ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy men's soccer (2-0-0, 1-0-0 Patriot League) rallied from one goal down to pick up a 2-1 victory over Colgate (0-1-0, 0-1-0 Patriot League) to open its Patriot League slate on Sunday at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
In a game that was delayed due to the weather and field conditions, Baba Kallie (Fr., Coatesville, Pa.) scored the game-tying goal for the Midshipmen and then also played the ball into the penalty area for Navy's second goal that was deflected in by the Raiders.
 
"I am very proud of the guys. They were very resilient in today's match in very difficult conditions," head coach Tim O'Donohue commented. "It was difficult in waiting to kick off, then not knowing if we would get the game in and then we went down a goal. It was a similar situation to NC State, to come back from a one-goal deficit. We played well, we had the game, we had the chances. We gave up a goal against the run of play and the guys fought back. The rain was kind of an equalizer. We grinded it out, we had to play more direct than we normally do and win second balls. I am happy for the players and I am proud of them."
 
Battling footing on the field, both teams eased their way into the match as the first shot of the contest was not registered until the ninth minute when Jacob Williams (Jr., Millersville, Md.) sent in a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but Nick Gerlach made the save for the Raiders.
 
The Midshipmen continued to press on the offensive end as Williams forced Gerlach to tap the ball over the crossbar on a header. On the ensuing corner kick, Matt Nocita (Jr., Porter Ranch, Calif.) had a chance to head one home but sent the ball wide. Navy rattled off four more shots before the Colgate made an attempt for goal.
 
However, on the Raiders first shot of the game, Justin Weiss sent in a shot from outside the 18-yard box where Ian Bramblett (Sr., Easley, S.C.) made the save, but Aidan Davock pocked home the rebound in the 34th minute to grab a 1-0 advantage for Colgate.
 
In the 44th minute, Navy was awarded an indirect free kick from the corner of the six-yard box. On the kick, Sidney Paris (Fr., Oakville, Ontario) aimed his shot for the left corner, but the Colgate defense cleared the ball off the line. Just 30 seconds later, the Midshipmen found the equalizer from Kallie. Wyatt Millard (Sr., Columbia, S.C.) passed the ball to Kallie in the middle of the penalty and Kallie turned and fired a right-footed shot toward the right post and found the back of the net to tie the game at one going into the half.
 
During the first 45 minutes of play, Navy finished with nine shots compared to three from Colgate. The Raiders also disrupted the flow of the game in the first half with 16 fouls.
 
In the second half, Colgate registered just one shot on goal where Bramblett came up with the save in the 62nd minute. Navy's offense continued to pressure the backline of the Raiders with five more shots in the second 45 minutes of play. In the 79th minute, the Midshipmen's offensive pressure forced Colgate into a mistake. With Kallie making a run with the ball down the right wing, he played a ball into the middle of the penalty area where the ball deflected off of a Raider defender and into the back of the net to give Navy the 2-1 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation.
 
Over the final 10 minutes of the game, the Colgate offense continued to press in search of the game-tying goal. The Navy defense stood tall down the stretch and only allowed one shot after taking the lead to seal the 2-1 victory.
 
The Midshipmen outshot the Raiders 14-6 for the game with Navy generating eight shots on goal compared to just three from Colgate.