ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It took a little over 104 minutes before junior forward Morgan Dankanich (Glenmoore, Pa.) sent Navy home with the victory over Duquesne, 1-0, in double overtime on Friday, Sept. 6 at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Dankanich’s game-winner was her first of the season and seventh overall in her career at Navy.

“Tonight was about perseverance,” stated head coach Carin Gabarra. “It was a heck of a battle between two physical teams. Give credit to Duquesne for matching our offensive intensity with physicality on defense to keep the match even for so long.”

Both teams played a very even match. Navy held slight edges in shots, 13-12, and corner kicks, 7-4.

“We kept the ball a lot and had good numbers when we attacked,” continued Gabarra. “We created a handful of chances, but they weren’t that good. We need to improve on our chances when we get into the box in the final third and make those chances matter more.”

For the first 74 minutes of the match, there was very little action offensively between both teams. Navy (3-2-0) and Duquesne (1-3-0) played a very physical contest with much back-and-forth action at midfield.

Then in the 75th minute, the Dukes jump-started the contest with some offensive opportunities to grab the Mids attention. From outside the 18-yard box, forward Maggie Mayo sent a looping shot. As Mayo’s shot looked like it was going to sneak underneath the crossbar, Navy goalkeeper Elizabeth Hoerner used all 5-foot-10 to stretch out her right arm to pop the shot over the net.

Duquesne had another opportunity to win in regulation in 88th minute. Freshman forward Cydney Staton drove into the box and lined a shot. Staton’s shot bounced hard off the inner post and came back to teammate Kahlie Hale. Hale controlled the shot and directed her shot back at net, but missed wide left.

Moments later, Navy was on the attack. Rachel Hunter dribble passed two defenders at midfield and found teammate Paloma Perez. Perez deked one defender at the top of the box and drilled her shot on net. Unfortunately, Duquesne goalkeeper Ashley Szalwinski was able to come up with the save and preserve the scoreless tie through 90 minutes of play.

Duquesne’s lone offensive chance in the first overtime came in the 94th minute. Freshman forward A.J. Baroffio dribbled into Navy’s defensive third and curved a shot from the left side of the field to the far post. Baroffio’s shot missed the inside of the goal by a small margin.

Navy’s only opportunity followed two minutes later. It was Perez again, as teammate Julie Schumacher found the senior forward streaking down the field. Perez found herself alone from 20 yards out and sent a good-looking high line-drive. However, Szalwinski was able to reach high enough to punch the ball over the net.

After 104 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Midshipmen found the chance they needed to go home winners. In the 105th minute, Perez, instead of taking the shot, created an opportunity with a high service pass from 25-yards out into the box. Dankanich was able to handle the high-looping pass and beat Szalwinski for the game-winner.

“I looked up, saw Paloma (Perez) about to serve the ball, started running into the box and made one touch before I tapped it in,” said Dankanich. “This was a good win for us because it shows we are physically fit and have the ability to finish strong in games longer than 90 minutes.”

Navy’s Hoerner tallied four saves in her second shutout of the season to improve to 3-2-0 between the pipes. Duquesne’s Szalwinski falls to 1-3-0, having made two saves on three chances.

Dankanich and the Midshipmen continue their five-match homestand on Sunday, Sept. 7 against St. Bonaventure at Noon.

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