ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's soccer team (1-0-0) opened its 2019 season with a 3-1 victory over UNC Asheville (0-1-0) on Friday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
The Midshipmen had six different players collect a point as they had three different goal scorers in the win over the Bulldogs. Ethan Singer (Sr., Clearwater, Fla.) and Matt Nocita (So., Porter Ranch, Calif.) each scored their first career goals, while Navy's leading scorer from a year ago, Jacob Williams (So., Millersville, Md.), started the scoring in the match.
 
"I liked the way we played tonight and I think we played much better in the second half. I thought we were more dangerous in the second half and I thought some of the young guys were nervous in the start of the first half in front of the crowd," head coach Tim O'Donohue mentioned. "We have not played in front of a crowd like this and I am really excited about the group."
 
Following a UNC Asheville corner kick in the first two minutes of the game, Navy became the aggressor on the offensive end and forced the Bulldog goalkeeper to make a pair of saves in the first 15 minutes of play.
 
Searching for the first goal of the night, Williams broke the ice with the first goal of the season on his only shot attempt. Toni Adewole (Jr., Clarksburg, Md.) raced down the right-wing and played the ball back to Williams who smashed a left-footed shot past Jarrett Payne to give the Midshipmen a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
 
With the lead, Navy's offense did not let up and continued to pressure the UNC Asheville defense as Payne was forced to make a total of four saves in the first half all coming in the first 25 minutes of the match. The Bulldogs started to find some offensive pressure with a pair of shots but Navy's defense came up with a block and forced another shot high to stay ahead by a goal.
 
As time was winding down in the first half, Navy doubled its lead in the 42nd minute. After a nice one-two play near midfield that sent Bayne Bentley (So., Austin, Texas) down the left wing to the end line, he centered the ball back into the center of the penalty area were an unmarked Singer slid the ball to the far post to give the Midshipmen the 2-0 advantage at the break.
 
At the half, Navy had six shots with all six being on goal compared to four shots from UNC Asheville with none hitting the target.
 
Navy hung on to the momentum to start the second half and limited the Bulldog scoring chances. The best scoring chance in the first hour of the game for UNC Asheville came in the 58th minute when Dino Dizergas took a shot from nearly 30 yards out that hit off the crossbar.
 
Right after the Bulldogs threated to score, Navy came right back with its third goal of the night in the 62nd minute. Wyatt Millard (Jr., Columbia, S.C.) raced toward the left post and his shot was blocked by the Bulldog defense and rolled out for corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Diego Manrique (Sr., Buford, Ga.) played the ball into the middle of the box where Nocita used his 6-7 frame to rise above the UNC Asheville defense and head the ball into the back of the net to push Navy's lead to 3-0.
 
The Midshipmen continued to control the pace of play over the final 30 minutes and racked up a total of five corner kicks in the second half to finish with seven for the match. However, the Bulldogs found a chink in the armor late in the match and scored in the 88th minute to spoil the shutout for Navy in the 3-1 victory for the Midshipmen. 
 
"I was not happy we gave up that last goal and that is a lesson for the young center backs but I am happy with the group and we have to get ready for our next match," O'Donohue concluded.
 
Friday's night victory marked the first time under O'Donohue that Navy won its opening match of the season. The last time the Midshipmen started the season with a victory was in 2015 when they picked up a 1-0 win on the road against West Virginia. Navy's last home-opening victory came in 2016 against Northern Illinois, 2-0.
 
The win over UNC Asheville on Friday also stretched the Midshipmen's winning streak to five matches dating back to last season.
 
Navy is back in action on Monday night at 7 p.m. in the second of four-straight home matches at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.