Sept. 6, 2012

Navy Invitational Schedule
Friday, September 7, 2012
Towson (0-4-1) vs. George Washington (2-2)
4:00 PM | Gametracker

Friday, September 7, 2012
Rider (4-0) at Navy (5-1)
7:00 PM | Gametracker | Live Video

Sunday, September 9, 2012
Rider (4-0) vs. George Washington (2-2)
12 noon | Gametracker

Sunday, September 9, 2012
Towson (0-4-1) at Navy (5-1)
3:00 PM | Gametracker

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team (5-1) will host the four-team Navy Invitational this weekend at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Navy will host Rider (4-0) on Friday at 7:00 PM and Towson (0-4-1) on Sunday at 3:00 PM. The other tournament games will feature George Washington (2-2) against Towson on Friday at 4:00 PM and George Washington against Rider on Sunday at 12 noon.

Live stats will be available for all four games on navysports.com and the Navy-Rider game will have live video available on Navy All-Access.

Last Time Out
Navy defeated North Florida, 5-3, last Sunday to cap off a three-win week and post its fifth win in a row. Sophomore forward Morgan Dankanich (Glenmoore, Pa.) and junior forward Ashlynn Soellner (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) each scored two goals and the Mids held off a second-half Osprey rally.

Patriot League Awards
Soellner and sophomore defender Jade Seabrook (St. Paris, Ohio) were honored by the Patriot League for their performances in Navy's 3-0 week. Soellner was named the league's offensive player of the week after scoring nine points on four goals and one assist. Soellner also scored two game-winning goals last week. Seabrook was named the league's defensive player of the week.

League Leaders
After three weeks of action, Navy sits atop the Patriot League standings with a 5-1 record. The team is leading the conference with 3.00 goals per game and Soellner is the league's leading scorer with 12 points (5 goals, 2 assists). Dankanich is right behind her with 11 points (5 goals, 1 assist) and junior forward Paloma Perez (Mobile, Ala.) ranks third in the league with nine points on two goals and a league-best five assists.

Mids in the Polls
Navy made its first appearance of the season this week in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region poll with a No. 9 showing. The Mids spent seven weeks in the regional poll last season. Navy has also been the lone Patriot League representative in the Top Drawer Soccer Tournament 64 rankings all season and the team is ranked at a season-best No. 55 this week.

Gabarra Nears Win No. 250
Head coach Carin Gabarra, the only head coach in the 20-year history of the Navy women's soccer program, enters the weekend with a 248-123-33 career record. Gabarra needs just two wins to become the 26th women's coach in NCAA history to win 250 career games.

A Look Back at the 2011 Navy Invitational
The Mids captured the 2011 Navy Invitational with a 2-0 mark, defeating Bryant, 5-2, and Davidson, 1-0, in overtime. Rachel Hunter (Raleigh, N.C.) was named the tournament MVP after scoring the game-winning goal in the 95th minute to defeat Davidson and five-different players found the back of the net in the win over Bryant.

It was the seventh time that the Mids have gone 2-0 at the Navy Invitational and the Mids are 19-4-3 all-time at the Navy Invite and 15-2-3 since 2001.

Scouting Rider
The Broncs enter the weekend undefeated at 4-0, having earned wins over NJIT (1-0), Howard (2-0), Mount St. Mary's (1-0) and Fairleigh Dickinson (2-1).

Senior goalkeeper Jenn Nichols is 4-0 with three shutouts and a 0.24 goals-against average.

Freshman midfielder Tara Ballay leads the team with five points on two goals and one assist and junior forward Jody Sokol also has scored twice. Bally is the current MAAC Rookie of the Week.

Abi Cottam has a team-high three assists so far this season after scoring 39 points in 2011 on 14 goals and 11 assists.

Rider was 9-6-4 last season with a 2-4-2 record in the MAAC.

This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools. Navy leads the all-time series 3-0-1 and has outscored the Broncs, 19-2.

Scouting Towson
Towson enters the weekend at 0-4-1 and has been outscored 13-3 on the year. The Tigers are coming off a 5-0 loss to Maryland on Sunday.

Senior forward Cheyenne Skidmore leads the team with two goals and freshman forward Hollie Garber has scored once. Skidmore led the team with 25 points last season on eight goals and nine assists.

Sophomore goalkeeper Erin Quinn is 0-4-1 with a 2.54 goals-against average.

The Tigers were 9-10-0 in 2011 and 4-7-0 in the CAA.

Navy leads the all-time series against Towson, 5-1. Towson's only win came in 1994 and the Mids have won five straight in the series.

Up Next
Navy will continue its season-long five-game home stand with two more games at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility next weekend. The Mids will host James Madison on Friday at 7:00 PM and then VMI on Sunday at 2:00 PM.

Parking/Shuttle Information | Additional Game Day Information
All fans without a Department of Defense sticker on their vehicle must park outside of the U.S. Naval Academy grounds. Fans may park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for $5. Free shuttle buses will run every 10 minutes between Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The shuttle buses will start running at 3:00 PM Friday and 11:00 AM Sunday and will run throughout the entire day and for one hour after the last game is complete. Shuttle schedule and pick up location are subject to change. Please call 1-800-US4-NAVY for more information. Fans are reminded that pets are not allowed in the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.