ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A strong performance from both sides of the ball helped the Navy women’s soccer team (5-3-3, 1-1 PL) defeat Lafayette (3-6, 0-2 PL), 4-0 Friday at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Navy has tallied seven goals in the last two matches.

“We moved the ball well tonight and had a lot of great movement from everyone,” Navy head coach Carin Gabarra said. “We attacked as a team, we defend as a team and we were able to slow down a very good Lafayette squad.”

Navy overwhelmed Lafayette in every statistical category, holding advantages in shots, 28-6, shots on goal, 13-3 and corner kicks, 11-7. Navy goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) earned her second career shutout, tallying three saves to improve to 3-3-3 in net. Lafayette goalie Kelly O’Brien recorded nine saves on 13 chances in the loss to fall to 0-2.

Both teams played a very even match through the first 39 minutes before Navy senior forward Lily Kraemer (Pitman, N.J.) broke the scoreless tie in the 40^th minute. Kraemer attacked the 18-yard box and put the ball in the air for sophomore forward Cat Macklin (McLean, Va.) to continue the give-and-go with a flick towards the six-yard box. Kraemer watched the ball hit the ground once and struck with a diving header for her third goal of the season.

With momentum in Navy’s favor heading into the second half, senior defender Jade Seabrook (St. Paris, Ohio) added to the Mids score in the 73^rd minute. After being awarded a free kick from 35 yards out, sophomore defender Taylor Kipilii (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) delivered the free kick perfectly inside the 18 where Seabrook flicked the pass with her head to beat O’Brien to the far post.

 

“The coaches have been preaching to play hard for the full 90 minutes and connect on the majority of our passes and I think we did a great job of that,” Seabrook said. “Taylor sent a great pass towards me and all I was thinking was ‘I need to finish it’ and fortunately I was able to complete the play.”

The Mids wasted very little time as freshman forward Natalie Dzhandzhapanyan (Diamond Bar, Calif.) recorded her first collegiate goal in the 75^th minute to extend Navy’s lead to three, 3-0. With a loose ball inside the 18, Dzhandzhapanyan grabbed possession of the ball and sent her first shot at the goalkeeper but was denied the first time by O’Brien. Off of the rebound, the freshman forward regained possession and redirected the ball to the back of the net.

With a 3-0 lead after 86 minutes, Navy’s final goal came from junior midfielder Courtney Mason (Laytonsville, Md.). Mason picked up her second goal of the year off a rebound from teammate Emily Tucker’s (So., Rochester, N.Y.) first shot that was initially saved by O’Brien.

Navy looks to extend its winning streak to three against American Wednesday the at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The match is slated for 7 p.m. and can be seen live and for free on PatriotLeague.TV with Joe Miller on the call. Live statistics also will be available on navysports.com (.)