ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Zach Wagner (So., Medford Lakes, N.J.) netted the game-winning, golden goal in the 108th minute to secure a 3-2 double-overtime victory for the Navy men's soccer team (7-1-1, 2-1-0 Patriot League) over Lafayette (5-4-1, 1-1-1 Patriot League) Wednesday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
With just two minutes remaining in the second overtime period, Sidney Paris (So., Oakville, Ontario) sent a looping pass into the box that was corralled by Wagner. After finding the post with his first shot attempt, the sophomore played the rebound and beat Lafayette goalkeeper Alex Sutton to his right, securing a thrilling victory for Navy on the first goal of his collegiate career. 
 
"It's a gutsy win," said head coach Tim O'Donohue. "You have to give Lafayette credit for coming back twice. We need to play a little better defensively after we score, but a gutsy performance overall and I'm proud of our group."
 
The Midshipmen jumped on the Lafayette defense to open the contest, scoring in the 14th minute as David Jackson (So., Cypress, Texas) lined a deflected-attempt into the bottom-left corner of the net to give the Mids a one-score advantage.
 
The vaunted Navy backline would settle in following the score, limiting the Leopard attack to just four shots, none being on goal, through the remainder of the half. The Lafayette defense defended two additional attempts on goal by Jason Aoyama (So., Narberth, Pa.) and Joe Alex (Sr., Lockport, N.Y.) to send the contest to halftime with Navy leading by a score.
 
The second half opened with the Leopard offense putting immense pressure on the Midshipmen defense, recording five of the first six shots out of the break before ultimately converting at the 57:03 mark when Marcos Kitromilides scored on a pass from Will Echeverria, tying the contest at 1-1.
 
Following the game-tying goal, the Navy offense went back on the attack, recording five of the next six attempts before Paris netted his fourth score of the season in the 76th minute to put the Mids back in front, 2-1.
 
The advantage would be short lived however, as Andrew Venezia would convert on a penalty-kick attempt just 40 seconds later to tie the score at 2-2 with less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Down the stretch, Navy and Lafayette continued to trade chances at the net with the Mids recording three shots, one being on goal, and the Leopards adding four shots with one attempt on goal. However, neither offense was able to break through for the go-ahead score, sending the match to overtime.
 
The first overtime period proved to be a defensive struggle, with Navy tallying just a single shot while Lafayette recorded three attempts, all being off target, to send the contest to a decisive second-overtime period.
 
The defensive battle continued into the final overtime as Lafayette recorded the lone shot attempt leading into the 108th minute. With the contest seemingly destined to end in a draw, Wagner played a pass from Paris through a crowd of defenders, finding the post on his first attempt before burying the game-winning score on the rebound and securing a thrilling 3-2 victory for Navy.
 
Tyler Fahning (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) yielded two scores for just the second time this season while recording three saves in goal for the Midshipmen. Sutton finished with five saves while allowing three scores in the losing effort.
 
With another three points against Lafayette, Paris has now tallied a score while assisting on another in three of the last four games. The sophomore forward now has a team-best 12 points on four goals and four assists this season.
 
While holding an advantage over Lafayette in shots on goal (8-5), the Leopards recorded advantages in total shots (21-17) and corner-kick attempts (5-3).
 
UP NEXT
Navy will have a quick turnaround as it is set to welcome Holy Cross to the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility Saturday for a Patriot League contest. Opening kick of the match is set for 12 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES
•  O'DONOHUE REACHES 200 – With the 3-2 win over Lafayette, Tim O'Donohue reached the 200 career wins as a head coach at 200-61-33.  
 
•  MULTI-SCORE AFFAIRS – After scoring three goals on Wednesday night, the Midshipmen improve to 25-3-1 under the direction of O'Donohue when scoring two or more goals.
 
•  WORKS WELL UNDER PRESSURE – Navy has found success in overtime games this season, having a 2-0-1 record in games that require an extra period.
 
•  HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS – Following its win over Lafayette, Navy improved its record at home this season to 5-0-0, outscoring opponents 10-3 in those games.