BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Navy women's soccer team tallied its second Patriot League win in as many games with a 3-1 victory over Lehigh on Wednesday night. Playing on the Mountain Hawks' (0-9-1, 0-3 PL) home pitch at the Ulrich Sports Complex, the Mids (9-4-1, 2-1 PL) scored early and often with two goals within the first 21 minutes of action before adding an insurance marker in the second half.
Jessica Black (So., Cedaredge, Colo.) was integral in Navy's strong offensive performance on Wednesday as she had a hand in all three scores with the game's initial score in the 13th minute before assisting on
Lauren Toms' (Jr., Fairplay, Md.) goal in the 21st minute and
Sophia Ryan's (Fr., Solon, Ohio) tally in the 57th minute. Additionally, Ryan was credited with an assist on Black's goal for her second career multi-point effort.Â
"We're excited to score three goals on the road and to win a Patriot League game," remarked head coach
Carin Gabarra. "That's all very important for us at this stage in the season. I think the most important part of the game today was all the players that contributed, and contributed in big ways. Our whole roster has been rotating and a lot of players are stepping up and making big plays in big moments; that's important for us. We were very well-rounded and very good in possession today. We attacked well and we consistently sent numbers forward. We'll need to tighten up a few things defensively moving forward concerning counterattacks, but overall, I'm pleased with this result and happy with our play."
Coming into the contest in search of its first win of 2026, Lehigh was active offensively from the opening kick and recorded a pair of shots within the first three-and-a-half minutes of play, including an attempt by Tori Okorodudu that forced Navy's goalkeeper
Natasha Stramrood into action.
After a bit of settling in, the Mids put together their first sustained look at the Mountain Hawks' goal and made it count as Ryan's first shot was saved by Lehigh's Chloe Zipprich, but Black was there to pick up the rebound and without hesitating banged home the loose ball at 12:06 to give Navy the early 1-0 lead.
A corner kick opportunity a little over eight minutes later helped the Mids double their advantage as a short restart from
Lucy Gaines (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) to Black saw the sophomore arch a deep looping cross towards the goal where a waiting Toms connected and snapped a header shot into the back of the net at 20:18.
Up 2-0, Navy had two more shots finish on net over the next 15 minutes, though both were denied by Zipprich. The hosts used that bit of momentum to their advantage and drew within one when Esther Brossard scored at 38:07.
Coming out of the locker room holding a one-goal advantage, the Mids quickly re-engaged their offense with shots on goal by Ryan and
Chiara Cosenza (Sr., Westfield, N.J.) over the first five minutes of the second half. Their offensive aggressive paid off in short order in the 57th minute, Black dribbled to the end line and slotted a pass towards the goal where Ryan re-directed the ball past the Mountain Hawks' keeper to make it 3-1.
Strong defensive efforts over the final 30 minutes of action helped the Mids seal the victory and capture their second Patriot League win. Stramrood was especially locked in with three saves, including an athletic kick save on a Brossard shot in the 67th minute. A dramatic slide tackle by Gaines after Brossard dribbled around Stramrood in the 72nd minute negated Lehigh's final high percentage look.
For the game, Navy out-shot Lehigh, 20-11 with 9-6 edge in shots on goal. The much more active team in the attacking third, the Mids ended up with an 8-2 margin in corner kick opportunities on Wednesday night.
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Next up for is a home tilt versus Holy Cross on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 12-noon at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
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