ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team has the chance to win its way into the postseason on Wednesday night in the program's regular season finale at Loyola. Currently sitting on the outside of a three-way tie for fifth place in the Patriot League with nine points, the Mids (9-6-3, 2-3-3 PL) control their destiny as Wednesday's matchup features a Greyhound (5-4-7, 2-2-4 PL) squad that sits just one point ahead of the Holy Cross-Lafayette-Navy cluster in fourth place with 10 points. A victory would surpass the Greyhounds, while a tie and some help could also allow the Mids to qualify for the upcoming Patriot League Tournament that begins at Sunday, Nov. 2. The action on Wednesday kicks off at Loyola's Ridley Athletic Complex at 6 p.m.

The Navy-Loyola contest will have live stats provided online, as well as an 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.

Patriot League Standings & Final Matchup (as of Oct. 28)
  t1. Boston Univ. (6-1-1; 19 pts)  -- vs. Colgate (10/29; 6 PM)
  t1. Colgate (6-1-1; 19 pts) -- at Boston Univ. (10/29; 6 PM)
  3. Army (5-2-1; 16 pts) -- at Holy Cross (10/29; 6 PM)
  4. Loyola (2-2-4; 10 pts) -- vs. Navy (10/29; 6 PM)
  t5. Holy Cross (2-3-3; 9 pts) -- vs. Army (10/29; 6 PM)
  t5. Lafayette (2-3-3; 9 pts) -- vs. Lehigh (10/29; 7 PM)
  t5. Navy (2-3-3; 9 pts) -- at Loyola (10/29; 6 PM)
  t8. Bucknell (1-3-4; 7 pts) -- vs. American (10/29; 7 PM)
  t8. American (2-5-1; 7 pts) -- at Bucknell (10/29; 7 PM)
  10. Lehigh (1-6-1; 4 pts) -- at Lafayette (10/29; 7 PM)
 
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 12-5-4 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 6-3-3 over 12 regular season meetings ... The teams have met seven times in Baltimore with the Mids posting a 3-3-1 mark.

Last 5 Matchups
In the last five meetings dating back to 2021, Navy is 3-2-0 and has outscored Loyola, 7-5
    Sept. 25, 2024 (H): Navy 4 - Loyola 3
    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)

Most Recent Matchup - September 25, 2024 in Annapolis
If one was to tell the fans that braved the sporadic rain showers on Wednesday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, that they would witness a competitive one-goal women's soccer game between local rivals, Navy and Loyola, they probably would believe it based on the recent series results that saw Loyola win back-to-back meetings by 1-0 scores after Navy won the previous three matchups by a combined four goals, but little did they know that at the conclusion of 90 minutes, the Mids (8-5, 2-0 PL) would walk away with a wild 4-3 victory over the Greyhounds (4-3-3, 0-1-1 PL).

Alexa Riddle was the sparkplug for Navy's offensive fireworks as the explosive striker netted her first career hat trick within the initial 31 minutes of play on Wednesday. Tied late at 3-3, Chiara Cosenza headed home a rebound off an Amanda Graziano shot in the 82nd minute to give the Mids the win. Graziano was around nearly all of the goals for Navy as she tied the team's program-record with three assists.

The action started out fast-and-furious as Graziano lofted a deep corner kick towards the center of the six-yard box that was met by the leaping Riddle for a powerful header shot to the back of the net at 5:34. 

Navy's 1-0 lead didn't last long as the Patriot League's leading scorer Baylee DeSmit entered her name into the box score with a powerful shot and goal at 9:25. With the score 1-1, DeSmit took aim on her second tally as she blistered a shot on goal in the 16th minute that forced Natasha Stramrood into an athletic save.

The back-and-forth play continued into the middle portion of the first half and the scoring picked up as Riddle dialed up her second goal of the game at 24:31. Unlike her first tally that came from inside the box, this goal came after Graziano dropped a short free kick to her classmate, who rocketed a shot inside the low far post from 25-plus yards out.

Riddle kept up her aggressive scoring pace as just over six minutes later she netted a go-to "Alexa Riddle goal" that saw her electric speed catch a long Hannah Mulholland pass behind Loyola's defense and race in one-on-one with the Greyhounds' goalkeeper before slotting a shot into the low right corner at 30:47. The hat trick was the 20th in program history and first against a Patriot League opponent since Nov. 3, 2017 when Ash Fairow scored three goals against Colgate in the semifinals of the PL Tournament.

Stramrood continued holding the score at 3-1 with two more saves over the opening five minutes of the second half. That run of success came to an end at 50:39 when DeSmit earned a penalty kick opportunity that she converted to make it one-goal game.

