ANNAPOLIS, Md. – David Jackson (So., Cypress, Texas) netted the game-winning, penalty-kick goal in the 98th minute to secure a 2-1 overtime victory for the Navy men's soccer team (2-0-1) over Iona (0-2-0) Friday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
With just two minutes remaining in the first overtime period, the Mids were awarded a penalty kick and Jackson was tasked with taking the attempt. The sophomore midfielder did just that, sending a lined shot into the back of the net, securing a hard-fought victory for Navy.
"We played well tonight," said head coach
Tim O'Donohue. "We need to learn to put teams away, our foot came off the pedal for 20 seconds and all the sudden the game was tied. I think our guys showed resiliency in that moment and were able to regroup and ultimately come away with the win."
The first half was a defensive battle, with the Midshipmen limiting Iona to just two shots in the first half while the Gaels fended off 10 Navy shot attempts resulting in a scoreless game at halftime.
The Mids came out firing in the second half, controlling possession and recording each of the first four shot attempts before converting in the 56th minute when
JD Wagner (So., Medford Lakes, N.J.) played a feed from
Jacob Williams (Sr., Millersville, Md.) into the back of the net, giving Navy a 1-0 advantage.
The Midshipmen continued their dominance in the possession battle following the score, limiting the Gaels to just two shots through the 81st minute. However, at the 81:27 mark, Iona evened the score when Camil Azzam Ruiz sent an arching shot from outside the box into the top-right corner of the goal. The late score proved to be a decisive blow, sending the contest to a sudden-victory overtime period.
The Navy defense rebounded to begin the overtime, fending off a shot on goal along with a corner-kick attempt by Iona before a foul at the 97:26 mark leading to the aforementioned golden goal by Jackson and a 2-1 win for the Midshipmen.
The Mids led the way in total shots (25-6) along with shots on goal (5-2) and corner kicks (10-1).
Azzam Ruiz paced the Gael attack with four shots and a score. Jackson and Wagner led the Navy offense with one goal apiece while Williams added six shots and an assist in addition to
Baba Kallie (So., Coatesville, Pa.) tallying four shots.
In goal,
Tyler Fahning (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) recorded a save while yielding one score to pick up his second win of the season. Iona goalkeeper Zach Nelson allowed two scores while tallying three saves.
Navy will have a quick turnaround as it hosts La Salle Sunday for a non-conference contest at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility with opening kick slated for 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES
•
MULTI-SCORE AFFAIRS – With the 2-1 win, the Midshipmen improve to 21-3-1 in games where they score two or more goals in the
Tim O'Donohue era (since 2016).
•
NO PLACE LIKE HOME – In addition to its success under O'Donohue when scoring two or more goals, Navy improves to 21-15-5 in home games over that same span.
•
CHASING 200 – With the victory over Iona, O'Donohue improves his record as a head coach to 195-60-33 (.734), just five wins away from 200 for his career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
GOAL: Navy 1, Iona 0 '56:
JD Wagner (Williams)
GOAL: Iona 1, Navy 1 '82: Camil Azzam Ruiz
GOAL: Navy 2, Iona 1 '98:
David Jackson (PK)
