BOSTON - Sophomore Celia Braun tallied a career-high 10 saves, and redshirt senior Amy Thompson scored in the 84th minute to guide the Boston University women's soccer program to a 1-0 victory over Navy on Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field.

BU (5-6-0, 2-1-0 PL) captures its Patriot League home opener and secures its second shutout of the season. The Mids (4-4-3, 1-2-0 PL) fall in their league road opener, and are shut out for the second straight match.

In a game that featured 31 combined shots and two penalty kick saves, BU broke the ice in the 84th minute as junior Abigail McNulty found Thompson in the middle of the box for the Virginia native's third goal of the season.

Thompson finished the contest with a season-high seven shots, three of which were on target. Braun registered seven of her 10 stops after halftime.

Mattie Gallagher collected four saves, all coming in the second half, between the posts for Navy. Alexa Riddle and Kat Healey each posted two shots on goal.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• McNulty generated early offensive chances for BU, including a chance by the left post in the seventh minute after Navy struggled to clear the ball.
• Freshman Giulianna Gianino tried a shot from atop the penalty box in the 23rd minute, but it sailed over the crossbar.
• Braun's first save came after a direct kick from Kassidy Borden 35 yards away in the 26th minute.
• Navy was awarded a penalty kick with 58 seconds remaining in the half, but Braun dove to her left to deny Healey and keep the match scoreless at the break.
• Just 48 seconds out of halftime, Thompson ripped a shot that Gallagher corralled.
• In the 51st minute, redshirt senior Jenna Oldham worked past multiple Navy defenders and fired a left-footed shot by the left post, only for Gallagher to make a diving stop.
• Braun crouched to her left on a 25-yard chance from Riddle to send the ball away, and the Mids were offside as they attempted to regain possession.
• Gianino narrowly missed the net in the 61st minute after getting a feed from senior Marli Rajacich, rolling the ball left of the post.
• Rajacich then intercepted a goal kick in the 67th minute and fended off multiple Navy defenders to get in the box, but Gallagher prevented her shot from going through her legs.
• BU garnered a penalty kick in the 78th minute, but Thompson's opportunity was denied by Gallagher, who leaped to her right to bat it away. The two ensuing Terrier corner kicks did not yield a shot.
• On Thompson's goal, McNulty worked into the right corner and passed to her left for Thompson in the middle. The redshirt senior turned, and buried the shot into the lower-left corner.
• Navy generated a corner kick with eight seconds left, and Caitlin Doran sent a shot towards the net for Braun to save before the clock expired.

 
GAME NOTES

• BU outshot Navy 17-14, but the Mids had a 10-5 advantage in shots on target.
• The Terriers procured eight corner kicks to the Mids' five.
• Braun played the entire 90 minutes for the first time in her career.
• In addition to her 10 saves establishing a new career-best, she is the first Terrier netminder to stop 10 or more shots since Morgan Messner racked up 10 saves against Colgate on Oct. 19, 2019.
• Thompson moves into a tie with Gianino and sophomore Morgan Fagan for the team lead with three goals.
• McNulty now has a team-high three assists.
• McNulty and Thompson also move into a tie with Fagan for the team lead in points at seven.
• The Terriers earned their first home shutout in the regular season since Oct. 13, 2021.
• BU improves to 9-3 all-time against Navy, and have won three of the last four meetings.

 
UP NEXT

• BU rests during the week before another weekend league match at home, welcoming Lehigh to Nickerson Field on Saturday (Oct. 1). Opening kick is scheduled for 1 p.m.