Sept. 18, 2005
•Box Score | Team Stats
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Navy men's soccer team held UMass to just seven shots on the day, but the Minutemen made the most of their opportunities in ending Navy's two-game winning streak, 2-0, before 363 fans at Rudd Field. With the loss, Navy falls to 4-2-0 overall, while UMass improved to 3-3-0. Navy ended its season-long four-game roadswing with a 2-2-0 mark.
Navy controlled the play and tempo in the first half, and nearly took an early lead just 12 minutes into the game. Kris Huff (Kenifield, Calif.) corraled a loose ball off a Navy corner kick and sent a 20-yard shot that sailed just high over the crossbar to keep the game scoreless. The two teams then settled in, and UMass started to swing the momentum, taking advantage of Navy's physical play. Following a Navy foul, Douglas Rappaport sent an indirect kick towards the right post which UMass' Kenny Cook was able to get a foot on to redirect into the goal. Cook fought through traffic in front of the goal to just push the ball across the goal line. Aric McElheny (Baton Rouge, La.) appeared to make a diving save fighting through the scrum, but the linesman ruled that the ball had crossed the plain of the goal for a 1-0 UMass lead at the 21:09 mark.
The Minutemen then went up 2-0 in the 62nd minute when Matty LeMire tallied his third goal of the year. The goal came on a UMass throw-in from the right sideline as freshman Nick Kelly tossed the ball into senior Tim Kitchell, who headed the ball towards the left post. LeMire leapt into the air getting a foot on the ball to push it inside the post past McElheny.
The UMass defense took over from there, highlighted by freshman keeper Zack Simmons. Simmons held Navy at bay the rest of the way, including making two diving saves of a pair of McKenzie Plank (Mountain View, Calif.) shots in the second half. The Mids could muster just eight shots on the afternoon, and only two on goal.
Physical play was also a problem for Navy, as it was whistled for 20 fouls, including 12 in the first half, to only nine for UMass. Navy did draw six corner kicks to UMass' one. McElheny made two saves in the net for the Mids.
Navy will wrap up the meat of its non-conference play on Wednesday night with a 7:00 p.m., tilt against Delaware at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. A win would be Navy's fifth, equaling the most wins in a season for the Mids since 2001. For ticket information, call 1-800-US4-NAVY.
# GO NAVY #
