POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – In a tale of two halves at Tenney Stadium, the Navy women's soccer team built itself out a 2-0 lead over Marist College as part of an offensive first half that saw 20 combined shots before the Midshipmen and Red Foxes' defenses tightened up in the final 45 with just four total shots allowed. A Navy (4-3) defensive breakdown on a Marist (0-4-1) corner kick attempt during the second half saw the score go final at 2-1 in favor of the visitors.  

Chiara Cosenza (So., Westfield, N.J.) and Amanda Graziano (Sr., Middlebury, Conn.) provided the Mids' offensive fireworks with first-half goals in the 16th and 44th minutes of action.

"This game was defined by defense," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Both sides defended well. Marist hangs its hat on being a defensive-first team so we had to make our chances count because they did a very good job of defending us; we did that with two excellent finishes by Chiara and Amanda.

"It got a little frantic in the second half when it became a one-goal game. We're really disappointed that we lost our marks on the corner kick. We had done a very good job matching up and moving around up to that point."

The first half saw both teams active on the offensive attack, but saw their final efforts thwarted by the opposing defenses as 20 combined shots resulted in just three shots on goal over the opening 45 minutes.

Navy's defense made it mark early as it stood tall during a chaotic series of action in the 14th minute when the Mids blocked four shots in succession coming off a Red Fox corner kick before Natasha Stramrood (Fr., Cypress, Texas) fell on the ball to quell the push.

Navy's effort quickly transitioned to the opposite end of the pitch when less than two minutes later, Rylee Rives (Sr., Arlington, Texas) launched a throw-in deep into the box to Mimi Abusham (Jr., Los Alamitos, Calif.), who bodied off her defender and slotted a square pass to Cosenza. Once in control of the ball, Cosenza took aim for the far upper-90 and lofted her shot in for the early goal to put the Mids up 1-0 at 15:22.

The Red Foxes' first shot on goal of the game came in the 38th minute and was easily denied by Stramrood as Anna Maggi's shot didn't have much on it.

The Mids doubled up their lead at 43:07 when Mackenzie Morrow (Fr., Jacksonville, N.C.) led Graziano into space and after a few dribbles the senior made it count as she deposited her shot into the back of the net.

At the half, Marist was out-shooting Navy, 13-7.

Following the halftime intermission, Marist got onto the scoreboard in the 52' minute when the Red Foxes converted a out-swinging corner kick that Maille McDermott headed home.

With the score 2-1, defense was the name of the game for the ensuing 30 minutes as both teams tallied just one shot each, neither of which were on target. The Mids' final dangerous look came in the 84th minute on a layoff from Marlee Heaven (Jr., Rockville, Md.) to Graziano about 25 yards from goal, though her shot rang off the football crossbar just over a foot above the soccer crossbar. Navy's defense held off all final looks from Marist in the defensive third to lock in the 2-1 road victory, its first of the young 2024 season.

For the game, Marist out-shot Navy, 15-9 with both teams putting two shots on goal. The host Red Foxes had a significant 7-0 advantage in corner kicks to keep the pressure on the Mids throughout.

"Overall, it's tough to play on the road and especially on the turf so we're pleased with today's result," commented Gabarra. "We also had to lean on our depth a little bit more today as we were missing Alexa [Riddle] and Tatum [Kelly] from our starting lineup. Experiences like today will make us better as the season progresses."

Navy will continue its run of non-conference play with a pair of home tilts this coming week. Next up will be a Thursday evening matchup versus Ohio State at 7 p.m. before VMI comes to the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility for a Sunday 1 p.m. contest.