ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team continues its preparation for Patriot League play later this month with two more non-conference games this weekend. Sitting at 5-2 through seven contests, the Mids will look to fine tune their operations with their final non-conference road game of the season on Thursday at VCU before beginning another multi-game homestand with a Sunday showdown with Presbyterian. The action between the Mids (5-2) and Rams (1-2-2) is set for 7 p.m. at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond. Following Thursday's road tilt, Navy will close out its week of action with a home contest versus Presbyterian on Sunday afternoon in Annapolis. Facing off for the third time in program history, the Mids and Blue Hose (2-2-1) will go head-to-head beginning at 1 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

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. VCU
Active in the early stages of both programs' history, the Mids and Rams met in each of VCU's first three years of existence back in 1995, 1996 and 1997 ... During that initial run, Navy went 2-1, dropping the first matchup on Sept. 24, 1995 in Annapolis, 1-0 before going back-to-back with a 5-1 victory in Richmond on Sept. 29, 1996 and a 4-0 shutout at home on Sept. 15, 1997 ... After a brief break, the teams played a one-off contest on Aug. 27, 2000 in Annapolis that went the way of the Mids, 4-0 ... Most recently, the Rams won consecutive games as part of a home-and-home series in 2007 and 2008 by scores of 3-0 and 3-1, respectively ... All-time, the series is knotted at 3-3 with Navy holding a 14-8 advantage in scoring.

Navy-VCU All-Time Series
  Sept. 21, 2008 (H): VCU 3 - Navy 1
  Sept. 16, 2007 (A): VCU 3 - Navy 0
  Aug. 27, 2000 (H): Navy 4 - VCU 0
  Sept. 15, 1997 (H): Navy 4 - VCU 0
  Sept. 29, 1996 (A): Navy 5 - VCU 1
  Sept. 24, 1995 (H): VCU 1 - Navy 0

Navy vs. Presbyterian // vs. Big South Conference
The Mids are 1-0-1 all-time against the Blue Hose as the two teams initially played to a scoreless tie in Clinton, S.C. on August 22, 2010 before restarting the series in 2023; Navy won that matchup at PC by a score of 3-1 ... In 14 all-time matchups against Big South Conference foes, the Mids are 9-2-3 ... Navy vs. Big South: Charleston Southern (3-1-0); Gardner-Webb (1-0-1); High Point (2-0-1); Presbyterian (1-0-1); USC Upstate (2-0-0); Winthrop (0-1-0)

Last 5 Big South Matchups (5-0-0)
  Aug. 31, 2023 (A): Navy 3 - Presbyterian 1
  Aug. 17, 2023 (H): Navy 2 - Charleston Southern 1
  Aug. 30, 2019 (A): Navy 1 - Charleston Southern 0
  Sept. 12, 2019 (H): Navy 1 - Gardner-Webb 0
  Aug. 31, 2018 (A): Navy 1 - Gardner-Webb 1

Most Recent Navy-Presbyterian Matchup: August 31, 2023
Navy kicked off its two-game South Carolina road trip with a commanding 3-1 win over Presbyterian College on Thursday night. Coming into the contest undefeated to open their 2023 season, the Mids scored early and often to blitz the Blue Hose right out the gate at Martin Stadium as the visitors led 2-0 after seven minutes of play and 3-0 through 37 minutes.
 
Navy received its scoring from three different players on Thursday night as Jenna Daunt, Alexa Riddle and Mimi Abusham all tallied goals versus Presbyterian. The scores were the first of the season for Daunt and Abusham, while Riddle found the back of the net for the second time in five games so far in 2023.
 
Navy controlled the majority of the first half as the visitors were constantly living in the attacking third. Just over two and half minutes into the contest, Marlee Heaven dribbled into the box before she was physically taken down, drawing a penalty kick. The Mids' senior team captain Jenna Daunt calmly walked up to the penalty spot and struck her shot into the side netting to give Navy a 1-0 lead at 2:31.
 
