HAMILTON, N.Y. – Two goals early in the second half by host Colgate (5-3-3, 1-1-2 PL) dowsed the Navy men's soccer team's (3-5-4, 0-3-1 PL) chances on Saturday afternoon, as the Raiders handed the Midshipmen a 2-0 loss at Beyer-Small '76 Field in Hamilton, N.Y.
 
While senior goalkeeper Robert Eaton kept Navy even with Colgate in a competitive first half, the Raiders' Blake Pipkin buried his own rebound in the 52nd minute to give the hosts a lead and then set up Alex St. John for the game's second goal 11 minutes later to hold off the Mids.
 
Eaton had to get active early, making a save on Ryan Schachter near the left post at 4' and then denying Malik Samms at 8', while the Mids got their own chance less than a minute later when senior Andrew Schug's shot following a turnover nearly beat a diving Eric Widrick to the left corner.
 
Making a falling save on Ethan Harris in the 13th minute, Eaton continued to excel as the game wore on and stopped Conor Geraghty at 41' to pick up his fourth save of the half, and Navy tried to support their goalkeeper when a quick throw-in at 43' eventually found sophomore Keane Brown receiving the ball just outside the box and sending a shot just over the crossbar.
 
Pipkin got going as the second half opened with a shot wide right at 49', eventually putting a shot on target at 52' that a diving Eaton batted away, but Pipkin raced to loose ball and put home his own rebound to give Colgate the lead. Navy pushed back immediately after, as freshman Yul Hong had a shot blocked in the 53rd minute and fellow rookie Nick Gallucci forced a Widrick save off the rush at 55'.
 
Continuing to find the ball on his foot, Pipkin lifted a deep cross into the box at 63' that found St. John, who put a header on target that beat Eaton to the right side. Brown had another chance sail just over the crossbar at 70' after getting the ball 19 yards out as the trailing player on a rush. With Eaton stopping Pipkin's chance at 72', the Mids tried to claw back with sophomore JP Torres shooting over the cage at 75' and Schug missing to the right at 81', while junior Nate Stewart putting a kick over the net at 82' marking the final shot of the day for Navy.
 
Widrick picked up the three-save shutout, while Eaton finished the day with six saves on the other end.
 
Game Notes
• Navy is now 15-17-7 in the all-time series with Colgate.
• Eaton has tallied four-or-more saves in each of his last seven starts.
 
Up Next
The Mids will head to Chester, Pa., on Oct. 10, taking on the rival Black Knights in Army-Navy Cup XIV at 7:05 p.m.