ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Ian Bramblett (Jr., Easley, S.C.) guided the Navy men's soccer team (3-0-0) to is second-straight shutout after making six saves against St. Bonaventure (0-2-0) in the Midshipmen's 1-0 victory on Friday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
After recording just his second career shutout on Monday night against George Mason, Bramblett notched his second clean sheet in as many matches to lift Navy to a 3-0-0 start and the program's seventh-straight win dating back to last season.
The Midshipmen got on the board early following an own goal from the Bonnies in just the sixth minute of play. With Diego Manrique (Sr., Buford, Ga.) and Toni Adewole (Jr., Clarksburg, Md.) making runs down the right-wing, Manrique started to make his move toward goal but his centering attempt went off the head of a St. Bonaventure defender and into the back of the net to give Navy a 1-0 advantage less than six minutes into the game.
With the pace of play slowing down throughout the first half, the Bonnies started to control the possession and outshot the Midshipmen 7-2 over the final 25 minutes of the opening stanza. St. Bonaventure's first scoring opportunity came in the 22nd minute after Cheuck Pan Ngan's shot from the left corner of the penalty area skipped off the top of the crossbar. Then in the 24th minute, Fredrik Hansen forced Bramblett to make his first save of the night.
Navy tried to double its lead in the 26th minute, but Nicko West's (Jr., Mansfield, Texas) shot just missed the target wide and the Midshipmen's lead remained at just one goal.
Over the final 20 minutes of the first half, St. Bonaventure searched for the equalizer but Bramblett was up to the task finishing the first half with three saves. The Bonnies held a 7-4 edge in shots in the first 45 minutes of play with Navy recording just two shots on goal, compared to three from St. Bonaventure.
Offense was at a premium to start the second half as the scoring chances were diminished through the middle portion of the half. However, Navy tried to double its lead once again with two scoring chances from Jacob Williams (So., Millersville, Md.) in the first 10 minutes of the half. Williams' first attempt just missed the upper-right corner of the net and then his second attempt was stopped Justyn Sandhu in goal. Williams had all four of Navy's shots in the second half with two being saved by Sandhu.
Still trailing by a goal, the Bonnies started to put the offensive pressure on Navy over the final 10 minutes of regulation. After recording just two shots in the first 35 minutes of the half, St. Bonaventure rattled off five shots in the final 10 minutes. Navy's defense came up with three blocked shots and Bramblett notched a pair of saves.
Bramblett's final two saves of the night came just seconds apart in the 89th minute. On a free kick from nearly 25 yards out, Shea Currey curled his shot around the wall and Bramblett made a diving save to keep Navy ahead. Then on the ensuing rebound, Bramblett was able to corral Francesco Caorsi's equalizing attempt to secure the 1-0 victory for the Midshipmen.
Navy was outshot in the match 14-8 and 6-4 in shots on goal. The Bonnies did not have a corner kick opportunity throughout the night after Navy finished eight -- where six came in the second half.
"We went up early and I think we sat back a little bit and had to reorganize at halftime, but we came out better in the second half," head coach Tim O'Donohue said following the match. "We were not great tonight, but the guys have great character and we got the win. Ian played great tonight. St. Bonaventure brought a lot of guys forward and he made some big saves. I am really excited for him, he played great tonight."
The six saves from Bramblett on the night was one shy of his career-high. Last season, Bramblett made seven saves in an overtime defeat at Holy Cross.
Navy's current seven-match winning streak is the program's longest streak since the 2013 season when the Mids rattled off 15-straight wins on their way the Patriot League Tournament Championship and the NCAA Tournament.
Up next, Navy concludes its four-match homestand against Saint Peter's on Sunday night at 7 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
