RICHMOND, Va. – The Navy women's soccer team weathered a 75-minute delay at the start of its matchup with VCU on Thursday evening, but were unable to weather a late comeback effort by the host Rams as VCU came from behind for a 2-1 victory in front of its home fans at Sports Backers Stadium.

Jessica Black (Fr., Cedaredge, Colo.) led Navy's charge on Thursday as the talented freshman netted the first goal of her collegiate career. Her goal in the 51st minute stood up at the time as the go-ahead goal for the Mids before the Rams closed out the contest with two scores in the final 30 minutes.

"This is such a difficult result to go home with," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "We gave such a great physical and aggressive effort for 90 minutes. We did a great job of turning them over, but we needed to get more out of those chances. We didn't convert a couple of really high percentage looks. They [VCU] scored off of two set pieces that we failed to clear. We have to cut down on those mistakes; this had the makings of a shutout performance.

"We deserved better tonight, but VCU made the most of their opportunities and we'll have to live with that. This will only fuel our training when we get back to Annapolis."

Unfazed by the delayed start, Navy came out of the gates on Thursday night extremely aggressive as all of its players were constantly in motion buzzing around VCU's ball-handlers. That pressure caused numerous turnovers in the Rams' final third and resulted in the Mids having the ball in threatening circumstances.

Navy's first strong look came in the ninth minute when Black dribbled towards the center of the pitch along the top of the 18-yard box and laid a short pass off to Kayana Adlam (So., Orlando, Fla.). Once in possession of the ball, Adlam spun away from her defender and quickly ripped a hard low line drive shot on goal that required VCU's Mia Pongratz to make a diving save.

Navy continued to pressure VCU, but had little to show for its efforts on the scoreboard or even in terms of shots. The first offensive opportunity the Rams came in the 26th minute when the hosts played a ball over the top and Jensyn Lins went one-on-one with Jordan Townsend (Sr., Marriottsville, Md.). Right as Lins took aim at Navy's goal, Townsend deflected the shot away from harm to force a corner kick.

As the back-and-forth action continued over the next 10-plus minutes, the Rams registered the game's next best scoring look in the 39th minute as Tatum Scialdone took a lengthy shot on goal that the Mids' goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood grabbed with ease.

Coming out of the locker roomafter halftime knotted at 0-0, Navy quickly bolted out to the lead in the 51st minute when Black cut off a series of passes by VCU at midfield and sprinted past the Rams' final defender for a one-on-one with Pongratz well outside of her goal box. After a few dribbles past the goalkeeper, Black easily deposited her shot into the gaping net for a 1-0 lead at 50:18.

Black was back in the mix less than seven minutes later when she once again used her speed to sprint past a VCU defender and break away towards the corner flag. She squirmed her way into the box and found an open Chiara Cosenza (Jr., Westfield, N.J.), who squared up a low, line drive short that had eyes for the corner of the goal if not for a sprawling save by Pongratz.

Surviving that scare, the Rams had an immediate response just over two minutes later as Kendyl Sarver recovered a rebounded shot drew the score even 1-1 at 60:27.

The frenetic pace kept up over the final 30 minutes as the Mids had the next best look for a go-ahead goal in the 69th minute when Ande Swan (So., Sugar Land, Texas) played a cross to Black at the top of the 18-yard box, who in turned calmly pass the ball into space for the oncoming Lizzie Emerson (So., Houston, Texas). Not thinking twice, Emerson sprinted onto the ball and one-timed a shot towards the far corner of the net; Pongratz spoiled that well-built effort with her fourth and final save of the game.

With Navy's offense held at bay over the final 20 minutes of regulation, VCU took advantage of an opportunity in the 85th minute off a restart. A series of passes from Sarver and Isabelle Franklin concluded with Jazmin Jackson slotting home the game-winning goal at 84:14.

For the game, VCU out-shot Navy, 14-9, though the Mids had a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. The visitors also had a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.

In goal for Navy, Natasha Stramrood (So., Cypress, Texas) finished with two saves.

Next up for Navy is a Sunday matchup with Presbyterian at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis. Kickoff between the Mids and Blue Hose is set for 1 p.m.