VILLANOVA, Pa. – With multiple starters resting, the Navy men's soccer team played even with Villanova for almost the entire game on Tuesday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex, but a Wildcat goal in the 77th minute sent the Midshipmen home with a 1-0 loss to end their non-conference slate.
 
The defeat moved the Mids to 4-4-7 overall, handing Navy its first road loss of the fall, while Nova snapped a four-game skid to improve to 6-8-2 this season.
 
Notable absences in the Navy lineup included senior captain JD Wagner, junior Jason Aoyama and sophomore goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook, while junior midfielder David Jackson and sophomore midfielder Noah Ward both came off the bench late in the first half to conserve minutes.
 
Both teams had chances in the attacking end early on but could not turn it into shots until Nova's Viktor Benediktsson sent a shot off-target in the 10th minute, while junior forward Baba Kallie was stopped by the Wildcats' goalkeeper Kent Dickey at 13' on the first Navy shot.
 
Kallie forced Dickey to made another save in the 18th minute, while a pair of Villanova chances resulted in a blocked shot and shot just high over the next minute. Navy senior goalkeeper Thomas Pearson got involved in the 21st minute, making a diving save on a low shot from Jorge Garcia.
 
Dickey made another save on a header from junior defender Zach Wagner in the 33rd minute, while Jackson sent a free kick off the crossbar at 37' and fellow junior midfielder Cristian Coelho followed with a shot that was blocked only a few seconds later. Villanova would get two more chances of their own before the half, as Dominic Cyriacks sent one over the net at 42' and Vincent Petrera's shot sailed wide in the 44th minute.
 
Navy applied the pressure coming out for the second half as three shots in the first five minutes was highlighted by freshman forward A.J. Schuetz sending a shot to the center of the net that Dickey had to save at 50'.
 
A shot from Kallie was blocked at 57', while Garcia had shots at the other end blocked in the 59th and 65th minutes.
 
The 73rd minute saw Navy come close again as freshman defender Jalen Grant was able connect on a header, but his attempt went over the crossbar and landed on top of the net. Villanova responded in the 77th minute when Anthony Cousins Jr. crossed the ball to Tomer Drimmer, as a shot from Drimmer's right foot found the back-left corner to give the Wildcats a late lead.
 
Pearson kept the deficit to one just minutes later, stonewalling Luke Pompliano to the left side of the net at 79', while the Mids generated a pair of shots in the 83rd minute but both were blocked by Villanova defenders in what would be the final shots of the game.
 
"Overall, today was a good performance and we played really well for long stretches," said head coach Tim O'Donohue. "I'm disappointed not to win. We created one or two penalty chances and happened to hit the post on them, but it was a good performance against a really good soccer program where we played well and had a lot of chances. I'm not happy with the loss, but I'm happy with the performance in a lot of ways. We rested a few guys, we were careful with some minutes for others, and I think we're going to be ready to go for Saturday. It's all about Saturday and Wednesday, and we're in a good position with the two home games. We're hungry and we're ready for them."
 
Pearson finished with two saves in his second start of the season, while Kent Dickey tallied four saves for the shutout. The Mids held a 13-12 shot advantage and a 4-3 edge in shots-on-goal, also tallying a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Tuesday also marked the first appearance for sophomore midfielder Rowan Browne since sustaining an injury on Sept. 4.
 
Navy returns home for Senior Day on Saturday, Oct. 29, taking on Loyola at noon. The Mids then host American on Nov. 2 in a 7 p.m. regular-season finale.