ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's soccer team came out on a mission on Friday night, honor its senior class and get one step closer to clinching a spot in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. The Mids (12-4-2, 5-1-1 PL) achieved both of those tasks as they came out with a passionate and dominant wire-to-wire performance that saw them score early and often versus the American University Eagles (0-11-4, 0-5-2 PL) on their way to a 3-0 victory at home at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
Sophia Ryan (Fr., Solon, Ohio) sparked Navy's victory with a goal in the 15th minute before
Chiara Cosenza (Sr., Westfield, N.J.) made it 2-0 by the 22:05 mark with her fifth goal of the season.
Lauren Toms (Jr., Fairplay, Md.) added an insurance tally late in the second half when she headed home a
Hannah Mulholland (Sr., Chandler, Ariz.) free kick in the 86th minute.
Before kicking off the action on Friday night, the program recognized the contributions of its seven-member Class of 2027. With Navy's 3-0 win over American,
Ali Barrow (Alexandria, Va.), Cosenza,
Lucy Gaines (Seattle, Wash.), Mulholland,
Cadence Tordai (San Diego, Calif.),
Madison Whitworth (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and team captain
ClaraJane Williams (Madison, Ga.) have now been victorious on 39 different occasions over their first three-plus seasons in Annapolis.
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"This was a great Senior Night game," remarked head coach
Carin Gabarra. "We have a senior class that we're super proud of and love recognizing. They brought back a lot of competitiveness and some pieces that we really needed in our leadership; they've been great all year. It's wonderful to celebrate with them.
"Overall, we're happy with the result. 24 players saw the field tonight and every one of them contributed. We saw some different players step up and do some great things today. It's great to collect another hard-fought conference win. Now we'll focus on getting ready for the next one."
Making the start at striker versus her regular spot in the midfield, Ryan immediately made an impact as she recorded both of Navy's first two shots on goal of the game within the first 14:45 of play on Friday night. After her first attempt was gathered by American's goalkeeper Riley Molbury, her second look found nothing but the back of the net. Built up through a series of quick passes up the pitch,
Kayana Adlam (Jr., Orlando, Fla.) played the ball to set Ryan up for the shot and goal as she dribbled between a pair of Eagle defenders before beating Molbury.
Ahead 1-0, Navy kept its foot on the gas offensively as just over seven minutes later it doubled its lead via an unassisted marker from Cosenza at 22:05. On the receiving end of a booming clearance ball from goalkeeper
Natasha Stramrood (Jr., Cypress, Texas), Cosenza's initial shot on goal was denied by Molbury, but a fortuitous rebound right back to her allowed Cosenza to take advantage of the now gaping net for her career-best fifth goal of the season.
With the score 2-0 in their favor, the Mids had to weather a slight comeback attempt by the Eagles over the ensuing eight minutes as twice Jayden Fisher had shots reach Stramrood, though the junior keeper was up to the task to continue to hold onto the shutout.
Navy nearly made it 3-0 in the final minutes of the first half as a dangerous corner kick in the 42nd minute resulted in shots by Gaines and
Margaret Pritchard (Fr., Greensboro, Ga.) getting blocked before
Malia Harding's (Fr., Gilroy, Calif.) shot was pushed just wide of the goal.
Coming out of the locker room with a two-goal advantage, the Mids continued to control the majority of the action as the Eagles were only able to muster a single shot on goal during the final 45 minutes of play. Once again, Stramrood was able to deny another Fisher effort, this one coming in the 69th minute.
With American's offense contained, Navy sealed the victory with an loud exclamation point at 85:14 when Mulholland lofted a high arching free kick deep into the box and Toms out-leapt a gaggle of Eagle defenders to power home a header.
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For the game, Navy out-shot American, 18-4 with a 6-3 edge in shots on goal. The Mids also held an advantage in corner kick opportunities, 6-1.
The shutout was the program's ninth of the year. Stramrood played the first 85:14 of the contest before being relieved by senior
Cadence Tordai. Stramrood stopped all three shots that she saw on Friday night.
"I'd also like to recognize the great number of alumni, who came out tonight to be a part of this victory and energized atmosphere," commented Gabarra about the program's homecoming activities surrounding Friday night's game. "We are so blessed to have such great support. Navy Women's Soccer is truly a family that aims to continually add onto the rich legacy of those that came before."
Navy will continue the stretch run of its regular season next Friday with a road tilt at Lafayette. Kickoff in Easton, Pennsylvania is set for 7 p.m.
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