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Mids and Black Knights Set to Battle for Patriot League Crown
Nov. 9, 2008
2008 PL Championship - No. 3 Army at No. 1 Navy - 1:00 pm - GameTracker| Live Video ANNAPOLIS, Md. - One of the premier rivalries in all of college athletics will add a new chapter to its storied history on Sunday afternoon when the Navy soccer team (15-3-3) hosts Army (11-5-3) in a battle that will decide which service academy will carry the Patriot League banner into the 2008 NCAA Women's College Cup. The stakes will be at their highest as the top-seeded Midshipmen, who have won back-to-back Patriot League Tournament titles, aim for their third-straight conference crown and NCAA bid against their archrival, the No. 3 Black Knights. "The rivalry is intense," described Navy head coach Carin Gabarra. "The competitiveness is fierce. This is sports at its best." Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will call all the action as the 2008 Patriot League Championship kicks off at 1:00 pm at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. A live broadcast of Sunday's championship will be available online exclusively to Navy All-Access subscribers (available at NavySports.com for a fee of $6.95). Scouting the Mids After alternating wins and losses through the first four games of the season, Navy Youker joins Laraway as one of eight Mids that have set career-best point totals this season. The second-year forward has booted in a team-leading seven goals, including five game-winners. Her seven goals rank as the fourth-most in the conference, while her five game-deciding tallies ties for the sixth-best single-season mark in school history.
Kristen Laraway paces the league's top offense with 17 points (6 g, 5 a) Led by a pair of two-time league players of the year at their respective positions in senior goalkeeper Lizzie Barnes (New Orleans, La.) and junior defender Shelly Moeller (Milford, Ohio), Navy's stalwart defense has surrendered only 13 goals in 21 games (0.62 g/gm).
Barnes leads all league keepers in goals-against average (0.64) and has posted eight solo shutouts this season, while playing at least a half in contributing to 12 of the team's 13 blankings. She has warded off 66 of 77 shots on goal and owns a league-best 85.7 save percentage. Additionally, Barnes has thrived against league competition, recording six shutouts, while allowing only two goals (0.25 GAA) in eight total games.
Moeller, a three-time all-league defender, has been the catalyst of the Midshipmen defense. She has started all 21 games (and 68-straight dating back to her freshman season) and scored four goals, three of which were game-winners.
Seniors Julie Reynolds (Sherman, Conn.) and Carey Young (Virginia Beach, Va.) join Moeller as all-league members on a deep and talented Navy defensive corps. Reynolds, Navy's team captain, is a three-time second-team honoree in the defensive midfield while Young, who has put together a banner year with nine points and five assists, is a first-time league all star.
As a team, Navy's defense entered the week ranked among the nation's leaders in a number of categories. The Mids were 12th in shutout percentage (61.9) and stand 18th in both GAA (0.59) and save percentage (86.7).
Scouting the Black Knights The Black Knights are led by 23rd-year head coach Gene Ventriglia, who was honored earlier this week with his sixth career league coach of the year award.
One of only two freshmen on the Patriot League's first-team, Washington has quickly established herself as one of the league's top strikers. She led the Black Knights in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points - the conference's fifth-highest total.
Veteran midfielder and senior captain Sarah Goss complements Washington up front as the only other Army player with double-digit points with 10. Goss, a second-team all-league honoree, has scored four goals and has two assists to her credit.
While it is always the case in playoff soccer, on Sunday afternoon especially, you can expect goals to be at a premium. The Black Knights (0.84 g/gm) join the Mids as the only other league team yielding less than a goal per contest.
There offense has struggled as of late - scoreless over its last 461:10 coming into Sunday - but, just like their academy counterparts they boast a strong backline unit and a trot out a standout netminder in Lostetter that is capable of keeping them in each and every game.
The Black Knights' keeper paces the league with 10 shutouts and maintains a 0.78 GAA that is second only to Navy's Barnes. She allowed just two goals in league play (tied with Barnes for fewest in conference) while recording seven shutouts in eight games against Patriot League competition - the latest in Friday night's semifinal against Bucknell.
After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, senior Caroline Miller scored in the seventh round of penalty kicks to lift third-seeded Army past the No. 2 Bison and put the Black Knights just one win away from their first NCAA appearance.
