WEST POINT, N.Y. - Sophomore Jade Seabrook's (St. Paris, Ohio) header in the 72nd minute gave Navy a 1-0 win over Army in the Star Game on Friday evening at Clinton Field. Navy (16-1-1, 4-0-1 PL) clinched a berth in the 2012 Patriot League postseason tournament and extends its unbeaten streak to 17 games (16-0-1). Army fell to 6-10 (1-4 PL).

 

"This never gets old," head coach Carin Gabarra said of the Army-Navy rivalry. "There was a lot of heart and a lot of passion and I was proud of the way we battled. Army's a good team and they were able to get into our territory, but our backline played very well."

 

Navy captures the N-Star for the second straight season and increases its overall lead in Star Games to 10-7-2. Navy holds a 12-10-2 edge in the overall series.

 

"We told the team before we took the field that out of all the games they will play in their career, the memories of the other games will get fuzzier over time; but the Army game will become clearer. We challenged them to make some memories."

 

Navy broke a 0-0 tie with 18 minutes remaining in the second half when sophomore defender Julie Schumacher (Plantation, Fla.) sent a free kick into the box to Seabrook, who headed it past the oncoming goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

 

Seabrook, a defender, tallied her second goal of the season and Schumacher recorded her team-leading ninth assist. Schumacher's nine assists are tied for the ninth-best single-season total in school history.

 

Navy had two strong scoring chances in the second half before Seabrook's header. In the 58th minute, junior forward Ashlynn Soellner (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) fired on net but the shot was saved by Army goalkeeper Linda Rosas. Freshman midfielder Kaylie Davidson (Oceanside, Calif.) also got a good look on goal 10 minutes later but Rosas made another impressive save. 

 

Navy goalkeeper Elizabeth Hoerner (Lititz, Pa.) made two saves for her third shutout of the season. All three of Hoerner's shutouts have been against Patriot League opponents and she increases her season record to 14-1-1.

 

Schumacher and Seabrook each played the full 90 minutes on defense to help Hoerner post the shutout and also contributing on the backline were starters Emily Wilkin (Westerville, Ohio) and Kahra Kelty (Odenton, Md.), as well as reserves Lizzy Rullan (East Setauket, N.Y.), Joy Pearson (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Lexi Ricketts (The Woodlands, Texas).

 

Army out shot Navy in the contest, 14-10, but the Mids held a 4-2 advantage on shots on goal. Army had eight corner kicks to Navy's three.

 

Rosas made three saves for Army and Kim An (5) and Joey Molacek (4) combined for nine shots.

 

With Navy's win on Friday, along with American's 1-0 defeat of Holy Cross, the Mids clinch a Patriot League postseason tournament berth for the 15th time in the last 18 years. Navy (4-0-1) and Colgate (4-0-1) remain tied for first place in the league with 13 points and American is in third place with 12 points (4-1-0).

 

Navy remains unbeaten on the road this season (5-0-1) and the 16 wins are tied for the fourth-most in program history.

 

The Mids will resume their road trip with a contest at Holy Cross (6-8-1, 2-3-0 PL) on Sunday at 1:00 PM.