ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With Patriot League play coming closer into view, just two weeks away, the Navy women's soccer team will begin its final non-conference homestand this Thursday with a challenging bout versus No. 17 Ohio State. The Mids (4-3-0) and Buckeyes (3-0-1) will go head-to-head on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Navy's second Big Ten matchup in a week as it dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to Maryland the previous Thursday in Annapolis. This Navy-Ohio State contest completes a home-and-home series that begin back in 2021 with a 2-1 victory by the Buckeyes in Columbus. The 17th-ranked Buckeyes will be the first ranked team to play at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility since Aug. 25, 2019 when the Mids hosted LSU and fell 1-0 in double overtime.

Following Thursday night's game, Navy will close out its action-packed weekend with a Sunday matinee matchup versus VMI at 1 p.m. The Mids and Keydets (3-1-1) will meet for the first time on the pitch since 2015.

All of the women's soccer action this week will have live stats provided online, as well as ESPN+ broadcasts. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Navy vs. Ohio State / Big Ten Conference
Thursday will be the third meeting between the two schools in a series that began in 1996 with a Ohio State 2-0 victory on Sept. 8, 1996 in Annapolis ... The teams re-engaged their series 25 years later with the first half of a home-and-home on the Buckeyes' campus on Sept. 5, 2021; Ohio State kept its series lead clean with a 2-1 result over Navy that day ... Navy has gone up against Big Ten opponents 25 times with a 3-18-4 all-time mark (Iowa 0-0-1; Maryland 2-11-4; Ohio State 0-2-0; Penn State 1-3-0; UCLA 0-1-0; Wisconsin 0-1-0) ... Just this past Thursday, the Mids went toe-to-toe with the Maryland Terrapins before a go-ahead goal in the 74th minute provided the necessary 1-0 edge for the visitors from College Park ... With the ideology of iron sharpening iron, the Midshipmen and head coach Carin Gabarra have made it a priority for the program to go up against the nation's best each and every non-conference campaign as Navy has played at least one Power 4 school in every season dating back to 2002; overall Navy has competed versus P4 institutions in 29 of 32 seasons with the only campaigns without a P5 opponent being the program's first two years, 1993, 1994, as well as 2001.

Last 5 Matchups vs. Big Ten
In the last five matchups dating back to 2021 versus Big Ten opposition, the Mids are 1-2-2 with four of those contests coming against Maryland and the fifth against Ohio State ... The scoring differential of those games is even at 8-8 ...
    Aug. 29, 2024 (H): Maryland 1 - Navy 0
    Aug. 24, 2023 (A): Navy 3 - Maryland 3
    Aug. 25, 2022 (H): Navy 1 - Maryland 1
    Sept. 5, 2021 (A): Ohio State 2 - Navy 1
    Aug. 29, 2021 (A): Navy 3 - Maryland 1

Most Recent Navy-Ohio State Matchup: September 5, 2021
The Navy women's soccer team completed its two-game set of action in Ohio with a hard-fought 90-minute loss at Ohio State University by a final score of 2-1 on Sunday. Taking on a Buckeye team that was receiving votes in last week's top-25 poll and knocked off No. 18 UCF earlier in the week, the Mids found themselves in an early 1-0 hole as the host squad scored 92 seconds into the contest at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. A gritty club, Navy fought back during the game, tying it with a Carolyn Mang goal in the 21st minute before Ohio State netted the go-ahead goal early in the second half to secure the victory.
 
In a storyline similar to last Sunday's matchup at Maryland, the host team, this time the Ohio State Buckeyes, jumped out to an early lead with a Kailyn Dudukovich goal 92 seconds into the game.
 
With the score 1-0 in favor of Ohio State, the Buckeyes were on the hunt for a larger lead as they rattled off three straight shots on goal between the ninth and 13th minutes, though Navy's Mattie Gallagher stonewalled all of those attempts to keep her club in the contest. After that strong defensive effort, the Mids started making in-roads on the offensive end of the field. That pressure eventually resulted in the game-tying goal for the visitors. In a run of play building off of a corner kick, Chloe Dawson swung a crossing shot on goal, that the Buckeyes' goalkeeper, Bailey Kolinski, punched into the air where Mang leapt over her nearest defender and powerfully headed the loose ball into the back of the net at 20:27.
 
The back-and-forth nature of the action flipped back to the Buckeyes, who recorded the final four shots of the first half, including another shot on goal, which Gallagher denied.
 
Coming out of the halftime intermission with the game tied 1-1, Ohio State took advantage of an unsettled open to the second half by Navy and recorded two shots within the first five minutes. Unfortunately for the Mids, that second shot, a Kine Flotre attempt beat Gallagher and the hosts were back in the lead by one, 2-1 at 49:54.
 
