ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Coming off an 11-game stretch of non-conference play, the Navy women's soccer team will turn its attention for the next eight weeks to Patriot League regular season competition with the potential postseason action. First up for the Mids (6-5) is a trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Lehigh University on Friday evening. The Mids' and Mountain Hawks' (1-3-4) 32-year old series will pick up on the pitch at the Ulrich Sports Complex with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

The Navy-Lehigh will have live stats provided online, as well as a broadcast on Lehigh's Mountain Hawks All Access channel. The stream will be free of charge.

Navy vs. Lehigh
Friday will be the 35th meeting between the two schools in a series that began on Sept. 18, 1993 ... Navy leads the series 24-6-4 and has outscored Lehigh, 60-25 all-time ... After going 0-2-1 over the teams' first three meetings, Navy has kicked the series into gear with an 24-4-3 mark beginning in 1996 ... Navy is 7-5-2 all-time in matchups at Lehigh ... Prior to the Mids' loss to the Mountain Hawks on Oct. 7, 2022 (they fell in the postseason to Lehigh that season, as well), the team had won 11 straight games, in which they had outscored the Mountain Hawks, 22-3 ... The two teams led off the slate of Patriot League games during the 2023 season.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2021, the Mids are 3-2 though the Mountain Hawks have outscored them 8-5, including 6-0 over a pair of 2022 matchups
    Sept. 15, 2023 (H): Navy 1 - Lehigh 0
    Oct. 30, 2022 (A): Lehigh 4 - Navy 0 *Patriot League Quarterfinals
    Oct. 7, 2022 (A): Lehigh 2 - Navy 0
    Oct. 8, 2021 (H): Navy 2 - Lehigh 1
    April 3, 2021 (H): Navy 2 - Lehigh 1

Most Recent Matchup - September 15, 2023 in Annapolis
The Navy women's soccer team opened Patriot League action with a complete 90-minute effort against Lehigh and came away with a 1-0 win at home on Friday night. Scoreless going into halftime, the Mids (5-1-3, 1-0-0 PL) bolted ahead in the 49th minute when Alexa Riddle made the Mountain Hawks (3-2-3, 0-1-0 PL) pay for a turnover with a quick one-timer goal. Senior goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher backstopped Navy to the clean sheet victory at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility with three saves.
 
The game opened with a heavy influence of midfield and defensive play as the teams combined for just four total shots for the initial 20 minutes of play. Navy started gaining more traction in the offensive end in the second half of the opening period with Riddle testing Lehigh's Maggie Ousouljoglou in the 24th minute. Jenna Daunt peppered the Mountain Hawks' goalkeeper in quick succession in the 32nd and 35th minutes with consecutive shots on goal. Her second shot was extra dangerous as Riddle drew attention to the right wing before slotting a pass into the six-yard box to Daunt, who didn't miss a beat and ripped a one-timer shot to the near corner of the goal only to have Ousouljoglou kick-save the shot away at the last second.

The Mids had one more look at the goal in the closing moments of the first half as Kat Healey nearly connected with Rylee Rives on a corner kick. Possessing the bouncing ball, Rives toe-poked the ball towards the upper-90, but once again the Mountain Hawks' goalkeeper denied the scoring chance.

Tied coming out the locker room after halftime, Navy's dynamic attacking trio of Marlee Heaven, Amanda Graziano and Riddle made Lehigh pay for an error in its defensive third. After pressure by Heaven turned the Mountain Hawks over 30 yards from goal, Riddle set Graziano for a shot that was initially blocked, but an alert Riddle charged in on the loose ball and blasted a blistering shot into the back of the net at 48:30.

Over the next 42 minutes, Navy's defense stood up against a versatile and athletic Lehigh attack that was constantly buzzing on the attacking side of the field. Though the Mountain Hawks were active with the ball only one of their final six shots were on goal, a Hope Flanegin effort from long distance in the 88th minute. The hosts Midshipmen also withstood four Mountain Hawk corner kick opportunities in the second half as they tried to draw even.

For the game, both teams recorded 13 shots, though Navy put eight of those shots on goal versus just three for Lehigh. The corner kick statistic was even, as well as both squads had four restarts from the corner.

Comparing the Teams

2024 Stats	Navy	Lehigh
Record / League	6-5 / 0-0	1-3-4 / 0-0
Home / Away	5-2 / 1-3	0-2-2 / 1-1-2
Goals/Gm	2.27	1.00
Assists/Gm	2.09	0.63
Shots/Gm	14.2	10.6
Goals Against Average	1.73	2.00
GK Saves/Gm	4.36	4.88
Common Opponent(s): Maryland	L, 0-1	L, 0-2

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Lehigh
Goals	Heaven, 5	Russell, 2
Assists	Abusham, 4	Five Players, 1
Points	Graziano, 11	Russell, 4
Shots	Riddle, 23	Brossard, 22
GK Saves	Stramrood, 40	Ousouljoglou, 39

Last Time Out: September 15 at Temple
The Navy women's soccer team rounded out its non-conference slate with a road contest at Temple University on Sunday afternoon. After 90 minutes of end-to-end action, the host Owls were victorious by a score of 1-0 over the Mids at the Temple Sports Complex.

Navy's goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood highlighted the team's individual efforts on Sunday as she matched her career-high with seven saves.

The first half was filled with action up-and-down the pitch as Navy controlled the majority of the possession and chances in the first 10 minutes with three shots. Temple started evening out the possession a bit more over the next 10 minutes as the Owls recorded a pair of shots, including a 20th minute shot on goal by Sumaya Togba.

A sloppy turnover in the defense third by Temple saw Chiara Cosenza intercept a poor clearance and take a few dribbles before ripping a shot on goal. Unfortunately for the Mids, the Owls' goalkeeper Tamsin Bynoe was there for the save in the 21st minute. A little over three minutes later, Stramrood flexed her goalkeeping skills with a dynamic diving save to the back corner that pushed a Togba shot on goal just wide.

The back-and-forth action reached a crescendo at 30:54 when Yao Zhou was on the receiving end of two quick passes in the goal box to re-direct a shot into the back of the net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Trailing with just over 14 minutes left in the first half, Navy kept its focus on netting an equalizer and had two high-percentage looks as Kayana Adlam was hit in stride with a through ball over the top in the 37th minute before a Temple defender pushed her off the ball temporarily to allow Bynoe to use that brief break of daylight to pounce on the loose ball. In the waning seconds of the half, Hannah Mulholland launched a free kick that skipped through the box and found Amanda Graziano, who flicked a shot wide.

The opening 15 minutes of the second half was fairly even as both teams were credited with three shots, though two of the Owls' attempts required saves by Stramrood, while only Adlam's shot in the 60th minute forced Bynoe into action.

Trailing 1-0 in the 70th minute, Stramrood made sure her team stayed within striking distance as she denied the Owls' look at an insurance goal when Gabby Oudin snapped a header shot after receiving a curling free kick to the near post; Stramrood read the cross the whole way and quickly snagged Oudin's attempt.

The end-to-end action continued as Isabella Romano fed Cosenza for a one-time shot on goal that was initially saved, but Alexa Riddle collected the rebound, had her first shot blocked and then her next shot saved by Bynoe in a matter of seven seconds. Navy's final shot on goal came in the 84th minute in a well-built up look that saw Marlee Heaven head the ball ahead to Riddle, who headed the ball on one bounce into space where Mulholland met it for a volley shot that was deflected away by Bynum.

For the game, Temple out-shot Navy, 17-12 with an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.