ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A quick start to 2025 did not hold up Thursday night, as the Navy men's soccer team (0-0-1) ended its season opener with a 2-2 draw against Mount St. Mary's (0-0-1) at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
Despite
Duncan Sullivan scoring his first collegiate goal early in the first half and then setting up
Andrew Schug up in the second half to put the Midshipmen ahead 2-0, a late brace from the Mountaineers' Jack Kehoe spoiled the Mids' promising start to the season.
With both sides trading possession early, Navy got the first chance of the night when Antoine DeCoteau took down
Will Cawlfield in the box at 11', sending Sullivan to the penalty-kick line where he hesitated and then buried it dead center when Julian Marcos dove to the right.
Sullivan tried to get his second goal of the night just minutes later but Marcos pulled out the save at 18', while Marcos then stopped
Jalen Grant's header in the 28th minute. Navy captain
Robert Eaton then made his first save of the evening 30 minutes in on a Lucian Schiaffini shot and followed it up with another save at 36' on Graham Dugold.
In the Mids' first chance of the second half, Sullivan threaded a pass at midfield up into the attacking third at 56', where Schug raced up to it and touched a shot past the sprawling Marcos and inside the left post.
Down by two, The Mount picked up the pressure and cut the lead at 70', as a rebound off Eaton's long-range save on Dougold found Kehoe right in front to kick it in top shelf past a recovering Eaton. With Eaton injured on the play, Navy turned to backup keeper
Dylan Carmody, who made his collegiate debut and recorded a 77th-minute save on Schiaffini.
Kehoe then brought the game even at 87' when he beat a Navy defender and kicked home Schiaffini's cross outside of Carmody's reach. While a Schug shot just missed the left post at 88', the final three minutes would not see much further action, as the two sides finished out the draw.
Eaton finished with three saves in his first start and Carmody picked up his first collegiate save, while Marcose made two stops on the other end.
Head Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"We're obviously disappointed with the draw, but we're proud of the team and happy with a lot of the performance. We have some things to clean up but we created a lot of chances and we had a number of good individual performances. We have to close it out next time but it's very early days."
Match Notes
• Navy is now 8-1-3 in the all-time series with Mount St. Mary's, extending the unbeaten streak against The Mount to four games.
• Schug now has five goals and an assist in 21 career home games.
• O'Donohue is now 6-3-1 in home openers with the Mids.
• Navy has tallied a 3-0-2 mark when Schug scores.
Up Next
Navy continues the homestand on Monday, Aug. 25 when it hosts William & Mary in a 7 p.m. match.
