"It's all in front of you. We have five games left. Five games is plenty of time to turn the season around. It's on us." That's what head coach Tracy Chao told the Army West Point women's soccer team after falling to Lehigh on Oct. 1 as the team sat in sixth place in the Patriot League.
On Oct. 25, the team saw just how five games can turn a season around as the Black Knights extended their win streak to five and clinched the regular season Patriot League title for the second consecutive season after a 2-1 win over Boston U at Malek Stadium.
Army applied the pressure from the jump coming into the game knowing they needed to win to clinch the crown. The Black Knights fired off 12 shots in the first half and eight of them went on frame.
The scoring started in the 32nd minute with an absolute rocket from Brigid Duffy that went upper 90 to put Army up 1-0.
It was Duffy's team leading sixth goal of the season as she bolstered her case for Patriot League Midfielder of the Year honors. She now has the third most goals in the conference.
Jasmine Talley would join in on the fun a mere four minutes later scoring her fourth goal of the year off a pass from Kaelan Bradley to double the lead going into the break.
The second half saw the Army defense come in clutch time and time again. Sydney Bender, Elizabeth Oberhaus, Keira Vesy, and Jordan Follenweider played all 90 minutes on the back line and made play after play to keep trouble away from goalkeeper Sage Strohman.
Strohman was lights out yet again, making five saves and only allowing a single goal. Her goals against average of .667 in conference play is tops in the Patriot League and her save percentage of .864 in league play is second best. She has now allowed one or fewer goals in eight straight games and 11 of the last 12.
The Terriers would get one back late in the game, but Army would ice the game away to seal the regular season Patriot League crown.
Army now gets some rest, earning a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament. They will take on the lowest remaining seed on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. at Malek Stadium in the Patriot League Semifinals on ESPN+.