Unfazed by the one-goal deficit, Navy turned its focus back onto drawing even again as less than five minutes later, Caitlin Doran received a cross from the wing and snapped a header shot on goal that required an athletic stop by Kolinski. Holding a 2-1 lead, Ohio State controlled most of the offensive action over the final 30 minutes of the contest as the Buckeyes recorded six of the game's final seven shots, including an effort in the 65th minute that was destined for the goal if not for a dramatic sweep off the line by Jenna Daunt. Unable to make deep in-roads in Ohio State's defensive third, Navy's lone shot down the final stretch of action was a Katie Herrmann attempt that missed wide right in the 90th minute.
 
For the game, Ohio State outshot Navy, 19-4 with a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal and a 10-1 margin in corner kicks.

The Mids' senior quartet of Tatum Kelly (90 minutes), Amanda Graziano (21 minutes), Alexa Riddle (62 minutes) and Rylee Rives (32 minutes) all played against the Buckeyes in this contest.

Navy vs. VMI / SoCon Conference
Sunday marks seventh-ever meeting between the Mids and Keydets ... All-time, Navy is undefeated at 6-0 and has out-scored VMI 15-2, with a 4-0 record and 10-2 scoring differential in games played at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility ... The series dates back to Sept. 25, 2007 when the Mids knocked off the Keydets, 2-1 in Annapolis; the series continued with matchups in each of the next three seasons, flipping home-and-away contests ... Recently, Navy has regularly played teams from the Southern Conference as it traveled to Wofford in 2023 (Sept. 3; W, 3-1) and hosted The Citadel (Aug. 18; W, 2-0) and Western Carolina (Aug. 21; T, 0-0) in 2022 ... All-time, the Mids are 14-0-2 against SoCon opposition.

All 6 Matchups vs. VMI
In the six previous matchups dating back to 2007, the Mids are 6-0 with a 15-2 scoring advantage over the Keydets
    Aug. 28, 2015 (H): Navy 2 - VMI 1
    Sept. 16, 2012 (H): Navy 5 - VMI 0
    Sept. 17, 2010 (A): Navy 4 - VMI 0
    Sept. 18, 2009 (H): Navy 1 - VMI 0
    Sept. 14, 2008 (A): Navy 1 - VMI 0
    Sept. 25, 2007 (H): Navy 2 - VMI 1

Most Recent Navy-VMI Matchup: Aug. 28, 2015
Midfielder Meghan Hegarty scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute to lead the Navy women's soccer team past VMI, 2-1, Friday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

Navy (2-1) came out strong in the first half, outshooting VMI, 17-1 and held a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks. Senior defender Lexi Ricketts gave the Mids a 1-0 lead with 34 seconds left in the first half as she tipped in a one-timer off a pass from freshman Abby Goodrich inside the six-yard box.

VMI (1-2) responded in the 77th minute with a counterattack. Sophomore Kayla Blake began the offensive opportunity from midfield and sent a through ball into Navy's 18-yard box where teammate Olivia Cotton gained possession. Cotton took two touches inside the 18 before she sent a liner past Navy goalkeeper Taygan Grundy to the far post for the equalizer.

With the score knotted 1-1, Navy used a well-timed give-and-go as Hegarty passed to freshman Eleanor Pratt, who led Hegarty just atop the 18. Hegarty took one touch and struck a hard shot to the upper corner of the net past VMI goalie Darien Dunham for the game-winning goal in the 84th minute.

Navy overwhelmed VMI on the stat sheet, holding advantages in shots, 29-6, shots on goal, 12-4 and corner kicks, 9-3. Grundy earned her first win of the season in net, recording three saves on four chances. Dunham fell to 1-2 as she tallied 10 saves on 12 chances.

Comparing the Teams

2024 Stats	Navy	Ohio St.	VMI
Record	4-3-0	3-0-1	3-1-1
Goals/Gm	2.86	2.25	1.20
Assists/Gm	2.71	1.50	1.00
Shots/Gm	14.3	19.3	9.0
Goals Against Average	1.57	0.50	1.03
GK Saves/Gm	3.86	4.75	4.80

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Ohio State	VMI
Goals	Graziano/Rives, 3	Dudukovich, 5	Boucher, 3
Assists	Abusham, 4	Jad. Bonham, 3	Hegarty, 2
Points	Graziano/Rives, 7	Dudukovich, 10	Boucher, 6
Shots	Graziano/Heaven, 10	Dudukovich, 20	Fyfe, 7
GK Saves	Stramrood, 20	Pritchard, 18	Tracy, 24

Last Time Out: September 1 at Marist
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 and Amanda Graziano provided the Mids' offensive fireworks with first-half goals in the 16th and 44th minutes of action.

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 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 launched a throw-in deep into the box to Mimi Abusham, 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 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 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.
 
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