Nov. 5, 2007

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Seniors Kari Weniger (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Brigitte Fox (La Mesa, Calif.) each scored a goal in their final appearance at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, leading the Navy women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over archrival Army Monday afternoon in Annapolis. With the win, Navy improves to 5-1 in Star Game competitions against Army, while the Mids hold a 6-2 advantage in all contests this fall against the Black Knights.

"I couldn't have asked for a better day to play my last game on our home field," said Weniger, one of five senior members who was honored in a pregame Senior Day ceremony. "It is a really special moment for our team and my class who have put in four good years together. It was an emotional high to celebrate Senior Day and beat Army on the same day."

"Today was the first time we've celebrated Senior Day on the same day we played Army," said Navy head coach Carin Gabarra. "To have seniors score both goals was just a perfect ending to the day. Before the game, the team talked about how badly they felt last year when it lost on Senior Day, so they wanted to win this for the seniors."

More than 1,000 midshipmen packed the stands to cheer on their classmates Monday, as spirits were still flying high after Saturday's history-making football victory over Notre Dame. The raucous crowd provided a spark for the Midshipmen and roared when Weniger, Navy's team captain, gave the Mids a 1-0 lead just under seven minutes into the game. Junior defender Carey Young (Virginia Beach, Va.) sent a sky ball to the top of the box where Weniger isolated her defender, waiting for the ball to drop. Weniger quickly turned to take the ball, leaving her Army defender behind and firing off a rocket that sailed over the outstretched hands of Army rookie keeper Alex Lostetter.

The goal was the first surrendered by Lostetter and her Army teammates in more than 280 minutes of play.

Army, who outshot the Midshipmen 10-4 in the opening half, had its chances to knot the score. With 6:41 remaining in the first stanza, Army strung together three straight corner kicks over the course of a minute. The first was headed out by All-Patriot League defender Shelly Moeller (Milford, Ohio), while Army senior midfielder Jessica Congemi sent a shot high and wide on the second corner. A scramble for the ball in front of the goal on the third corner was eventually covered by Navy keeper Lizzie Barnes (New Orleans, La.), squelching Army's opportunity at knotting the score.

With just over a minute remaining before the half, Army had one last chance. The Black Knights were attacking when Navy made an attempt to clear the ball. The Midshipman defender missed the ball, forcing Barnes to come racing out of the goal to try and snatch it out of play. Barnes was unable to get there as senior forward Jenna Roberts had a wide open goal, but sent her 10-yard shot wide right.

Navy dominated the second half of play, allowing Army just three shots with one on goal. Navy, meanwhile, got off 15 shots, including Fox's 15-yard beauty in the 58th minute. Junior midfielder CiAnna Weikle (Lakeville, Minn.) served the ball up and over Fox and her defender, as Fox used her speed to get to the ball leaving her with a one-on-one opportunity against Lostetter. Fox buried the goal, her 14th of the season, as Navy took a 2-0 lead.

Army's only solid scoring opportunity in the second 45 minutes of action came when Pia White served leading scorer Sarah Goss who sent a hard-driven shot straight into the arms of Barnes in the 65th minute.

Meanwhile, Navy came a shoelace away from pushing the score to 3-0 when a five-yard shot by Fox in the 67th minute was stopped by Lostetter who was on the ground and extended her leg just far enough to get a toe on it. With eight minutes remaining in the contest, Weniger nearly earned her second of the day when her shot to the left post was swatted by Lostetter who then had to make a leaping second effort to stop the momentum of the shot from carrying it in.

"As with every year we play Army, having the midshipmen pack the stands makes all the difference in raising our intensity," said Gabarra, whose Midshipmen now lead the all-time series with the Black Knights, 9-7-1. "I can't stress enough how important this game is to the Navy Women's Soccer family and the Navy and Marine Corps officers serving our country. That is truly who we play in honor of.

Navy was awarded the No. 3 seed for this weekend's Patriot League Tournament thanks to its win over the Black Knights and will face second-seeded American at 4:00 pm on Friday in Lewisburg, Pa. Army, meanwhile, will face top-seeded and host Bucknell at 7:00 pm. The winners of the two semifinal contests will battle for the league title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 1:00 pm.

"We are thrilled to have the No. 3 seed in the league tournament after beating Army today," added Gabarra, whose team is unbeaten over its last eight games this season. "Each year we aspire to finish the regular season as high as possible, so we are happy to get our shot in the tournament. We are excited at having the chance to play American again because they did see us at our best a few weeks ago. It should be a great tournament."

Live internet video broadcasts will be available for both semifinal matches, as well as the championship game through Patriot League All-Access. Admission to the games is free for college students with a valid ID, while ticket prices have been set at $3 for adults and $1 for children of high school age and younger. For directions to the field and further information, visit either www.BucknellBison.com or www.PatriotLeague.com.