With a win over Army, Navy would... *carry the Patriot League banner into the NCAA College Cup for the fourth time in the last six years
*join Colgate as the only programs in Patriot League history to claim three consecutive league postseason titles. The Raiders captured six-straight crowns from 1994-99.
*push its season-high unbeaten streak to 13 games, while extending its untarnished mark against league foes to 17-straight (12-0-4) dating back to last season
*extend its winning streak in Patriot League Tournament play to eight-straight games and improve to 12-8-0 all-time.
*defeat Army for the third straight time in the Patriot League Tournament and improve to 3-1 all-time against the Black Knights in the postseason.
*remain unbeaten against Army in its last four contests. The Mids won two straight prior to this year's scoreless draw in West Point.
Last Time vs. Army - Oct. 24, 2008 - West Point, N.Y. Inside the Matchup *All-time, Navy is 887-674-39 (.567) in competitions against Army, while over the last 13 years the Midshipmen boast a 241-132-5 (.644) mark. This season, Navy is 4-3-1 against Army.
*After the first seven Star competitions in 2008 between the two institutions, the series is tied at 3-3-1. The Mids' Star Game wins have come from the women's cross country, golf and sprint football teams.
Overall Navy-Army Series - All Sports
Overall Navy, 887-674-39 (.567)
Last 13 years Navy, 242-134-6 (.642) Herren's Golden Goal Sends Navy to Third-Straight League Final Navy's first-year midfielder was trailing the play as her senior teammate Kristen Laraway made a spirited run down the left flank and sent a right-footed blast that Colgate's diving keeper was able to push off the right-inside post. The rebound caromed out and to the left and a charging Herren won the footrace to the loose ball and promptly put home the overtime winner to send the Mids to the league final for a third consecutive season.
"I was just in the right place at the time," said Herren of her 96th-minute game-winner. "Kristen really made a terrific run and I thought her shot was headed in. I had fallen behind the play a bit, but as soon as I saw it hit the post, I jumped on it."
In a Class of its Own
A Tradition of Success Carissa Youker has a team-leading seven goals for Navy Working Overtime Home is Where the Young Enjoying Career Year, Sets School Record for Games Played Six Mids Named Patriot League All-Stars Barnes and Moeller Earn League Player of the Year Honors Navy collected three of the league's five major awards at Thursday's annual banquet Barnes owns a 3.86 grade point average as a double major in information technology and computer science and ranks 30th in overall order of merit among 1,073 students in the Class of 2009. The 5-foot-10 netminder is also currently one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award, presented annually across nine NCAA Division I sports to a senior that embodies what it means to be a student-athlete.
Fans can vote for Lizzie online at www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/womens_soccer_2008 or by texting WS3 to 839863.
Navy Duo Named Academic All-District Team A total of 11 different Navy women's soccer players have garnered academic all-district recognition over the years, including eight named to the first team. Moreover, the Mids have now had at least two members receive first-team all-district kudos in three consecutive seasons.
Coaching's Elite News, Notes and Trends: *Navy's 1-0 win in its regular season finale at Colgate was the 200th in the 16-year history of Navy women's soccer ... The Mids now own an all-time record of 201-92-25 (.670).
*Thirteen different Navy players have scored a goal this season, including eight which have netted game-winners ... Nineteen of Navy's 20 active roster members (excluding goalkeepers) have recorded a point this season.
* Only three opponents have found the back of the net more than once against the Mids - Stanford (3), VCU (3) and Holy Cross (2).
*A boisterous crowd of 725 fans cheered the Mids to victory on Friday night against Colgate. It was Navy's largest crowd of the season and the 10th-largest in eighth year of the facility.
Navy Postseason Record Breakdown
Overall: 11-8<
Current Streak: 7 gm
American 2-1
Army 2-1
Bucknell 2-1
Colgate 3-5
Holy Cross --
Lafayette 1-0
Lehigh 1-0
First Round: 8-4
Finals: 3-4
No. 1 seed: 3-2
No. 2 seed: 5-2
No. 3 seed: 2-1
No. 4 seed: 1-3
Overtime: 3-2
Shootouts: N/A 2008 Patriot League Tournament
Annapolis, Md. - Glenn Warner Soccer Facility
Friday, November 7 Sunday, November 9 Tickets: $5 for adults, $3 for children (17 years & under), while students with valid institutional IDs will be admitted free of charge.
*** GO NAVY! ***
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