TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's soccer team played a tough game against the two-time defending Patriot League champion, but fell from an early goal to Navy 1-0.
Towson (1-1-1) had an aggressive second half with six corner kicks, but was unable to overcome the third minute goal from Navy (2-0-1). The Tigers suffer their first defeat of the season.
Key Stats:
- Towson outshot Navy in the game 12-10, which each half being 6-5 in favor of the Tigers in that category. Shots on goal were even at five each.
- Phoebe Canoles led all players with seven shots in the game, putting three on cage. In goal, Riley Melendez (1-1-1) got the loss with one goal allowed and four saves.
- Caitlin Doran scored Navy's lone goal in the third minute, her second goal of the season, off a feed from Molly Gillcrist. The win in cage went to Matt Gallagher (2-0-1), who had five saves in the shutout.
Postgame Quotes:
- Towson head coach Katherine Vettori: "Navy is a quality team. We let in an early goal, we made mistakes that are fixable. Overall, I'm proud of the effort, the offense we generated and the decision-making. A great team effort and performance."
How It Happened:
- Navy scored on its first opportunity on a two vs. two in the box as Caitlin Doran scored near the left post from about 10 yards out off the pass from Molly Gilchrist to make it 1-0 Mids.
- Towson looked early to long range shots, with Phoebe Canoles missing left in the 10th minute and Alexandra Rush having another chance saved four minutes later.
- Play went back-and-forth in the midfield for a while as Towson still was getting looks around the edge of the box.
- A Jenna Blank shot in the 35th minute was saved by Navy. The Mids countered and pressured in the following minutes, sending three shots towards cage. Katie Herrmann had a chance in minute 37, with Riley Melendez making the stop. Melendez saved another in minute 43 as Navy took a 1-0 lead into the break.
- Navy had the early attacks to begin the second half, but Towson held. The Tigers picked up the pace beginning in the 58th minute, with Nia Christopher nearly equalizing, but seeing her shot slam the crossbar. A second chance for Demi Pierre was blocked as Navy held.
- Towson continued to pressure, with Canoles having some strong dribbling to get chances. She shot twice towards the middle in the 71st and 72nd minutes, each being saved.
- The Tigers had a final push in the closing minutes with a late corner kick, but could not get a shot off. Navy took the win 1-0.
Inside the Numbers:
- Riley Melendez has allowed one goal or fewer in all three of Towson's games this fall.
- This is Towson's first time losing in a shutout in regulation during a night game at Tiger Field.
Next Game:
- Towson returns to Tiger Field for a Sunday, Aug. 29 battle vs. UMBC at 7 p.m.
- TowsonTigers.com –
