Double OT heartbreaker ends Mids' season in League final

Army's senior forward Pia White scored with 4:45 remaining in double overtime to break a scoreless deadlock and propel the No. 3 Black Knights (12-5-3) to a 1-0 victory over host and top-seeded Navy (15-4-3) in the Patriot League Championship game in front of a season-high crowd on Sunday at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.

With the win, Army claims its second Patriot League title in school history and first since 1993. The Black Knights will now make their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in the sport of women's soccer.

"It was a great matchup," said 16th-year Navy head coach Carin Gabarra. "I am very proud of the way we went after it. I was happy with both the intensity and attacking mentality we brought to field today. We had some chances, but we couldn't put them away. It was a difficult result, but I am very proud of our effort."

The two sides played a very physical first 45 minutes of soccer, which saw the teams whistled for a combined 15 fouls (A: 8, N: 7). Navy possessed the ball in the Army end for a majority of the half and registered the only attempt on target in the 14th minute.

The Black Knights' best chance came with 19:15 remaining in the period as senior captain Sarah Goss sent a free kick just left of the Navy goal. The 25-yard attempt was well-struck and sent Navy keeper Lizzie Barnes (New Orleans, La.) diving to her right, but had just missed its target.

The Mids' attack would put together a pair of runs in the final 10 minutes, but a pair of picturesque serves inside the six from senior Elise McCaskey (Butler Pa.) and junior Jen Grijalva (Pleasanton, Calif.) went for naught.

Each team had opportunities in a pressure-packed second half, but the league's top-two backlines refused to blink. Navy had the better of the chances early on in the period.

In the 52nd minute, an Army foul gave the Mids an indirect attempt just outside the 18. Navy freshman Katelyn George (Loveland, Ohio) sent a booming cross into a crowded box, but second-team all-league keeper Alex Lostetter battled through traffic to punch the ball out of harms way.

The 62nd and 64th minutes saw Navy register its only shots on goal during the period. A terrific individual run by second-year all-league forward Carissa Youker (Potomac, Md.) to evade two Black Knight defenders resulted in a low shot that Lostetter scooped up for her second save of the afternoon.

Two minutes later, junior standout and 2008 Patriot League Defender of the Year Shelly Moeller (Milford, Ohio) made a bid for her fifth goal of the season on a Navy set-piece from 35 yards out. Moeller won the battle for position and mustered some authority on a header off McCaskey's free kick, but Lostetter was there once again to record her most challenging save of the afternoon.

Just moments late, a quick transition from offense to defense set up the Black Knights' finest opportunity during regulation time.

At what first seemed to be an innocent through ball that Barnes would reach first, quickly went awry. Army's White managed to get her foot on the ball before Navy's keeper could scoop it up. The Black Knights frantically tried to muster an attempt at the now unmanned Navy goal.  

After a chaotic scramble for possession, the ball eventually rolled out to the foot of senior Molly Byrnes for a golden opportunity at the top of the box with Barnes scrambling to get back into position.

By the time Byrnes got her shot off, however, Navy's 5-foot-10 netminder showed why she is a two-time league goalkeeper of the year, as Barnes sprinted back to the goalline and skied to punch the ball off the crossbar and out of play.

The Black Knights won their first and only corner with just over a minute left to play, but an authoritative header from Moeller quickly thwarted the opportunity.

Navy held a 13-7 advantage in shots and 6-1 edge in corners, but just as the case had been on Oct. 24 when the two rivals met in an eventual scoreless draw in West Point, the two teams remained knotted at 0-0 after 90 minutes.

It would be the fifth overtime in seven games and the eighth this season ( a school record) for the Mids, who entered the extra session with a 4-0-3 mark in such contests.

From the onset of the first overtime, however, it was Army that appeared to have the better of the play. Although, they didn't generate any quality chances, the Black Knights outshot Navy 4-0 in the period and produced the only shot on target.

In the second overtime session, the play evened out once again, though Army seemed to have that extra burst when they needed it.

After a Brittany White (Carmel, Ind.) attempt within the six was blocked, Army gained possession and rookie phenom Dymon Washington raced with the ball down the middle of the field and sent a through-pass to her running-mate White that set up a 1v1 opportunity with Barnes that looked as if it would seal the fate for the Mids some 55 seconds into the second OT.

A charging Barnes, however, cut the angle down just enough to force a rushed touch from White. This allowed the keeper to get a hand on the break-in attempt and push it wide, where she eventually grabbed it to prevent an Army corner.

Less than four minutes later, however, White would convert an opportunity that did not initially seem to be as threatening as her prior attempt.

Freshman Deanna Clegg made a run down the center of the field and played the ball along the rightside to Army's physical fourth-year forward.

White, who was without much of an angle at the goal, elected to inside-out a shot to the near-side that a diving Barnes was able to slow down before it caromed off the inside post and slowly trickled across the goalline.

The goal delivered an abrupt ending to the Midshipmen's quest for a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

The somber result also brought a bittersweet end the decorated careers of Navy's eight-member senior class – Barnes, McCaskey, Reynolds, Jenn Dunbar (Crofton, Md.), Kristen Laraway (Long Valley, N.J.), Sam Schroth (Chester Springs, Pa.), CiAnna Weikle (Lakeville, Minn.) and Carey Young (Virginia Beach, Va.).

This special group of Midshipmen women will graduate as the winningest class in program history with a four-year record of 60-19-10, good for a sterling 73.9 winning percentage. This group helped lift Navy to a number of program firsts, including its first national ranking and win over a top-10 program, as well as the school's first back-to-back Patriot League Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances.

Following the contest, Gabarra reflected on the accomplishments of Navy's eight seniors, the largest class in program history.

"It’s a great class. Their leadership has gotten us to where we are today. It's really too bad that it didn't end the way they wanted it to. But they did so much this season, they gave so much to our team and a lot of our success is sue to their leadership.

"I wish they could have gone out on a better note. I know they have all the components for success and will do great in whatever they do."

In 2008, Navy's eight seniors put the finishing touches on their celebrated collegiate careers by helping the Mids to reach a number of program milestones, including their:

-seventh regular season Patriot League crown and first outright title since 2001.
-third unbeaten mark in Patriot League regular season play (5-0-2).
-14th-straight season with double-digit victories and a winning record.
-third-straight postseason tournament appearance and the 12th in 15 years.

Navy finishes the season at 15-4-3 and a .750 winning percentage - the fifth-highest in program history.