FARMVILLE, Va. – A late Lancers goal spoiled the Midshipmen's comeback efforts, as the Navy men's soccer team (1-2-2) fell to non-conference foe Longwood (1-2-1) by a 2-1 score Saturday afternoon at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
After the Lancers struck first in the opening 45 minutes, Navy freshman Wyatt Stevens continued his hot start to the campaign when he scored for second-straight game early in the second half, but a tally from Longwood's Aristhid Kamdjin with 11 minutes left allowed the home team to retake the lead and pick up its first win of the season.
 
With Longwood generating three chances in the first 12 minutes before senior captain Charlie Kriel recorded the Mids' first shot, the Lancers got the early lead in the 21st minute when Mikey Hernandez's cross towards the back post was headed in by Ethan Stevenson over a Navy defender.
 
Longwood continued to press after the goal but Navy turned aside a pair of shots and junior Andrew Schug tried to draw the game even in the 28th minute on a wide shot from 20 yards out. Both sides continued to trade chances over the final 15 minutes of the first half, but neither team found the net before the break.
 
After another Schug attempt was blocked in the opening minutes of the second half, Stevens found the equalizer in the 64th minute when senior Noah Ward's cross was headed away by a Longwood defender right to Stevens on the 18-yard line, who turned a low shot towards the left post that got under a sprawling Max Hinke. Fellow freshman Keane Brown then tried to give Navy the lead five minutes later, but Hinke stopped the shot, while senior goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook denied Stevenson's shot on goal at 74'.
 
Moving into the attacking end at 79', Kamdjin got a pass from Stevenson and outraced a Navy defender before launching a bending shot to the top right corner that was barely out of the reach of a diving Holbrook. Navy then countered with a flurry of chances over the next six minutes, including a Kriel header that went wide off a corner kick, while Kamdjin's one-timer near the left post was thwarted by a falling Holbrook in the 88th minute and marked the last true scoring chance of the contest.
 
Hinke and Holbrook both finished the match with two saves apiece, while Stevenson wrapped up the afternoon with a three-point performance.
 
Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"Today was a very difficult one to swallow for the group. We had a strong performance over the last 70 minutes and we were pushing to get the second goal after a really good 35 minutes to start the second half, but a miscommunication cost us and their forward made a good play. We are building and playing better, and we will be ready for Patriot League action next weekend."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 7-6-0 in the all-time series with Longwood.
• Stevens is the first Navy freshman with three goals in a season since Kriel's three tallies during the 2021 campaign.
• Holbrook has recorded multiple saves in 14-straight games.
• Navy's 14 shots and 12 corner kicks were both season highs.
 
Up Next
Navy returns home on Tuesday, Sept. 10, to host George Washington at 7 p.m.