ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team faced the toughest test of its 2024 non-conference slate on Thursday night with a showdown versus No. 17 Ohio State. The undefeated Buckeyes (4-0-1) came out of the gates early and showcased a brand of crisp, physical soccer that resulted in two goals within the first 19 minutes and three overall in the first half on their way to a 4-0 victory over the Mids (4-4-0) at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

"We came out in the right mindset tonight, but giving up early goals changed the way we defended. This team has a great mentality, but Ohio State instilled some doubt and we did not pressure and tackle with a physical presence that was necessary," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Ohio State is too good for us to give them any room on the ball, to not press quickly in unison and to prepare to be physically engaged. We battled in the second half and had more composure to connect passes and keep longer stretches of possession. We will learn and grow from this experience and carry this over to our physical conference games."

Freshman goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood (Cypress, Texas) was called upon early as she turned aside Kailyn Dudukovich's first shot of the game 66 seconds into the contest.

Dudukovich made sure the Buckeyes' next shot was successful as she slotted her attempt into the back of the net at 3:03. Efficient control of the ball in the attacking third helped the visitors extend their lead to 2-0 at 18:53 after Amanda Schlueter found Jadin Bonham for a goal-scoring connection.

Navy had its first quality look at goal in the 30^th minute when Amanda Graziano (Sr., Middlebury, Conn.) struck a free kick that nearly snuck into the upper-90, but was denied by the intersection of the crossbar and side post.

Ohio State made it 3-0 at 35:07 when a Maliyah Morrison corner kick crossed into the box and was volleyed by Lily Danner towards the back post to Schlueter, who re-directed the ball into the goal.

Coming out in the second half trailing by three, the Mids kept their eyes on the goal and again used a high percentage free kick opportunity in the 54th minute to threaten the Buckeyes, but Chiara Cosenza (So., Westfield, N.J.) lofted her cross just a bit off target and Ohio State continued to hold the clean sheet.
Amanda Schlueter's second goal of the game at 61:08 iced the result in favor of the Buckeyes, who held the Mids at bay for the remaining 20-plus minutes.

For the game, Ohio State out-shot Navy, 18-1 with a 10-0 advantage in shots on goal.

Stramrood finished with five saves over 67:34 minutes of action in goal for the Mids. Coming in as relief, Talley Applewhite (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) denied the only Buckeye shot on goal that she saw on Thursday night.

Navy will be back in action at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility with a 1 p.m. matchup versus VMI on Sunday afternoon.