EASTON, Mass. – With both goals being scored in the final 15 minutes of play, freshman Wyatt Stevens and the Navy men's soccer team (0-1-1) fought back to earn the 1-1 draw against Stonehill (0-1-1) in non-conference action Sunday afternoon at W.B. Mason Stadium in Easton, Mass.
 
Stevens' tally in the 83rd minute highlighted a team performance that included senior goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook making five saves, as the Midshipmen battled back after the 76th-minute goal from the Skyhawks' Owen Burke in a match that saw the teams combined for 19 shots in the final 45 minutes.
 
Despite field conditions forcing the game to be moved from the Skyhawks' grass soccer field to the football turf, the Mids came right out the gate with offensive pressure, as a centering pass found senior Noah Ward just beyond the goal box at 2', but Kyle Tencza stopped Ward's redirect while a slew of Navy corner kicks kept the Skyhawks on their heels. Stonehill finally pushed the Mids' defenders in the 18th minute when Colin Milliken fired a low shot from 18 yards out that just missed the left post, as the teams settled into a back-and-forth battle that saw both sides limit scoring chances for the remainder of the half.
 
Stonehill copied the Navy approach in the second half, with an offensive surge that saw Holbrook stop a loose shot from Nate Monteiro at 48' before making a diving save on Ethan Sullivan's bicycle kick in the 51st minute. Another Holbrook stop on Burke at 56' was followed by Navy countering in the 60th minute when a Ward cross found junior A.J. Schuetz in front, who headed the ball just wide of the cage while Holbrook stopped Sullivan once again on the other end a minute later.
 
Schuetz continued to generate chances for the Mids with a pair of shots that were blocked, while Stonehill's Tiago Lima-Bittencourt's kick at 66' hit the outside of the net and junior Jalen Grant's chance off a corner at 70' was saved by a Stonehill defender to keep the game scoreless. The Skyhawks finally capitalized on their string of chances in the 76th minute when Burke cleaned up a Milliken corner kick after the ball crossed through the box and found Burke off the far post, firing home the first goal of the afternoon.
 
A frantic push by Navy followed despite Schuetz going down with an injury, with the Mids knotting the game in the 83rd minute, as Grant headed a Keane Brown throw-in back up in the air and Stevens then headed it home for the equalizer. Junior Andrew Schug quickly tried to give Navy the lead two minutes later but his attempt went high, while Holbrook made his final stop of the day at 89' when he barely got a piece of Shane Fonseca's shot to send it out wide and preserve the draw.
 
Holbrook wrapped up the game with five saves compared to Tencza's one save, while four different players finished with a game-high three shots
 
Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"It was a back-and-forth game and we are continuing to grow with a young group. We were solid defensively and created some good chances early. It was not an easy trip here, then adding in the venue change, having to play on the turf last minute and going down 1-0, but we fought back to get a point on the road. We are happy to be coming back for two home games next weekend. We are continuing to develop, and I'm optimistic we will evolve and start creating more chances in the next few weeks as we get settled."
 
Match Notes
• Navy and Stonehill are now 0-0-1 in the all-time series.
• Holbrook has made multiple saves in 11-straight contests dating back to Oct. 3, 2023.
• Prior to Stevens' tally on Sunday, the last Navy freshman to score the Mids' first goal of a season was Phillip Gustafson on Aug. 31, 2017 against Campbell.
 
Up Next
Navy returns home for a pair of contests at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, hosting FDU on Aug. 30 and Niagara on Sept. 2. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts.