WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Heading south to historic Williamsburg, Va., for its final non-conference game of the regular season, the Navy men's soccer team (3-6-4) were knocked off by a talented William & Mary (7-5-1) squad, 4-0, on Tuesday evening at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
While the Midshipmen kept the game close in the opening half and reached the intermission within striking distance of the Tribe, the hosts added three more goals in the final 45 minutes to seal their victory. Led by Brown Huffard's brace, the Tribe also saw two-assist night for Gabe Ruitenberg and a one-save shutout by Diego Garciarena, while
Dylan Carmody tallied three saves on the Navy side.
Carmody stopped Beckham Harris' ninth-minute shot and while the Tribe sent an odd-man attack wide of the cage at 14', while
Duncan Sullivan had a pair of shots blocked at 23'. The Tribe capitalized on its early pressure in the 25th minute when Huffard buried a rebound near the left post after Carmody denied Evan Rabush's initial attempt.
Navy's offense tried to answer in the waning minutes of the first half, but
Jack Illig's shot was blocked and
Wyatt Stevens' kick was turned away by Garciarena at 41', while Carmody had to stop Alex Garrison just over a minute later at the other end.
William & Mary extended its lead just over 10 minutes into the second half, as a Ruitenberg corner kick found Harris near the right post for the header past Carmody in the 57th minute.
The Tribe added another goal at 62' when Huffard jumped for a Ruitenberg cross and placed the header into the top left corner of the net.
Stevens nearly broke the shutout at 68' when a loose ball off a free kick found him in the box, but the shot sailed just wide of the post. Illig also tried to put Navy on the board at 78' after the Mids drew their first corner kick of the game.
Garrison tacked on to the W&M lead in the 80th minute when he beat Carmody from the left side, while Stevens and
Nick Gallucci both has their chances right after sail off-target to seal the score.
Match Notes
• Navy is now 5-9-4 in the all-time series with William & Mary.
• Tuesday marked the first time this season that Navy has started the same lineup in back-to-back games.
Up Next
Navy returns to Patriot League action on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Lafayette for a 1:00 p.m. match in Easton, Pa.
