ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team welcomes in-state and in-conference rival Loyola on Wednesday in the 2024 Patriot League home opener for the Mids. Coming off an opening weekend that saw the Mids (7-5. 1-0 PL) roll on the road with a 3-0 win at Lehigh, while the Greyhounds (4-2-3, 0-0-1 PL) came away with 1-1 draw at home against Boston University, the teams will go head-to-head in Annapolis beginning at 7 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Two of the most evenly-matched programs recently in the Patriot League, Navy and Loyola have played four one-goal games over their past five meetings, with the outlier being a 2-0 victory by the Mids in 2021.

Navy vs. Loyola
In a series that dates back to the first-ever NCAA Division I game for Navy on Sept. 4, 1993, the Mids are 11-5-4 all-time against the Greyhounds ... After dropping the first two games of the series in 1993 and 1994, Navy has fallen to Loyola just three times in the past 29 years; a Sept. 24, 2016 meeting by a score of 2-1 in double overtime before getting nipped 1-0 in games during the 2022 and 2023 regular season contest ... Since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2013, Navy is 5-3-3 over 11 regular season meetings ... The teams have met six times in Baltimore with the Mids posting a 3-2-1 mark.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2021, Navy is 3-2-0 and has outscored Loyola, 4-2
    Sept. 20, 2023 (A): Loyola 1 - Navy 0
    Sept. 21, 2022 (H): Loyola 1 - Navy 0
    Sept. 22, 2021 (A): Navy 2 - Loyola 0
    April 14, 2021 (H): Navy 1 - Loyola 0 (Patriot League Semifinals)
    March 27, 2021 (A): Navy 1 - Loyola 0, OT

Most Recent Matchup - September 20, 2023 in Baltimore
In a rivalry that has seen six of its last seven matchups go down to the wire with one-goal or overtime decisions, Navy and Loyola once again battled in a tight contest on Wednesday night at the Ridley Athletic Complex. The host Greyhounds (7-2, 2-0 PL) took advantage of a defensive miscue deep in the Mids' (5-2-3, 1-1 PL) zone to knock home an opportunistic goal in the 13th minute on their way to a 1-0 victory.
 
The action opened with Loyola on the attack as the Greyhounds pressed up and were twice called for offsides in the initial six minutes. That pressure quickly resulted in a goal in the 13th minute as the Mids were unsettled on defense and misplayed a ball that was intercepted by the Greyhounds and crossed swiftly into the box for a Delaney DeMartino header shot and score at 12:38.

Less than two minutes later, Navy looked for the equalizer as Katie Herrmann squared up a shot and forced Loyola's goalkeeper Paige Sim into action with a save.

Mattie Gallagher did her best to keep it a one-goal margin for the Mids over the ensuing 30 minutes of the opening half as she was called upon three more times to deny quality looks by the Greyhounds.

Navy started the second half with its eyes locked on netting the tying goal. In the 49th minute, Alexa Riddle curled a cross off the right wing and the ball was immediately deflected out to Amanda Graziano, who sprinted up and one-timed a shot that sailed just wide of the goal.

The north-south action continued deeper into the second period as Gallagher sprawled out horizontally to her right to bat away a dangerous Baylee DeSmit shot on goal in the 65th minute.

Holding a 1-0 lead, the already defensive-first Loyola squad tightened its shape and forced Navy into even tougher possessions, that resulted in just two shots over the final 20 minutes of action. The Mids were equally adapt on defense and stonewalled the Greyhounds, as well as the game went final with a 1-0 score.

For the game, Loyola outshot Navy, 17-7 and held a 6-2 edge in shots on goal. Gallagher was strong in goal for the Mids as she turned aside five Greyhound attempts.

Comparing the Teams

2024 Stats	Navy	Loyola
Record / League	7-5 / 1-0 PL	4-2-3 / 0-0-1 PL
Home / Away	5-2 / 2-3	3-1-3 / 1-1-0
Goals/Gm	2.33	1.11
Assists/Gm	2.17	1.11
Shots/Gm	13.8	12.0
Goals Against Average	1.58	0.79
GK Saves/Gm	4.58	3.89
Common Opponent(s): n/a	---	---

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Loyola
Goals	Heaven, 5	DeSmit, 7
Assists	Abusham, 4	Tarazon, 3
Points	Graziano, 11	DeSmit, 16
Shots	Riddle, 26	DeSmit, 50
GK Saves	Stramrood, 47	Mulholland, 35

Last Time Out: September 20 at Lehigh 
The Navy women's soccer team turned in a complete 90-minute effort over Lehigh in the Patriot League-opening game for both squads. The Mids scored early and often with two goals before the 20-minute mark before notching an insurance goal in the 61st minute to earn a 3-0 victory over the Mountain Hawks at the Ulrich Sports Complex.

Lauren Toms and Chiara Cosenza tallied Navy's first two goals in the first half before Alexa Riddle put away the team's third score in the second half. Ande Swan played a leading role in the facilitation for the Mids on Friday night as she assisted on both of Toms and Riddle's goals. Natasha Stramrood was stellar in goal for Navy with seven saves.

The action at Lehigh started out fast and furious with each team putting a shot on goal over the opening eight minutes of play. The Mids kept up the end-to-end action and recorded the first score of Friday night's contest when Swan slotted a pass from the near corner of the six-yard box untouched to the waiting Toms at the back post for a one-time shot and goal at 9:30.

Navy continued the offensive pressure as in the 18th minute, Cosenza received a pass and posted up a Mountain Hawk defender before drawing a foul at the top edge of the 18-yard box, causing the ref to immediately point to the penalty spot. Moments later, Cosenza calmly walked up to the ball and deposited her penalty shot into the back of the net at 17:31.

Later on in the first half with the score 2-0, Stramrood made sure the Mids' two-goal lead stood up as Carly Keane's shot in the 38th minute had eyes for the far corner of the goal, but Stramrood sprawled out for a completely horizontal save to deny the attempt.

The end-to-end pace that marked much of the first half continued into the second stanza as a Navy attack inside the box was short-circuited in the 50th minute before Lehigh raced down the field and constructed its own threatening attack that concluded with another Keane shot on goal, that forced Stramrood into action. The Mids added an important insurance goal in 61st minute when Swan bodied a Mountain Hawk player off the ball and quickly laid off a short pass to Rives, who one-time a ball over the top to Riddle, who raced up and went in the final 30-plus yards with just her and the goalkeeper. Riddle's shot officially went in for a 3-0 lead at 60:06.

Navy's defense closed out its first league win and second shutout of 2024 with a strong final 30 minutes at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Stramrood led from the back with four saves during this span, including a trio of stops on shots by Aminah Baruwa in the 78th, 87th and 89th minutes.

For the game, Lehigh out-shot Navy, 17-10 with a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal. The hosts also held a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.

Stramrood collected her first collegiate solo shutout with seven saves. That total ties her season-best efforts at Rice (Aug. 18) and at Temple (Sept. 15).

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 Glenn Warner will be free of charge