Oct. 25, 2008
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Mike Porcelli's goal in the 85th minute rallied the Navy men's soccer team to a 1-1 draw with Colgate on Saturday afternoon at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The tie gives Navy its first league point of the year and improves the Mids to 4-9-3 overall and 0-4-1 in league play. Colgate drops to 8-4-3 overall and 3-1-1 in the Patriot League.
The contest was played in a heavy, driving rain with wind gusts reaching 40 miles per hour. Both of the game's goals were scored heading into the gusty south wind.
"In the first half, I didn't think we played very smart. We just did not take any advantage of the wind," said Navy head coach Rich Miranda. "We showed our character in the second half and really battled hard and stayed resilient. I thought we played to our capabilities in the second half. It was a good, fair result against a pretty good team."
Colgate got on the board first in the 23rd minute, when Chris Ross found some space in the box after a Navy defenseman had slipped guarding him. Ross took a pass from Steven Miller and deposited the shot inside the left post for a 1-0 Raiders' lead, which remained the score at halftime.
Despite playing into the south wind, Navy had a couple of excellent chances early in the stanza. The best came about five minutes into the frame, when Porcelli took a pass and fired a rocket off the right post to keep the Midshipmen off the board.
However, Navy continued its pressure and finally got the equalizer with just five minutes left. Sam Lepley (So. / Des Moines, Iowa) gathered a failed clearing attempt by Colgate, and sent a pass to Mark Garcia (Jr. / Tempe, Ariz.). Garcia sent a cross into the box, where Porcelli (So. / West Islip, N.Y.) headed the ball into the left side of the net to tie the score at one.
Both teams had chances in the overtime sessions, but neither team could convert and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Colgate outshot the Mids, 16-6, and drew 12 corner kicks to Navy's two. The Mids were whistled for 32 fouls, while the Raiders had just seven violations. Nolan Grebb (Sr. / Woodbury, N.J.) recorded five saves in goal for Navy, while Colgate's David Cappuccio had no saves.
Navy will conclude its home schedule next Saturday against Lafayette, beginning at noon.
# GO NAVY #
