NCAA women

Navy raises record to 12-0 by downing American 2-0.

CiAnna Weikle scored midway through the first half to put Navy ahead of American for good. -- U.S. Naval Academy web site photo --

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Saturday, September 30, 2006) -- Reserve sophomore midfielder CiAnna Weikle scored in the first half, while senior striker Meggie Curran added late insurance from the penalty spot for Navy, which raised its record to 12-0 by defeating American in the Patriot League opener for both teams before 422 at the Glenn Warner Soccer facility this afternoon.

Navy goalkeeper Lizzie Barnes made five saves for her sixth solo shutout of the season and lowered her goals-against average to 0.11 per 90 minutes, best in NCAA Division I. The Mids have blanked nine of their opponents and are off to their best start since 2003, when they opened 17-0, setting a school record of 17 consecutive victories en route to the Academy's first NCAA tournament berth.

"Lizzie did a good job in goal for us today," Navy coach Carin Gabarra said. "American is a solid team in the air and she did a nice job of shutting off their opportunities."

AU (6-4-1) came up empty on a good chance to take the lead when sophomore midfielder Katelynn Donovan shot high from 10 yards in a one-on-one attempt against Navy sophomore goalkeeper Lizzie Barnes in the 20th minute.

Soon after, the Mids began to turn momentum in their direction. Sophomore midfielder Carey Young fed sophomore forward Sam Schroth on the left sideline. Schroth turned her defender, carried to the corner and served the ball into the middle where Weikle headed it past keeper Alison Doyle for 1-0 lead with 32:46 elapsed.

It was Weikle's third goal of the season and second career game-winner

Navy held an 11-3 advantage in shots at the half, including a 3-1 edge in shots on goal.

The second half was more evenly fought, but AU couldn't break through. In the 89th minute, Navy substitute freshman forward Cassie Barbaresi was taken down from behind in the Eagles box and Curran converted the penalty kick with 1:26 remaining for the 2-0 final.

"I'm happy to have a league victory against a quality team like American," Gabarra said. "It was a very intense, hard-fought 90 minutes up and down the field. When you get into league play, the outcome means more and so it tends to make the game more intense."

Each team took nine shots in the closing 45 minutes with Navy holding a 4-3 edge on frame.

Navy next travel to West Point, N.Y., for its annual showdown with arch-rival Army Friday night.

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