EASTON, Pa. – Highlighted by a three-point effort from
Yul Hong, the Navy men's soccer team (4-6-4, 2-3-1 PL) used a big second half to notch a 4-1 win at Lafayette (3-7-3, 2-2-2 PL) on Saturday afternoon at Gummeson Grounds in Easton, Pa.
Getting four different goal scorers to post their second-straight Patriot League victory, the Midshipmen grabbed a lead before the half on
Cohen Nance's third goal of the season. Second-half scores from
Duncan Sullivan, Hong and
Jack Illig then helped to reinforce a stout defense that saw goalkeeper
Sam Clark collect six saves against the Leopards, as the Mids extended their undefeated streak over Lafayette to nine games.
While Clark had a clean look at Riley Martin's third-minute shot, Clark had to make another big stop at 27' when Samir Dishnica put a second-chance shot towards the top of the net after his initial kick was blocked.
Navy's attack came alive at 30' when Hong carried it up the wing and ripped a shot at Francisco Benbow, with the rebound popping out to the cutting Nance to put home for the 1-0 lead. The Mids then kept the Lafayette response in check for the rest of the half to take the one-goal edge into the break.
Surviving an early push by the Leopards that included Clark stopping Dishnica and Oliver Gordon, the Mids added to their lead in the 54th minute when
Braedy Strothkamp flipped the field with a cross to Sullivan, who then raced past a defender and cut into the box to launch a kick past Benbow.
Lafayette answered just under two minutes later after Nicolas Juliano's shot was blocked, as Thomas Clark used a strong individual to beat the Mids for the Leopards' lone goal at 57'.
Navy regained the two-goal lead at 63', as a Lafayette clearance attempt found Hong on the right side, with Hong then beating several defenders and chipping it over Benbow's leg to score his first collegiate goal.
With the Navy defenders blocking several Lafayette shots to keep their cushion, Illig put the game out of reach in the 82nd minute when
Keane Brown feathered him a short pass, with Illig sending it in-stride to the top-left corner past Benbow.
A last-ditch effort from Lafayette then required
Sam Clark to step up once again with two big saves in the final two minutes, denying Roy Biegon and Nicolas Papadopoulos before the clock ran out.
Head Coach John Hackworth Comments
"This was a really good performance by the team. We came out and tried to execute our game plan. I'm really happy with the way we started the game, we scored a really good goal and took it into halftime. Lafayette's a good team, they're well coached, they're highly organized. They made it difficult for us, but we found the second and the third and the fourth goals. Credit to our guys in the room, we've been working hard at this. We've felt we were on the verge of getting over that hump - creating chances, finding the back of the net - and today we were successful in doing that."
Match Notes
• Navy improved to 28-17-6 all-time against Lafayette, extending the Mids' undefeated streak over the Leopards to nine-straight matches since Lafayette's 2017 win in the series.
• Navy has also won its last six visits to Lafayette, going 10-5-1 all-time when playing Lafayette at Gummeson Grounds.
• Nance and Illig's goals gave each player their third goal of the season, moving them into a three-way tie for the team lead with fellow freshman
Will Smith.
• Illig has recorded at least a point in three-straight Patriot League games.
• Clark's six saves are tied for the second-most in his career.
Up Next
Navy will come home to host Loyola next Saturday, Oct. 24 for Senior Night. Match time is set for 8:05 p.m. at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
