CHESTER, Pa. — It was a typically electric environment for the Army-Navy Cup, which this year was a doubleheader for the first time.
Approximately 500 cadets and midshipmen turned out at Subaru Park on Friday and they were loud and boisterous throughout. Across the field seated behind the Navy bench was a large contingent of Marine Corps officers.
The Naval Academy Drum & Bugle Band added to the atmosphere by playing a mixture of military and pop tunes. Before the men’s game, a group of Navy Leap Frogs parachuted into the Major League Soccer stadium located under the Commodore Barry Bridge and alongside the Delaware River.
While the Navy men’s and women’s soccer teams enjoyed the experience, they were not so thrilled with the results between the white lines in Army-Navy Cup XIV.
Senior striker Marlee Heaven scored a goal and assisted another, but the Navy women gave up a two-goal lead and settled for a 2-2 tie with archrival Army. The Black Knights retained the cup by virtue of having beaten the Midshipmen last season.
“I know our players are disappointed and they should be. We should be winning games when we’re up two to zero,” Navy head coach Carin Gabarra said.
In the nightcap, the Army men completely dominated every aspect in shutting out Navy, 4-0. Junior forward Jubril Bamgbala scored two goals less than a minute apart to put the finishing touches on the overpowering performance for the Black Knights, who earned the Star for men’s soccer.
“They outplayed us in every facet of the game. They outplayed us attacking-wise, outplayed us for 50-50 balls,” Navy head coach Tim O’Donohue said. “They were more physical and bigger, stronger, faster. We have to be better. That wasn’t good enough.”
This marked the first time the Star match for women’s soccer was played at a neutral site. Gabarra and Army counterpart Tracy Chao agreed to be part of the event at Subaru Park for two seasons so that each side gives up a home game.
They will reevaluate after next year’s Army-Navy Cup, but Gabarra seems inclined to maintain the tradition of playing the Star match in Annapolis and West Point.
“It’s a wonderful event with a great atmosphere and we were super-excited to do it for two years and give our players this experience,” Gabarra said. “I also love the home and home. There’s nothing like playing in front of 2,000 to 3,000 midshipmen at home and there is nothing worse than playing in front of 2,000 to 3,000 cadets on the road. That’s an experience I want all our players to have.”
Players from both teams battle for a ball in midair during the Army-Navy Cup XIV. (Debbie Latta/Navy Athletics)
Senior forward Mimi Abusham gave Navy the early lead, outracing an Army defender to a nice lead pass by Heaven and finishing with a strong right-footed shot in the 36th minute. Heaven headed a clearing kick by Black Knights goalie Karalyn Dall back toward the box and right to the foot of Abusham.
Abusham then changed direction to beat another defender before winding up from 16 yards out and beating the keeper with a dart to just inside the left post.
Heaven then added to the lead just a few minutes into the second half, dribbling into the box and drawing a penalty. The Rockville native expertly put the penalty kick away and Navy was ahead 2-0 in the 48th minute.
“I thought we came out with a lot of intensity, a lot of energy. Mimi did a great job of getting us on the board first and I was able to give us a little cushion,” Heaven said.
However, Army picked up the pace and applied more consistent pressure as the second half wore on and the possession advantage finally paid off. Sophomore midfielder Grace Pohlidal scored a somewhat freak goal in the 55th minute.
Pohlidal and Navy goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood both jumped in the air to play a free kick by Army’s Daisy West. Neither was able to control the ball, which then hit off the back of Pohlidal and caromed into the net.
Pohlidal then scored the equalizer by pouncing on a loose ball and pounding it into the right corner of the net beyond the outstretched arms of a diving Stramrood. Standout senior forward Brigid Duffy created that goal with a strong charge into the box. She lost the ball after being confronted by two defenders, but it rolled backwards to the waiting Pohlidal.
“You get a lot of momentum when you’re down, especially in an environment like this,” Gabarra said. “In the last 15 minutes, Army had a lot of momentum and put a lot of pressure on us.”
Moments later, Duffy came very close to scoring the game-winner — lining a hard shot from near the end line just past the far post.
“Obviously, a disappointing result. Having them come back from a 2-0 lead is not ideal, but we’re pretty proud of how we played. We did a lot of things right today,” Heaven said.
Navy’s Jessica Black beats an Army player to the ball. (Debbie Latta/Navy Athletics)
Army has won five straight meetings in the series — four in the Star Match and one in the Patriot League Tournament. Attendance was announced at 6,037, second-largest for a Division I women’s soccer game this season.
“We appreciate the Philadelphia Union hosting us and the atmosphere was unbelievable. For the players on both sides to get to play in an MLS stadium, you feel the energy and emotion. It was cool to see the cadets and midshipmen show out,” Chao said.
Meanwhile, attendance for the men’s game was announced as 11,634, largest in the 14-year history of the Army-Navy Cup, which has always been held at the home of the Philadelphia Union of MLS.
Army took control from the outset and never really relinquished it. The Black Knights set the tone early with sophomore forward Jack Kryger leaping high to score off a beautiful header in the 15th minute.
Senior midfielder Jack Meyer had delivered a perfect pass to the front of the goal and Kryger went up and got it — deftly heading the ball into the near corner behind the outstretched arms of diving Navy goalie Robert Eaton.
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“I felt like the field tilted our way. We did a good job of establishing territory and keeping territory,” Army coach Brian Plotkin said. “We challenged the group to be hunters and really go after it and I thought they did a good job of that in the second half. We want to be aggressors and disrupters.”
Navy was able to win enough balls in its own defensive end or around midfield to keep it a one-goal game going into halftime. O’Donohue was hoping the Midshipmen would regroup and be more assertive in the second half, but it was not to be.
Junior midfielder Riley Cullum scored Army’s second goal in the 58th minute off a tremendous individual effort, beating two defenders. Cullum played the ball ahead to himself to get some space then quickly changed direction and split defenders Jalen Grant and Keane Brown before driving a hard shot into the top right corner.
Bamgbala turned into a rout with his two goals in the span of 53 seconds, leaving the Midshipmen stunned and soundly defeated.
“Our mindset wasn’t to just keep the lead, but to go and get another and finish off the game,” Meyer said. “To be brutally honest, we wanted to take away their will to play the game.”
Eaton was under fire from start to finish and did his best to keep things close by recording nine saves. Navy was outshot 24-10 and beaten 9-1 on corner kicks. The Midshipmen did not have any high danger opportunities with Army goalie Michael Guiry only having to make one save with that coming in the closing minutes.
“We haven’t been dangerous enough all season. We haven’t been creating enough chances. That’s been a two-year issue,” O’Donohue said.
Army’s senior class has posted a 3-0-1 record against Navy, which sends its firsties out without a win versus the archrival. The Midshipmen last beat the Black Knights in the Star match in 2021.
“It’s extremely disappointing and that’s on me as the head coach. I feel bad that we couldn’t give a better performance tonight for our alumni and fans,” O’Donohue said.
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.
