In an evenly played match, Navy took a one-goal advantage to halftime, and then held off the Liberty Lady Flames in the second half for a 2-1 win, Friday night, at Liberty Soccer Field.

Liberty drops to 0-4 on the young season, while Navy moves to 3-2-1 on the year. The match was the first ever meeting between the two squads.

The contest opened with play confined between the 18-yard boxes in the midfield. Navy midfielder Jen Grijalva fired the first shot of the game in the 11th minute, only to see Liberty counter with a shot in the 13th minute and another in the 16th minute of play.

Lady Flame Silvia Betancourt (Fr., F, San Jose, Costa Rica) worked free in the 13th minute for a shot, which was stopped by Midshipmen goalkeeper Beth Reed. In the 16th minute, a shot by Liberty forward Amy Oberlin (Sr., Ada, Mich.) hit the outside of the right post to keep the game scoreless.

Navy netted the game's first goal at 19:33. Grijalva sent a through pass into the center of the penalty area for midfielder CiAnna Weikle, who met the ball in stride and pull it inside the lower left corner of the net for a 1-0 advantage. The marker was her second goal of the season.

After the goal, Liberty began to pressure the Navy goal with three-consecutive shot attempts. A shot by midfielder Jordan Woody (Fr., Asheville, N.C.) sailed over the crossbar in the 25th minute, while an attempt by Maria Owen (So., F, Mount Jackson, Va.) was blocked in front by a defender two minutes later.

However, the Lady Flames cashed in their third shot attempt of the span, knotting the contest at the 30:07 mark. Oberlin pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area and tapped a pass forward to an open Bentancourt, who finished the play with a shot into the right corner of the Midshipmen net for her first goal of the year to tie the game at 1-1.

Navy countered with the go-ahead goal at 40:25 of the first half. A long pass by Elise McCaskey, allowed Carissa Youker to split the Liberty defense and score her first goal of the year, giving the Midshipmen a 2-1 edge at halftime.

In the second half, the Lady Flames rallied by outshooting the Midshipmen, 8-2, but could not find the equalizer.

After a Navy shot attempt in the 55th minute, Liberty attempted six-consecutive unanswered shots over the next 24 minutes of play.

In the last minute of play, a shot by Ashley Braam (R-Sr., MF, Grand Rapids, Mich.) went wide, as Navy held on for the 2-1 win.

Liberty outshot Navy, 13-6, in the contest, and held a 6-1 advantage on corner kicks.

Lady Flame goalkeeper Karen Blocker (Fr., Bowie, Md.) recorded one save in the game, while Reed made four stops in the Midshipmen net.

Liberty returns to the road next Friday, when it opens a two-game swing through the state of Florida with a contest at Florida Southern. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.