ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Fighting back twice with goals from a pair of seniors, the Navy men's soccer team (3-6-6) pulled out a 2-2 draw against Longwood (2-8-4) in its final non-conference contest of the season Tuesday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
Going down midway through the first half, the Midshipmen drew level with Andrew Schug's streaking score at 42' and then battled back after the Lancers took another lead at 59', with Tommy Lockhart finishing off a set-piece in the 68th minute for the Mids' second equalizer of the evening.
 
After senior goalkeeper Robert Eaton denied an early shot from Aaron Bruening at 18', Navy nearly got the opening score when a blocked Lockhart shot came to freshman Will Cawlfield for shot that forced a stop from Max Hinke, while the ensuing rebound header into the net was waved off by an offsides call.
 
With Eaton making two more saves at 20' and 23', Longwood finally broke through in the 28th minute when Brando Bedolla passed it to a streaking Jesus Macaya from just outside the box, with Macaya then making a short cross to Syrus Conolly near the right post and an off-balance Conolly tapping the ball past Eaton.
 
While Hinke stuffed Schug's 40th-minute chance, Schug got another opportunity at 42' when junior Alex Galloway pushed a pass to sophomore Keane Brown on the far side, who then launched a clarence downfield to Schug and watched as Schug beat a defender and then got off a shot into the left side before a sliding Hinke could reach the ball. Navy almost grabbed the lead shortly after when freshman Luke Parker rifled a one-timer off the crossbar with 30 seconds left in the half.
 
An early Navy rush in the second half looked to have the makings of a goal, but Max Hinke swallowed up freshman Nick Gallucci's attempt at 56' to keep it even. Just a few minutes later at 59', Longwood retook the lead when a deep clarence into the Mids' end was knocked down by a Navy defender, as Bedolla picked up the loose ball and shuffled it over to Ezrah Serralde, who rifled a shot past a diving Eaton into the top-right corner.
 
Navy found its second equalizer on a 68th-minute free kick, as sophomore JP Torres snuck a pass to a streaking Cawlfield on the far side, with Cawlfield crossing it into the box for Lockhart and Lockhart burying the up-close chance through the falling Hinke's legs.
 
The Mids continued to seek the win with another Cawlfield chance being stopped by Hinke at 70', while the final Navy opportunity came in the 89th minute on sophomore Stephen Nelson's shot to the left of the cage.
 
Hinke wrapped up Tuesday with five saves, while Eaton notched three stops on his end of the field.
 
Head Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"The guys played well tonight and showed resolve by coming back twice. We had some good chances to win it, as a ton of young guys played very well and our seniors provided good leadership on and off the pitch. This was good prep for these last three Patriot League games on the horizon, and we have to play it one game at a time over this final stretch."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 7-6-1 in the all-time series with Longwood, as Tuesday marked the first draw in the series.
• Navy finishes with a 3-2-4 non-conference record in the regular season, outscoring opponents, 11-9, in those nine games.
• Navy moves to 3-2-6 at home this season.
• Schug's goal was the 11th of his Navy career, while Lockhart's tally marked his third career goal.
• Navy has now tallied a 5-1-4 mark when Andrew Schug scores in his career.
 
Up Next
Navy will return to league action on Saturday afternoon, heading to Baltimore to face in-state rival Loyola at 1 p.m.