The Navy women’s soccer team hasn’t won a game since Sept. 25 when it defeated Loyola, 4-3. Since then, the Mids have earned one tie and been shutout three times, including a 1-0 defeat to American in their last outing Wednesday.
Overall, Navy is 8-8-1 overall is in seventh place in the Patriot League. Only the top six teams qualify for the postseason tournament.
However, due to an abundance of parity in the league, a win Saturday night could potentially vault the Mids into a tie for third place in the standings. For that to happen, Navy will have to stop another losing streak — one against archrival Army.
Navy has dropped its last two meetings with Army, but according to junior defender Emma Romano it doesn’t matter who the next opponent is.
“We just need a win,” said Romano, who has helped keep the Mids in most of their contests while the offense has struggled to find the back of the net. “I think the defense has been working really well together. We have great communication, and we know we can lockdown the backside.”
Coach Carin Gabarra is thankful to have Romano as part of a unit that has only allowed only one goal over the last three games.
“Emma has progressed immensely since her freshman year,” Gabarra said. “She plays a lot of minutes for us. She will get forward and make big plays and is getting better every single game with one-on-one defending.”
In addition to Romano, Navy’s defense has been paced by junior Jordan Townsend and senior Tatum Kelly. In goal, Navy has settled on freshman Natasha Stramrood, who has put together a string of impressive outings — especially considering how many shots opponents have been sending her way. In the past four games, the Mids have been outshot 55-36 with the deficit in terms of shots on goal even greater (27-11).
Navy’s inability to put more pressure on opposing defenses has put more of a strain on its own back line.
“It may put a little more pressure on us, but it just makes us work a little harder. So, we might be a little stressed, but it’s nothing that we can’t handle,” Romano said.
It also doesn’t help that during its current slide Navy has found itself behind in each contest — a situation Gabarra acknowledged was less than ideal.
“It will affect any team in our sport. What you always want is to get the first goal. It gives you a little more momentum, a little more adrenaline and you start pressing forward [instead of retreating],” she said. “Against American, I think we played a little panicked after giving up the first goal.”
After scoring seven goals in their first two Patriot League games, the Mids have only managed one goal over their next four with that lone tally being netted by Romano’s twin sister, Isabella.
As for getting that offense going, Emma Romano believes it is just a matter of time. “Once you get that first goal, they are all going to start coming,” she said.
Romano hopes those goals start coming this Saturday against an Army squad she has yet to beat in her career.
“I’m very excited. This game is a big deal not only for me, but the school,” she said. “It’s going to be a really good game.”
Gabarra knows beating Army, especially at West Point, won’t be easy. The Black Knights are 9-4-1 overall and hold third place in the Patriot League at 3-2-1.
“They are solid and have been for a couple of years. The level of each team doesn’t always matter in the Army-Navy game. It’s going to be a battle. It’s always harder to win up there,” she said.
Gabarra, now in her 32nd year on the sidelines, has made plenty of trips up the Hudson River and is looking forward to the raucous atmosphere.
“There have been years where they have brought tanks and have their fans stand on top of them,” she recalled. “We will be surrounded on all four sides by fans. It’s a great environment to play in – that’s what Army-Navy is all about.”
Navy closes out the regular season at home against Holy Cross on Oct. 25 and then travels to Lafayette on Oct. 30. And with three leagues remaining, Gabarra is confident the postseason is within reach.
“When we are at our best, we are hard to beat,” she said.
