LEWISBURG, Pa. – A comeback effort over the final 15 minutes by the Navy men's soccer team was not enough to beat Bucknell in the opening game of Patriot League play, as the Midshipmen (1-4-2, 0-1-0 PL) fell to the Bison (3-2-0, 1-0-0 PL) by a 2-1 score Saturday afternoon at Emmitt Field in Lewisburg, Pa.
Following a tough first half where Bucknell scored a pair of goals in the opening 22 minutes, Navy regained its composure and battled back as the second half drew on, culminating with junior
Andrew Schug scoring his first goal of the season in the 87th minute and giving the Mids a chance to erase the deficit in the dying seconds.
After senior
Noah Ward had a shot blocked at 4', Navy defenders were able to thwart some early attacks by the Bison, including a Jack Lucas header off a corner kick that was jump-saved by a senior goalkeeper
Pierce Holbrook in the seventh minute, while the Mids tried to counter on the other end. Despite this, a Bison rush in the 12th minute saw Cohen Weaver cross a ball to Cade Whitmire at the 18-yard mark and a volley on goal was deflected past Holbrook for the first goal of the afternoon.
The Mids tried to answer minutes later when freshman
Wyatt Stevens found himself in the box with possession, but he was knocked down when jostling for position. Bucknell then attacked the Navy end again at 21' when David Krumov's shot was blocked out, while the restart saw Lucas cross to Weaver, who one-timed a shot to the top right corner of the net for the second Bucknell tally. Drew Roskos nearly made it 3-0 when he got a through ball at 25', but Holbrook made the stop in close, while a Navy rush at 40' was called back on the offsides, spoiling one of the Mids' best chances of the opening half.
Bucknell continued to push offensively in the second half, as Holbrook had to stop a one-timer from Kiko Hidalgo at 51' and a Roskos header went wide at 53'. With the game turning chippy, Navy fought back with a pair of shots in the 62nd minute, while a burst of action saw two Bucknell shots blocked at 76' before a shot from junior
Bryce Robisch was blocked and sophomore
Nate Stewart's header sailed wide in the 77th minute.
Another Bucknell chance at 83' had Gianluca Marroni's shot go just over the crossbar, while Krumov was stopped by Holbrook shortly after. Navy nearly had a goal on the counter when Schug got a through ball and rushed in but hit a shot off the crossbar, while the rebound opportunity for Stevens was blocked and a third chance from senior
Rowan Browne was swallowed up by Freddie Lapworth. Navy finally broke through in the 87th minute when sophomore
Victor Saade sent a free kick into the box, where junior
Jalen Grant headed it down and Schug buried it to give the Mids late life. Despite a Navy renewed effort, Bucknell held off the pressure and ran out the clock for the league-opening win.
Lapworth wrapped up the win with two saves while Holbrook collected four saves in the opposite net, as the Bison had the 18-9 edge in shots and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"We came out well, gave up a deflection goal early and Bucknell scored a good second goal, but the guys came back and played better in the second half. You can't give up two goals in the first half and expect to come out with any points in this league. We're going through some growing pains with a bit of a new group but it is still only September 14th. We've got a lot of Patriot League games left to get back into it, make the playoffs and go on a run."
Match Notes
• Bucknell cut Navy's lead in the all-time series to 31-16-4, snapping a four-game winning streak by the Mids in the series.
• Schug becomes the fourth different goal-scorer for the Mids this season.
• Holbrook has notched four-or-more saves in six of Navy's seven games on the campaign.
• Navy is 12-18-3 in Patriot League openers dating back to 1992.
Up Next
Navy continues league play on Sept. 21 with a trip to Lafayette, as opening kick is set for 1 p.m. in Easton, Pa.