A little over four minutes later, the Mids increased their lead to 2-0 when Riddle banged home a muddled clearance less than two yards off the goal at 6:37. The play began when Amanda Graziano maneuvered her way into the box from 25 yards out and whipped a cross towards the middle of the field that deflected off a PC defender and into Daunt before landing at Riddle's feet for the easy putaway.
 
The visitors nearly broke out to a 3-0 advantage in the 15th minute when Rylee Rives lofted her throw-in deep into the box towards Graziano, who flicked the ball into space near the top of the 18 where an on-coming Katie Herrmann ripped a low, line drive shot on goal, though Presbyterian's goalkeeper Kelly Hall was able to turn aside the attempt.
 
Navy finally did achieve that 3-0 lead at 36:23 when Hannah Mulholland raced up the right wing before turning towards goal and zipping a crisp pass on the ground to Abusham, who quickly took two touches with the second begin a well-placed shot into the lower right corner of the goal past Hall.
 
Coming out in the second half trailing by three, Presbyterian was able to cut a goal off its deficit at 59:04 when Lindsey Malyszek scored for the hosts.

For the game, Navy out-shot PC, 11-6 with a 6-3 edge in shots on goal. The Mids also collected five corner kicks versus two for the Blue Hose.

Individual Leaders

(2025 Stats)	Navy	VCU	Presbyterian
Goals	Heaven, 5	Five Players, 1	Malyszek, 3
Assists	Clay, 3	Lins, 3	Williams, 2
Points	Heaven, 10	Lins, 5	Malyszek, 6
Shots	Heaven, 11	Sarver, 8	Spees, 12
GK Saves	Stramrood, 21	Pongratz, 24	Dombrecht, 27

Last Time Out: August 31 at Sacred Heart
Navy continued adding to its 2025 win total with a 2-1 victory on the road over Sacred Heart. After defeating the Pioneers (1-1-1) in an offensive barn-burner in 2024 by a score of 5-3 in Annapolis, the Mids (5-2) showcased its defensive acumen and sharp accuracy in free kick opportunities to pull out the 2-1 victory on Sunday at Park Avenue Field in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Navy's offense was highlighted by Helen Bonner's first career goal as she was on the receiving end of an Isabella Romano corner kick and later a perfectly placed free kick by Marlee Heaven in the 75th minute. Defensively, the Mids held the Pioneers to just seven total shots as the host's lone goal came via a penalty kick.

The action on Sunday opened evenly though Sacred Heart had a slight edge in total shots, 3-2 over the opening 20 minutes of play. Two of the Pioneer attempts found their way on goal and tested the Mids' goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood.

With its personnel changing as the first half progressed, Navy eventually started making aggressive in-roads into Sacred Heart's final third. The newly-inserted forward duo of Sona Gonzales and Mimi Abusham nearly connected for the game's first score in the 39th minute when Gonzales slipped a lead pass onto Abusham into the box. Abusham's shot was deflected late and resulted in a corner kick. While not directly affecting the scoreboard, that play paid dividends almost immediately as on the ensuing set piece, Romano lofted a deep corner kick that bounded through the box to Bonner, who volleyed a powerful one-timer and saw her shot ring off the crossbar and fall down into the mouth of the goal at 39:09.

Coming out of the locker room down 1-0, Sacred Heart was on the hunt for a game-tying goal and did just that as the hosts were granted a penalty kick in the 61st minute. Martyna Krzysztopik converted that opportunity and the Pioneers pulled even at 1-1.

Navy finally broke through with the go-ahead goal as the Mids were granted a free kick from just over 20 yards out. True to form this season, Heaven locked down the eventual game-winning tally with a perfectly placed free kick into the upper 90 of the near post. That score at 73:46 ended up being the senior's fourth game-winner of the season.

With time dwindling down, Stramrood made her third and final save of the game in the 85th minute to seal up the 2-1 victory for the Mids.

For the game, Navy out-shot Sacred Heart, 12-7 with a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. The Mids also held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.