ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With a morning opening kick at home, the Navy men's soccer team (3-4-4, 0-2-1 PL) could not use the early start to its advantage Saturday, as the Midshipmen suffered a 1-0 loss to Patriot League foe Lehigh (4-2-3, 2-0-1 PL) at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
Despite a six-save effort from senior goalkeeper Robert Eaton to keep Navy in the game, the Mountain Hawks took the lead on Noah Levy's 24th-minute goal and were able to thwart a second-half adjustment from the Mids to secure Lehigh's second league win of the season.
 
Eaton had to get to work early, stopping a Luciano Larrea shot at 7', while Navy answered with its own chance in the 10th minute when senior A.J. Schuetz sent a spinning shot just left of the Lehigh cage. A free-kick opportunity at 24' then set up Giacomo Zizza to send a low-lying shot that Noah Levy was able to redirect from the left side past Eaton for the game's lone score.
 
Another free kick at 28' found Trey Sheeler heading it on net, but Eaton scooped it up to keep the deficit at 1-0, while sophomore Keane Brown kicked away Paul Smajlaj's shot at 33' to back up Eaton and Eaton himself denied Zizza from outside the box with a diving effort in the 36th minute. The Mids nearly tied it up when freshman Yul Hong's long-range shot from the left side hit off the crossbar at 42', and Hong had another chance blocked at 44' to close the half.
 
Starting off the second half with a pair of Lehigh shots getting blocked and Navy getting whistled for offsides three times on offensive rushes, the first true chance of the half came at 56' when Eaton made the diving save to push Thomas Robertson's shot over the crossbar.
 
Eaton then made another stop in the 68th minute on Yusef Gueye, while Navy's first shot on-target by senior Andrew Schug at 71' was turned aside by Anton Kinnunen. Stopping Gueye again at 72', Eaton then watched as the Navy offense tried to find an equalizer, as junior Nate Stewart and freshman Gavin McBride both sent attempts wide of Kinnunen's cage in the final minutes of the game.
 
Ending with one save in the shutout, Kinnunen saw his side outshoot the Mids, 14-7, while the Mountain Hawks also held a 10-5 corner-kick edge.
 
Head Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"It was not a good first half on several levels. Giving up a set-piece goal from that area of the field is uncharacteristic for this group of players. We changed some schematics and were more dangerous in the second half. We had a clear chance to even the game towards the end but could not put the ball over the line. We had an emotional win on Tuesday but we need to get back in the race for the league now."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 35-24-9 in the all-time series with Lehigh, with Saturday snapping a four-game unbeaten streak by the Mids in the series.
• Eaton has tallied four-or-more saves in each of his last six starts.
 
Up Next
Navy hits the road on Oct. 4 for a noon contest at Colgate.