CHESTER, Pa. – With a lively crowd of 10,134 watching a back-and-forth contest in Army-Navy Cup XIII, the Navy men's soccer team allowed an unfortunate late goal to fall to rival Army, 2-1, on Friday night at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa.
 
After the Black Knights' Ronald Zhai grabbed the lead in the game's opening minutes, senior goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook weathered the storm for the Midshipmen with four big first-half saves as the offense started to press. While junior Jalen Grant scored off a header for the second-straight game to even the match shortly after halftime, Army pushed back and eventually retook the lead when Gage Lyons converted on a Navy miscue with just under seven minutes remaining, securing the chance to sing second.
 
With Army jumping on the attack right out the gate, Holbrook was needed early when he turned away Eric Lusskin's shot off a cross at 5' but could do nothing in the seventh minute when Ronald Zhai corralled Owen Ennis' corner and fired a shot through traffic into the right corner. Navy tried to answer quickly at 11' when junior A.J. Schuetz got separation from the Army defenders and launched a shot on goal but Blair Camargo dove to stop the chance, while a flurry in the 16th minute saw Holbrook stop Reef McGee one-on-one and the sprawl to save Zhai's rebound chance, but sophomore Nate Stewart was denied by Camargo on the counterattack seconds later.
 
Continuing to trade chances, Holbrook denied Jack Kryger's header at 24' while a free kick from sophomore Victor Saade at 25' and a header from junior Andrew Schug in the 36th minute were picked up by Camargo, as both teams ended the half strong.
 
Navy broke through after Army's initial push to start the second half, as a corner kick opportunity set up Saade to lift a ball into the box that Grant headed home in the 55th minute. Holbrook then made four more saves as the half wore on, while senior captain Charlie Kriel's long-range laser at 74' was knocked away by Camargo.
 
Army finally capitalized on its pressure in the 83rd minute when an outlet pass into the box was knocked down by Holbrook, but Lyons picked up the loose ball and beat the flat-footed Navy defense to tap in the game-winner. After Lyons nearly scored another goal in the 88th minute, Navy tried valiantly at the end to net the equalizer but failed, as the Black Knights earned the right to sing second on Friday.
 
Holbrook ended the contest with eight saves while Camargo made five saves in the winning effort, as Army outshot the Mids, 19-11.
 
The Black Knights now have a 4-1 lead in the all-sport 2023-24 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA.
 
Head Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"It was a very tough result tonight. Both sides played a very direct game, we came back and equalized it while playing well for large portions of the second half, but we gave up an unfortunate goal with six minutes to go. We have to keep pressing on and get back in the race for the Patriot League."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 41-33-17 in the all-time series with Army, going 3-6-4 in the series since the inception of the Army-Navy Cup in 2012.
• Holbrook's eight saves are a season high.
• The attendance of 10,134 is the second-largest crowd for an Army-Navy Cup contest, just under the 10,168 number who attended the 2014 edition of the rivalry match.
 
Up Next
Navy will head to Worcester, Mass., for a 1 p.m. showdown with Holy Cross on Oct. 20.