ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The stretch run of Patriot League women's soccer begins for Navy this Wednesday afternoon with a road outing at American. Looking to make up ground in an extremely packed leaderboard in which first and ninth are separated by just five points, the Mids (8-5-2, 1-2-2 PL) will take aim at surpassing the Eagles (2-8-3, 2-3-0 PL) who sit just one point ahead of them in the standings. Navy controls its postseason destiny as all four remaining games involve teams above or tied with it in the Patriot League standings. Kickoff at American's Reeves Field is set for 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Navy-American contest will have live stats provided online, as well as an accompanying ESPN+ broadcast. 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. American
Wednesday will be the 34th meeting between the two nearby schools in a series that began on Sept. 7, 1994 ... Navy leads the series 20-9-4 and has outscored American, 60-31 all-time ... The Mids are 9-4-2 when matching up with the Eagles in D.C. and have won six of the last seven contests on American's campus ... Navy and American have gone through large momentum swings throughout this series as the Mids won the first four meetings from 1994-1998 before stringing together a recent run of 15 games with just a single loss (13-1-1) from 2011-2023, including two postseason victories during that span ... During that 13-year run of recent play for Navy, the Mids have outscored the Eagles, 31-7.

Last Five Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2021, Navy is 2-2-1 and has outscored American, 4-3 ... Four of the five contests have been decided by one or fewer goals.
    Oct. 16, 2024 (H): American 1 - Navy 0
    Oct. 11, 2023 (A): American 1 - Navy 0
    Oct. 12, 2022 (H): Navy 1 - American 0
    Oct. 13, 2021 (A): Navy 2 - American 0
    April 9, 2021 (H): Navy 1 - American 1

Most Recent Navy-American Matchup: October 16, 2024 in Annapolis
Navy fell victim to an early own goal and dropped a Patriot League contest to American University on Wednesday night by a score of 1-0. In a nip-and-tuck game throughout the 90 minutes of action at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, a deflected shot off a Midshipmen defender allowed the Eagles to collect an important three points in the crowded Patriot League table.

The visiting Eagles came out with an aggressive attacking brand of soccer to start Wednesday night as they took three shots over the opening six minutes, including attempts by Lailah Stewart and Izzy Kadzban that forced the Mids' goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood into action with saves. A little over four minutes from that initial rush of offense at 10:36, American's pressure resulted in a goal as a wide shot by Stewart was re-directed off a Navy defender and into the back of the net.

Ahead 1-0, the Eagles kept their pedal on the offensive gas and nearly made it 2-0 in the 16th minute when Jennifer McGuire found herself open at six-yard box for a one-touch shot on goal that required Stramrood to dive to her left for the save.

Navy started its comeback efforts shortly there after with two shots in a matter of four minutes by Hannah Mulholland in the 18th minute and Isabella Romano in the 22nd, though both were slightly off frame. The Mids' looks honed in on the Eagles' goal down the stretch of the first half with four attempts over the final six minutes. Alexa Riddle recorded their first shot on goal as she ripped a shot that was initially saved by Addison Roemer, but immediately deflected out to Marlee Heaven, who pushed her shot wide. Emma Romano tallied the second shot on goal during this span with a dart that had eyes for the lower left corner of the goal mouth in the 43rd minute, but was denied by Roemer.

With the score 1-0 coming out after halftime, American took aim at extending its lead with a corner kick, two shots and a dangerous cross during the first 15 minutes of action. The cross in the 52nd minute saw Stramrood sky up over a host of Eagle attackers and punch the ball away from danger before crashing down to the ground.

Stramrood continued to keep American at bay with her second save of the period in the 64th minute. A little over eight minutes later, Emma Romano did her part in backing up Stramrood and keeping it a one-score contest as she sprinted in and swept away a shot by Brooke Steel that was inches away from crossing the goal line.

Navy's offense kept up its attack over the final 15 minutes of play as Chiara Cosenza ripped a free kick that saw American's new keeper Julia Kato leap up from her position and push the shot over the cross bar in the 75th minute before Jordan Townsend headed a free kick on frame in the 89th minute for the Mids' final look.

For the game, American out-shot Navy, 14-11 with an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. The Eagles also held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Stramrood finished with seven saves. Tonight was her fourth appearance in 2024 with seven stops.

Comparing the Teams

2025 Stats	Navy	American
Record / League	8-5-2 / 1-2-2 PL	2-8-3 / 2-3-0 PL
Home / Away / Neutral	6-1-1 / 2-4-0 / 0-0-1	2-4-2 / 0-4-1
Goals/Gm	1.93	0.92
Assists/Gm	1.60	1.23
Shots/Gm	14.3	10.9
Goals Against Average	0.93	1.54
GK Saves/Gm	3.87	5.92
Common Non-Conference Opponent(s):	UMBC - W, 3-0 VCU - L, 1-2	UMBC - T, 1-1 VCU - T, 1-1

Individual Leaders

	Navy	American
Goals	Heaven, 8	McGuire, 3
Assists	Cosenza, 5	Merrigan, 4
Points	Heaven, 18	McGuire, 9
Shots	Heaven, 25	Klingensmith, 28
GK Saves	Stramrood, 48	Roemer, 63

Last Time Out: Friday, October 10 vs. Army in Chester, Pennsylvania
The first-ever Army-Navy Cup played at Subaru Park will go down as one of the most memorable for the two rivalry service academies as over 6,000 fans in attendance at the MLS stadium were treated to hard fought 2-2 contest on Friday. The Mids jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 48th minute before the Black Knights rallied late with a pair of goals in the final 26 minutes. Friday's game was the second of 26 meetings this academic year between the rivalry service academies as part of the Army-Navy Series presented by USAA.

Navy's senior class starred in Friday's action as Mimi Abusham registered the Mids' first goal as she put home a lead pass from Marlee Heaven in the 36th minute before Heaven scored herself in the 48th when she converted a penalty kick.

The passion was on display early at Subaru Park as the ball was moving up-and-down the pitch with each of the respective goalies being tested over the opening 14 minutes. Natasha Stramrood was up to the task for the Mids with one save during that span and a second coming in the 23rd minute.

Coming in fresh off the bench, Abusham made sure she'd make an impact in her final Star Match as just over 12 minutes after she checked in, she put her squad up 1-0 with second goal of 2025. The scoring opportunity began when Heaven headed a punt from Army's goalkeeper Karalyn Dail directly back toward the Black Knights' goal where Abusham rushed up on the ball and easily maneuvered around one defender and ripped a low line drive into the net at 35:21.

Army registered the final four shots of the first half, but all for naught as they missed off-target.

Coming out of the locker room up 1-0, Navy doubled its lead within minutes as Heaven was fouled as she dribbled into the 18-yard box, drawing a penalty kick opportunity. The sharp-shooting senior calmly deposited her penalty kick into the left-side netting to put the Mids up 2-0 at 47:35.

The Black Knights didn't allow that margin to last long as less than seven minutes later at 54:21, Grace Pohlidal deflected home a loose ball following a free kick into the box.

Army continued to hunt for that game-tying goal as the Black Knights recorded 10 of the next 12 shots. Unfortunately for the Mids, that 12th shot ended up being another goal off the foot of Pohlidal at 84:13.

That score stood up for the final 5:47 of play and the 31st Army-Navy Star Match went final 2-2. In dedicated Star matchups, the series leans towards Navy, 15-11-5 all-time.

For the game, Army out-shot Navy, 22-11 with a much smaller 6-5 margin for shots on goal to the Black Knights. Stramrood finished with four saves.