ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's soccer team dropped its fifth-straight match following a 3-2 loss at home against American on Wednesday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
Jacob Williams (Fr., Millersville, Md.) got the Midshipmen (1-8-1, 0-3-0 Patriot League) on the board in the first nine minutes of the match, but they could not rally from a pair of one-goal deficits against the Eagles (2-3-4, 1-1-1 PL).
 
"We are competing hard, but we are making young mistakes," head coach Tim O'Donohue said after the match. "We are creating some good chances offensively, but we need to defend better on dead balls. We have to come back against a good Lehigh team this weekend."
 
After withstanding an early chance from American, Navy took advantage of an Eagle miscue. After the Lucas Manso tried to grab a loose ball at the top of his goal box, his defender scooped up the loose ball and the miscommunication between the Eagle goalkeeper and defender allowed Williams to corral the loose ball and slot into an open far post and give the Midshipmen an early 1-0 lead. 
 
In the 24th minute, American tied the match at one goal apiece after Fabio Massaro fired a shot from nearly 25 yards out and beat Tyler Fahning (Fr., Victoria, Minn.) -- who was making his first collegiate start -- low and to the far post.
 
Over the final 20 minutes of the first half, the two teams combined for five shots, but neither team was able to break the tie heading into the half. Both teams finished with six shots in the first half, but the Eagles held a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal.
 
American came out fast to start the second half and scored just 53 seconds into the period. Following a cross from the left wing by Brenner Jarrad, Jerry Zouantcha slide at the top of the six-yard box and volleyed in a goal for the Eagles.
 
After American took a 2-1 lead, the Midshipmen fought back and generated strong chances near the Eagle goal. Navy was threating off the right wing in the 58th minute and after a cross from the wing hit an American defender in the arm in the 18-yard box, the Midshipmen were awarded a penalty shot. Diego Manrique (Jr., Buford, Ga.) took the penalty kick and placed his shot into the lower right corner of the net, just past the outstretched arms of Manso to tie the match at two.
 
However, the 2-2 tie only lasted for 70 seconds as the Eagles came back with their third goal of the night. With the ball played into the box off of a free kick, the Navy backline tried to the clear the ball away, but the ball ping-ponged around in the box until Jarrad got his foot on the ball and scored on his first touch to make it a 3-2 contest in favor of the Eagles. 
 
Navy continued to press offensively when facing its second one-goal deficit of the half. Off of a corner kick in the 62nd minute, Matt Nocita (Fr., Porter Ranch, Calif.) used his 6-6 frame to get over the American defenders and head the ball toward goal. However, Nocita's header hit the crossbar and Toni Adewole (So., Clarksburg, Md.) had another header opportunity, but his shot also hit the crossbar as the scored remained 3-2 for the Eagles.
 
Two minutes after hitting the crossbar twice, Wyatt Millard (So., Columbia, S.C.) raced down the left side of the 18-yard box and had just Manso to beat to try and tie the match once again, but his shot toward the far post scooted just wide.
 
The Midshipmen continued to look for the equalizer over the final 25 minutes, but none of Navy's five shots down the stretch were on goal as American grabbed the 3-2 win.
 
In his first collegiate start, Fahning made three saves for the Midshipmen. Navy outshot American 19-13, including 13-7 in the second half.
 
The Midshipmen start a three-match road swing on Saturday night as they travel to Lehigh for a 6 p.m. kickoff in Bethlehem, Pa.