The visitors completed their comeback at 68:20 when DeSmit struck a free kick into the box that met the head of Zoe Willis to draw the Greyhounds even at 3-3.

As the end-to-end track meet moved into the final 10 minutes of action, Stramrood came up with her sixth and final save in the 81st minute on another DeSmit shot on the goal before the ball was released down the field where Riddle played Graziano into the 18-yard box for a shot on goal that was batted into the air by Hannah Mulholland, but near enough to Cosenza that the sophomore soared up and headed the ball over the goalkeeper for the go-ahead score at 81:47.

Loyola valiantly tried to re-tie the game down the stretch, but were only able to muster one shot that was blocked as time expired.

For the game, Loyola out-shot Navy, 20-17, though the hosts had a minute 10-9 edge in shots on goal. The Mids held a slight 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Stramrood completed the eighth win of her freshman campaign with six saves.

Comparing the Teams

2025 Stats	Navy	Loyola
Record / League	9-6-3 / 2-3-3 PL	5-4-7 / 2-2-4 PL
Home / Away / Neutral	6-2-1 / 3-4-1 / 0-0-1	2-3-3 / 3-1-4
Goals/Gm	1.83	0.81
Assists/Gm	1.61	0.81
Shots/Gm	14.9	9.5
Goals Against Average	0.94	0.88
GK Saves/Gm	4.00	3.88
Common Non-Conference Opponent(s):	VCU - L, 1-2	VCU - L, 0-2

Individual Leaders

	Navy	Loyola
Goals	Heaven, 9	Four Players, 2
Assists	Cosenza, 5	Khachatourians, 3
Points	Heaven, 21	Five Players, 5
Shots	Heaven, 32	Manset, 44
GK Saves	Stramrood, 62	Goetzer, 51

Last Time Out: Friday, October 24 vs. Lafayette in Annapolis
The Navy women's soccer team fell by a score of 2-0 in its 2025 regular home season finale to Lafayette on Friday at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Taking on the Leopards (4-7-6, 2-3-3 PL) in a Senior Day contest, the Mids (9-6-3, 2-3-3 PL) had a plethora of quality looks to break onto the scoreboard first, but their inability to find the back of the net eventually spelled trouble as the visitors notched a goal in the closing minutes before halftime and later added an insurance marker in the second half.

Navy's offense was active throughout the contest as it out-shot Lafayette, 21-11 and posted 11 shots in the first half and 10 in the second half. The Mids tested the Leopards' goalkeeper Catherine Apker with five shots on goal in each period.

Friday's matchup opened with Navy pressing the action out of the gate with the first seven shots over the initial 19 minutes of play. Four of those attempts made their way on goal, including a long well-struck shot by Helen Bonner in the 12th minute and a pair of Jessica Black and Chiara Cosenza connections in the box as the duo flipped facilitator and finisher roles as Black received a pass and put a shot on goal in the 14th minute before Cosenza took the final touch with a threatening shot in the 16th minute. Marlee Heaven completed this action-packed run of play in the 19th minute as her shot towards goal was deflected away late and resulted in a corner kick for the Mids.

Defensively, Navy held Lafayette at bay as the visitors registered just two total shots in the opening 30 minutes.

The Mids' next high-level look at goal came in the 35th minute when Hannah Mulholland unleashed a rocket on frame that forced Apker to punch the ball over the crossbar for another corner kick.

As the score stayed deadlocked at 0-0, a swift counter-attack by the Leopards starting in the midfield resulted in the game's first score. Ashley Martinho kick-started the scoring possession as she fed Nadia Zaffanella with a lead pass and within a matter of seconds Lafayette was up 1-0 at 42:07.

With the momentum that Navy had built up throughout the first half extinguished with that goal before the halftime intermission, the hosts struggled to get back into a rhythm for much of the second half. In fact, Lafayette was the first team to record a shot on goal in the second half as April McDonald tested Natasha Stramrood with an attempt as part of a series of pinball shots and passes in the boxes coming from a corner kick in the 56th minute.

Unfortunately for the Mids, the Leopards' second shot on frame didn't miss as Katrina Santelli dribbled in from midfield and deposited an unassisted goal at 56:28 to make it 2-0.

Navy continued its comeback effort with shots on goal by Cosenza and Heaven in the 62nd and 63rd minutes, but to no avail. Cosenza would later take aim at getting her squad on the scoreboard with two more shots on goal in the 84th and 90th minutes, though both were turned away by Apker as part of her 10-save performance on Friday.

For the game, Navy out-shot Lafayette, 21-11 with a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Mids also held a 5-2 edge in corner kick opportunities.