ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A busy week of action for the Navy women's soccer team began on Monday afternoon with the weekly awards announcement by the Patriot League that recognized the duo of Alexa Riddle and Rylee Rives for their efforts versus Sacred Heart and FDU. Riddle was noted as the league's Offensive Player of the Week, while Rives was named the Midfielder of the Week. In addition to the awards announcement, the Mids will turn their attention on the pitch to a non-conference tilt versus Wilson College on Tuesday evening.  The action between the Mids (2-2) and the Phoenix (0-0) is set for 6 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Live stats will be available for the contest.

Riddle and Rives Collect Patriot League Awards / Rives NAAA Athlete of the Week
Following a standout run of play this past week versus Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson, Alexa Riddle (Sr., Tomball, Texas) and Rylee Rives (Sr., Arlington, Texas) were honored on Monday as the Patriot League Offensive Player and Midfielder of the Week, respectively. 

Riddle, a senior forward, combined for five points during the Mids' 2-0 week on the strength of one goal and three assists. On Thursday versus Sacred Heart, she had a hand in all three of Navy's first half scores in the opening 24 minutes of play with assists on goals by Marlee Heaven and Chiara Cosenza, in addition to a goal of her own. In the Mids' second game of the Saturday, she assisted on Rylee Rives' first goal of the game as Navy won 3-2 over FDU. For the week, she took four shots over 126 minutes of action. This is the third career Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award for Riddle as she collected a pair of honors during the 2021 season.
 
Rives led the Mids with a team-high three goals this week courtesy of scores in each game. On Thursday night, she netted the game-winning goal in Navy's 5-3 win before coming back on Saturday and setting a career-high with two goals as part of the Mids' 3-2 win. Of note, her second goal stood up as the game-winner. Rives completed her feat in just 36 minutes to help the Mids take a 3-0 lead over the Knights into the halftime intermission. During Navy's 2-0 week, she tallied her three goals on just four shots on goal, while playing 145 minutes of action, including all 90 against FDU. This is the first career Patriot League weekly honor for Rives.

Additionally, Rives was selected on Monday as the Naval Academy Athletic Association's NAAA Athlete of the Week presented by Northrop Grumman for her week-long success.



Navy vs. Wilson
This is the first-ever meeting between the Mids and Phoenix ... Wilson College competes as a member of the United East Conference in the NCAA Division III ... Last season, Wilson finished with an overall record of 14-5-1 and an 8-1 mark in United East play to finish the regular season in second place in the conference.

Comparing the Teams

2023 Stats	Navy	Wilson
Record	9-7-3	14-5-1
Goals/Gm	2.11	3.25
Assists/Gm	2.05	1.70
Shots/Gm	14.6	23.4
Goals Against Average	1.05	0.94
GK Saves/Gm	4.0	3.9

Returning Individual Leaders

2023 Stats	Navy	Wilson
Goals	Cosenza/Riddle/I.Romano, 4	Shaffer, 22
Assists	Graziano, 6	Smith, 9
Points	I. Romano, 12	Shaffer, 48
Shots	Riddle, 42	Shaffer, 152
GK Saves	Applewhite, 4	Marakovitz, 57

Last Time Out: August 24 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
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 paced Navy's effort at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility against FDU (0-2-1) with her first career two-goal game.

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 played a lead pass up the left wing to Marlee Heaven, 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, 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.

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.

The visitors scored twice early in the second half (50th and 55th minutes) to tighten the game to a one-goal contest. 

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.

Freshman goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood collected her second consecutive victory as she finished with five saves.

Parking / Shuttle / Ticket Information
Fans are reminded that the general public does not have access to drive their vehicles on to the U.S. Naval Academy. Fans may park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a fee and take a shuttle that will run every 10 minutes starting one hour before the game and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium. Dogs are not permitted inside the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. All soccer contests at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility will be free of charge.