setting the pace and making sure everyone mentally feels good. We've had good starts all year and I'm proud of that. That's something that we've focused on in the offseason and this preseason."
Riddle's nose for the goal nearly gave Navy a three-goal advantage in the 15th minute when sprinted into the open field and went one-on-one with Rosemarie Leblanc, FDU's goalkeeper, who was aggressive off her line. Once she evaded Leblanc, Riddle took aim at the gaping goal only for a Knight defender to dive in at the last second and come away with a team save.
That two-goal advantage withstood numerous quality looks by FDU's offense that recorded seven shots, six of which were blocked by Navy defenders and another that was snagged by the Mids' goalkeeper
Natasha Stramrood (Fr., Cypress, Texas). The Knights also recorded five corner kicks during this 30-minute sector of play.
Navy turned its staunch defensive efforts into offense and a third goal at 36:29 when Riddle raced up the right wing and swung a cross towards the FDU goal, though a defender re-directed the ball away from the net, but right to
Mimi Abusham (Jr., Los Alamitos, Calif.), who gathered the ball, beat three crashing defenders and placed a pin-point pass to Rives at the penalty stripe for a bouncing volley shot over Leblanc.
Three more FDU corner kicks and two wayward shots by the Knights saw the teams retire to their respective locker rooms with the score Navy 3 – FDU 0. Overall, the visitors had a 9-3 advantage in shots, though only one made its way on frame. They also held an 8-0 margin in corner kick opportunities.
Those offensive advantages eventually translated into success on the scoreboard for the Knights as they converted a free kick opportunity from Laura Martinez to Elena Cvetkovic at 49:14 to make it a 3-1 before pulling within one goal 5:38 later when they took advantage of a unlucky deflection off a Midshipmen defender for an own goal of their own at 54:52.
With the pressure rising, both goalkeepers played pivotal roles in holding their opponents at bay as Stramrood immediately denied a scoring opportunity in the 58th minute before Leblanc sprinted off her line to crash into Heaven as she took aim at the goal off of an
Emma Romano (Jr., Syosset, N.Y.) cross in the 63rd minute. Stramrood made two additional saves to make sure that the 3-2 score held up; one in the 71st minute and the latter in the 89th off a Leighann Kafel attempt.
For the game, FDU out-shot Navy, 15-7 with a slight 6-5 edge in shots on goal. The visiting Knights also held a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Stramrood collected her second consecutive victory as she finished with five saves.
"We love to play at Glenn Warner," said Gabarra in closing. "This is our home. It's a beautiful facility. We get fantastic support from our community, from the Academy and from our leadership; I'm looking at the Supe and the Dant right now. Their support is tremendous. We love to play at home. We've got to prove that we understand the responsibility of wearing Navy on our chest."
Navy will be back in action in short order as the Mids will welcome Wilson College on Tuesday for a non-conference tilt. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
