ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The 22nd-ranked Navy men's soccer team (11-1-1, 4-1-1 Patriot League) dropped its first match of the season after Lehigh (9-4-1, 5-0-1 Patriot League) scored twice in the second half to grab a 2-0 victory over the Midshipmen on Saturday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
The loss also snapped Navy's 16-match unbeaten streak and Saturday was also the first time the Midshipmen were held without a goal since a 1-0 loss against James Madison on the road on October 17, 2018, which was also Navy's last loss. In Navy's last 14 Patriot League matches, it has been shutout just twice with Lehigh recording both clean sheets.
"I thought we played tonight and I am really happy with how we played," head coach Tim O'Donohue said after the match. "We just did not finish our chances in the first half and then Lehigh scored a goal in the run of play. We tried to push the pace and then they scored a second goal. I was happy with our performance in a lot of ways. We have not lost until this point and now we have to deal with a little adversity and come back on Tuesday night and be ready to go."
To start the match, the Midshipmen held the edge in possession early with Diego Manrique (Sr., Buford, Ga.) recording Navy's best scoring chance in the early going. In the fourth minute of play, Manrique drilled a shot from nearly 25 yards out and his shot beat Will Smith in goal for the Mountain Hawks but his shot also just missed hitting the right goal post and went wide of the frame.
In the 38th minute, Lehigh tried to be the first team to score a first-half goal against Navy as Josh Luchini split the Navy defense but Ian Bramblett (Jr., Easley, S.C.) came up with a save on Luchini's low shot. The Midshipmen's only shot on goal in the first 45 minutes came from Joe Alex (So., Lockport, N.Y.) and Smith came up with the stop for the Mountain Hawks as the game remained scoreless at the half.
Right at the start of the second half, Wyatt Millard (Jr., Columbia, S.C.) forced Smith to make his second of four saves on the night in the 46th minute. As the game started to open up, Lehigh tallied the first goal of the contest in the 68th minute after Luchini scored his 10th goal of the season to lead the Patriot League. The goal from the Mountain Hawks marked the first time all season Navy trailed in a match.
As Navy continued to press forward looking for the equalizer, Lehigh scored a second goal in the 82nd minute to double its lead and seal the 2-0 victory.
The Mountain Hawks' two goals mark the first time Navy allowed multiple goals in a game since October 12, 2019, against Army in a 4-1 defeat in Chester, Pa.
For the match, the Midshipmen held an 11-8 advantage in shots and both teams finished with four shots on goal. Just one corner kick was taken throughout the entire 90 minutes, which came from Navy in the 82nd minute.
Lehigh becomes the first team to secure a spot in the Patriot League Tournament as the Mountain Hawks climbed to 16 points on the year. The Midshipmen currently sit in second place in the league standings with 13 points and are a point ahead of Lafayette and Loyola – who are tied for third place with 12 points each.
Navy steps out of league play one last time during the 2019 season as it travels to UMBC on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. first kick in Baltimore, Md.
