ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Falling behind early, a pair of highlight-reel goals helped the Navy men's soccer team (2-4-4, 1-1-1 PL) pick up a 2-2 draw against Patriot League foe Colgate (3-3-3, 1-0-2 PL) on Saturday afternoon at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis, Md.
 
After allowing the Raiders' Blake Pipkin to score just five minutes into the contest, the Midshipmen overcame that deficit when sophomore Nate Stewart and senior captain Charlie Kriel both ripped laser-like goals in the 14th and 42nd minutes, respectively, but Colgate spoiled Navy's comeback when Aidan Wright snuck a shot past the Mids' defense at 74' to score the equalizer and eventually force the tie.
 
Colgate struck first in a hurry, as Wright intercepted an errant Navy pass in the fifth minute around 25 yards out from the Mids' net and then crossed the ball to the crashing Pipkin, who raced up and fired a shot at the 10-yard mark that beat senior goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook to the left post. A free kick for the Mids at 10' saw sophomore Victor Saade put a low long-range shot towards the right post that Oliver Townend scooped up, but Navy did bring the game even in the 14th minute when Stewart bodied a Colgate defender from the ball and launched a shot off the left corner and into the back of the net. Junior Andrew Schug nearly made it 2-1 just 40 seconds later when he finished off a counterattack with a curving shot that just missed the right post.
 
Continuing to pressure throughout the opening half, Navy had another opportunity when junior Tommy Lockhart put a header on net that Townend snared at 39', while a Colgate defender deflected a Navy cross right to Kriel at 42' that the senior captain finished off by one-timing the shot off the crossbar from 19 yards back. Colgate tallied a pair of shots in the final minute of the half, including a Julian Di Lucia header going high in the waning seconds, but Navy held off the Raiders until the break.
 
A back-and-forth start to the second half gave way to a sustained push by Colgate as the half wore on, with Holbrook turning aside Pipkin's shot at 62' after a through ball put him behind the Navy defenders and stopping a cutting Pipkin again in the 72nd minute. The Raiders got the equalizer at 74' when a Connor Hearn cross was blocked right to Wright, whose ensuing shot tipped off a defender and past Holbrook on the short side. Schug tried to answer back in the 76th minute when he lasered a shot from just outside the box that Townend dove to stop, while a Mason Pahuke shot was kick-saved by Holbrook at 84' and Kriel fired a shot just wide of the cage with just over a minute remaining, but none of those chances broke the 2-2 draw.
 
Both Holbrook and Townend wrapped up the afternoon with three saves apiece, as Colgate had the 12-8 shot advantage and a 10-0 advantage on corner kicks.
 
Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"It was a back-and-forth game as it usually is against Colgate. I was proud of the response from our guys after going down early and being able to score two very good goals. We played very well in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but the momentum shifted towards them before they equalized. We are playing much better and I'm optimistic that our best results are in front of us. We have to keep getting points and climbing the Patriot League table."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 15-16-7 in the all-time series with Colgate.
• Stewart's goal was the first of his collegiate career while Kriel's goal marked his fourth career tally.
• Holbrook has now made three-or-more saves in nine of Navy's 10 games this season.
 
Up Next
Navy will welcome in-state league rival Loyola to Annapolis on Oct. 5, with the Mids and Greyhounds set for a 1 p.m. opening kick.