Sept. 11, 2005
Box Score
Box Score | Team Stats
BALTIMORE, Md. -- The Navy men's soccer team rebounded from its first loss of the year with an impressive outing, blanking Rider 2-0 at the Coca-Cola/adidas Kick Off Classic on Sunday. The Midshipmen, which suffered their first defeat of the year on Friday, a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 22-ranked Davidson on Friday, improved to 3-1-0 on the season. The three wins already equals Navy's win total from last year.
Navy wasted little time getting on the board. In the 17th minute, sophomore J.P. Murphy (Severna Park, Md.) tallied his team-leading third goal of the season as he won a battle inside and blasted a shot into the corner of the net from seven yards out for a 1-0 lead. Junior Carter Stapleton (Summerfield, N.C.) assisted on the goal. The duo both lead Navy with seven points on the young season.
Navy still led 1-0 early in the second half when the Mids' offense struck again. Addy Strasdas (Tampa, Fla.) netted his second goal of the year in the 58th minute, when Will Riordan (Oak Ridge, N.C.) played a cross to a streaking Strasdas. The junior midfielder corraled the ball, and played a perfectly-placed shot into the corner that beat Rider keeper Daniel Riverso for a 2-0 advantage.
That was all Navy senior goalkeeper Aric McElheny (Baton Rouge, La.) would need as he led the Navy defense to its second shutout of the season and first of his career. McElheny made six saves, three in each half, to turn away every Rider charge. McElheny stopped 14 shots on the weekend, and boasts a stellar 0.52 GAA and .905 save percentage while playing all but 22:18 of the season in 2005.
Navy outshot thr Broncs, 15-10, and drew three corners to Rider's one. Navy did commit 18 fouls, including 13 in the second half, to Rider's 12.
The Mids will colose out the majority of its pre-Patriot League slate next weekend with a pair of games in New England. On Friday night, Navy will face Hartford at 7:00 p.m., in Hartford, Conn., before taking on Massachusetts at noon on Sunday in Amherst, Mass.
# GO NAVY #
