Naval Academy Athletics

NEWARK, Del. – Heading out on the road for the first time in 2026, the Navy women's soccer team had a 90-minute battle on its hands on Sunday as it earned a 2-2 draw at the University of Delaware. Taking on a Fightin' Blue Hens (2-0-1) team that lost just two games last fall and was undefeated coming into Sunday, the Mids (1-2-1) netted goals in both halves and received four second-half saves from Natasha Stramrood (Jr., Cypress, Texas) to come away with a hard-fought tie.

Navy's goal in the first half registered as an own goal as Helen Bonner's (So., McLean, Va.) free kick went deep into the box and was deflected off the head of a Delaware defender, while the Mids' second tally came courtesy of a rebounded put-back by Ali Barrow (Sr., Alexandria, Va.).

"This was a really good college soccer game," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "Both teams were competing extremely hard and 2-2 is a fair result. They [Delaware] are quite explosive offensively so we had to play really good defensive soccer today. We took a big stride forward with our team defending, but there are still improvements to be made and breakdowns to clean up. Offensively, we possessed the ball well and were much better on the attack.

"We had a host of really good individual efforts and were impressed with our two underclassmen Emmalea Sidorsky and Stella Jones stepping up in their first starts of the season. Chiara Cosenza continues to lead us on offense and had a major impact once again."

The tone on Sunday was set early as the action was constantly flowing from end-to-end with each team recording a shot within the first four minutes. The first shot on goal of the game was an attempt by Chiara Cosenza (Sr., Westfield, N.J.) in the 16th minute that was turned aside by the Blue Hens' goalkeeper Sophia Hall.

The Mids received a fortuitous bounce to take a 1-0 lead at 21:20 when Bonner's free kick bounded off a Blue Hen defender's head and into the back of the net.

Up by a goal, Navy's defense was called upon multiple times over the second portion of the opening period to keep the clean sheet going into the locker room. First up, was an aggressive sprint and dive off her line by Stramrood in the 33rd minute to intercept a dangerous lead pass. Just over five minutes later, Stramrood and Barrow combined to keep Delaware off the scoreboard as Stramrood stopped Brooke Vogel's shot on goal before Barrow swept away the loose ball from the goal line.

Though filled with dramatic moments, the scoreboard only had one goal showing on it after 45 minutes of play. That wasn't for long as the second half opened with more fast-paced end-to-end action. Following Stramrood's second save of the game, a leaping punch over the crossbar in the 48th minute, the Mids withstood the ensuing ping-pong action inside the 18 off of a dangerous corner kick and immediately switched the field as Bonner raced down the pitch to put a shot on goal for the visitors.

Delaware benefitted from a lengthy video replay in the 50th minute in which it was deemed that a Navy defender had a handball infraction in the box. The Blue Hens' Gabby Riley deposited the penalty shot into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Delaware nearly went up 2-1 four minutes later when Olivia Bley's shot went past Stramrood, but Emmalea Sidorsky (So., Ocoee, Fla.) was there to cover the back post and make the defensive team save.

The score wasn't tied for long as slightly over 10 minutes later the Mids pulled ahead with a goal by Barrow. The scoring drive started with another deep Bonner free kick that was initially struck by Cosenza into the post, but a hard charge towards the loose ball allowed Barrow to smash home her first goal of 2026 and the second tally of her collegiate career.

While Navy fought to add a late insurance goal, the host Delaware squad was equally on the hunt and unfortunate for the visitors from Annapolis, the Blue Hens found that game-tying goal in the 78th minute when Maggie Groh made it a 2-2 game.

Both teams went down swinging as each registered one more shot on goal down the stretch in the final 10 minutes, though in both instances their respective goalkeepers came up with saves.
 
For the game, Navy out-shot Delaware, 16-13, though the Blue Hens held an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal. The hosts finished with a slight 4-2 edge in corner kick opportunities.

"Delaware's going to win a lot of games this year so to head back to Annapolis with a draw is positive result that we can definitely build on," said Gabarra in closing. "This is a good bounce back result and now we'll turn our attention to a busy three-game week."

Next up for the Mids is an action-packed week in Annapolis as they're set to host a trio of home matches with a Tuesday afternoon tilt with Marywood University lying ahead first. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Following that matchup, Navy hosts Maryland at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Marist at 1 p.m. on Sunday.