ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Marking the first victory for head coach
John Hackworth with the Midshipmen, a pair of second-half goals helped the Navy men's soccer team (1-2-1) pull away for a 3-0 victory over Presbyterian (0-4-0) on Monday afternoon at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
En route to notching Hackworth's first win at Navy, the Mids got a late penalty-kick conversion from rookie
Will Smith to close the first half while
Alex Galloway and
Cohen Nance added insurance in the final 45 minutes to bury the Blue Hose. Monday also saw goalkeeper
Sam Clark pick up his first collegiate shutout, registering two saves in the clean sheet.
Navy was able to control play as the first half settled, with Bready Sthrothkamp forcing a Saed Anabtawi save at 13' while
Will Cawlfield and
Nate Stewart also put chances on target that Anabtawi stopped. Both sides had a shot barely miss in the final 11 minutes of the half when Mo Alahmad sent a low liner just left of the cage at 35' and
Jack Illig pulled one right of the net in the 38th minute.
With Navy pushing forward in the closing minutes of the frame, Smith was able to draw the foul on the box and lined up to take his own PK, beating the outstretched hand of Anabtawi to the low-right corner at 44' for his first collegiate goal.
After Clark collected his first save at 56', Navy added to its lead on a 64th-minute corner kick, as
Nick Gallucci lifted a ball into the box that Galloway was able to connect on with an aerial header past Anabtawi.
With the Mids continuing to pepper the Presbyterian defense, a free kick at 82' set up Strothkamp to make a quick pass to a streaking Cawlfield, who put a cross right into Nance's range for a header that beat Anabtawi for the third Navy goal. Gallucci almost made it 4-0 moments later, but Anabtawi smothered the ball while Clark turned away Hayate Furumoto's chance at 88' to seal the clean sheet.
Head Coach John Hackworth Comments
"Happy for the boys, we've put in a lot of hard work and learned some hard lessons along the way so far. To play the way we did today and to get the result was important. It's the first of hopefully many more to come … Depth is one of our strengths. When called upon, guys have to know that their impact is vitally important.
Stephen Nelson is one to point out today. Coming into the game with four minutes left in the first half, he did exactly what we saw him do in practice the last few days, which is play the game forward. That helped us get the PK and go into halftime up, 1-0. It's an example of a guy being asked to play a role in a certain moment and doing it really well, and we need everyone to have that mindset so that we can have the success we all dream of having."
Match Notes
• Navy moves to 1-0 in the all-time series with Presbyterian.
•
Ryan Skandalis made his first collegiate start, logging 86 minutes of action.
• The second-half tallies marked the second career goals for both Galloway and Nance.
• Strothkamp's assist on the third Navy goal marked his first point as a Mid.
Up Next
Navy will finish up its homestand on Sept. 5 with an 8:05 p.m. match against Temple.
