ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Joe Alex (So., Lockport, N.Y.) tallied the lone goal in Navy men's soccer's (2-0-0) 1-0 victory on Monday night against George Mason (1-1-0) at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
Alex is the fourth different goal scorer for Navy through the first two games of the season while Bayne Bentley (So., Austin Texas) picked up his second assist in as many matches. The Midshipmen have now won their last six games to match their longest winning streak since 2014.
 
"George Mason is a good team. I knew they were going to be very dynamic and they were very athletic," head coach Tim O'Donohue said after the match. "George Mason is a very experienced team with a lot of seniors. I am really proud of how our guys fought tonight. We possessed well, defended well and I thought it was a really good performance tonight."
 
In a first half that seen back-and-forth action with few scoring chances early, George Mason recorded the first shot of the match in the 10th minute off the foot of Ryan Mingachos that just missed the top of the crossbar and went behind the goal for a goal kick. In the final 20 minutes of the first half, Navy started to find its offensive swing with the next seven shots.
 
Ethan Singer (Sr., Clearwater, Fla) forced Tillman Theurich to make his first save in the 40th minute and within the same minute, Alex followed with his first goal of the season to give the Midshipmen a 1-0 advantage. At the top of the penalty area, Bentley played a short ball through to Alex and Alex smashed his first touch with his left foot into the upper right-hand corner of the net to give Navy the lead in the final minutes of the first half.
 
Toni Adewole (Jr., Clarksburg, Md.) had a couple of chances at goal just before halftime but he had one shot blocked, then he corralled the rebound and missed high as Navy took a one-goal lead into the half.
 
In the first 45 minutes of play, the Midshipmen outshot the Patriots, 7-2, with Navy recording the only two shots on goal.
 
Both teams came out firing in the second half with George Mason trying to erase its deficit. Mingachos had the only shot on goal for the Patriots in the 51st minute but his header went into the ground and Ian Bramblett (Jr., Easley, S.C.) was able to collect the ball off the hop for the save. Jacob Williams (So., Millersville, Md.) tried to keep his goal streak alive but came up just short after pushing a pair of shots wide in the 54th minute and then Theurich saved Williams' final attempt in the 85th minute.
 
The second half remained even as Navy kept the Patriots at ease to pick up the 1-0 victory and the Midshipmen earned their first shutout of the season. Bramblett also picked up his second career shutout after making a stop in the second half of the match.
 
Navy held a narrow 7-6 shot advantage in the second half to outshot George Mason 14-8 for the match. The Midshipmen also had a 5-1 edge in shots on goal.
 
"We have a really good team, great character, good technical quality and we are defending well," O'Donohue commented about his team's start to the season. "We have only allowed one shot on goal in each of the first two games and we have started the season well in many facets of the game. Once we get a few of our attacking pieces going I think we will get better, but it was a really gutsy performance tonight and I am really proud of the guys."
 
With the victory on Monday night, Navy has started 2-0-0 for the first time since the 2010 season when the Midshipmen won their first four matches of the season.
 
Navy returns to action on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts St. Bonaventure at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.