ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's soccer team (12-4-1) capped off its 2019 campaign on Saturday afternoon after falling in the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals to Bucknell (6-6-7), 2-0, at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
Navy's 12 wins during the 2019 season are tied for third-most in the program's 99-year history. The Midshipmen's .735 winning percentage this fall is tied for second-best in program history since 1980.
"I thought we played really well today," head coach Tim O'Donohue said after the match. "I thought we were really good on the ball and dominated possession. Their [Bucknell] first goal was their first shot of the game and then we were chasing the game a little and then we gave up the second goal. I am proud of the guys and I felt like we played extremely well today."
The Midshipmen controlled the pace of play throughout the first half as possession was held by Navy for the majority of the first stanza. Joe Alex (So., Lockport, N.Y.) tried to give Navy the early advantage off of a corner kick in the fourth minute of play. Alex's kick from the right corner was headed for the crossbar before Luke Smith tapped the ball over the net and out of play.
Navy's offense continued to pressure the Bucknell defense as the Midshipmen had another scoring chance in the 11th minute of play. After Andrew Hopkins (Sr., Garrison, Md.) headed a ball from the end line back to the center of the box on a long throw-in, Jacob Williams (So., Millersville, Md.) tried to head the ball into the vacant net, however, just before the ball crossed the goal line, the Bucknell defense headed the ball away from goal to keep the match scoreless.
On a freekick from nearly 25 yards out, Toni Adewole (Jr., Clarksburg, Md.) tried to curl a shot around the Bison wall, but Smith corralled the shot and came away with the save.
In the 26th minute, Bucknell broke the scoreless affair following a Navy foul in the 18-yard box that resulted in a penalty kick. Matt Thorsheim converted on the attempt and gave the Bison a 1-0 lead. The penalty kick was Bucknell's first shot attempt of the contest after the Midshipmen maintained most of the possession to start.
Right after the opening goal, Navy continued to put pressure on the backline of the Bison but the Midshipmen were unable to find the equalizer in the first half. Throughout the first 45 minutes, Navy held a 6-1 edge in shots and had three shots on goal compared to the one from Bucknell.
To start the second half, Bucknell doubled its lead just before the hour mark as Thorsheim scored his second goal of the match in the 59th minute off of a free-kick as the Bison grabbed a 2-0 lead.
Trailing by two, Navy had an opportunity to cut its deficit in half after Williams drew a foul inside the penalty area. On the ensuing penalty kick, Matt Nocita's (So., Porter Ranch, Calif.) shot attempt was saved by Smith and the Bison held on to their two-goal edge.
The Midshipmen continued to push forward on the offensive end looking for their first goal of the match but they only compiled four shots in the final 45 minutes with Nocita's penalty kick being the lone shot on goal for Navy in the second half.
Both teams finished with 10 shots for the match and the Midshipmen had a slight 4-3 edge in shots on goal. Ian Bramblett (Jr., Easley, S.C.) made a diving stop late in the match to keep Navy in the contest but the Midshipmen could not rally late and suffered a 2-0 loss to cap off the 2019 season.
"I told our team at the end that we will be back," O'Donohue concluded. "I told the seniors that we are proud of them in the effort that they gave and what they have done for the program. We will work to come back and then come back strong next year."
Navy finished the season with a record of 12-4-1 overall and its third-place finish in the Patriot League regular season was its third-best finish since 2000.
