EMMITSBURG, Md. – A back-and-forth midweek battle for the Navy men's soccer team (1-2-3) at Mount St. Mary's (0-2-3) ended in a 0-0 draw Tuesday evening at the Waldron Family Stadium.
A quiet start to the match gave way to action late in the first half that saw the Midshipmen defense hold strong, before an end-to-end second half proved unfruitful for either side. Keeping their teams scoreless, Navy goalkeeper
Sam Clark notched three saves to record his and the Mids' third-straight shutout, while Lars Almankaas also collected three saves for the host Mountaineers.
While Clark had to make an early long-range save on Felix Alschner at 12', Navy was able to push back when
Braedy Strothkamp connected on a 25th-minute shot just outside the box, but the ball was redirected over the net.
Clark made another save at 40' on Leo Mikael David Romero Sonesson, and kept the game scoreless when he dove to stop Oliver Barta's chance from out wide at 43' before Garrett Alban sent the rebound well high of the cage. A late corner kick gave the Mountaineers another opportunity, as the Mount collected the Navy clearance attempt and Camden Marquette headed a ball just over the crossbar with seconds left in the first half.
Starting the second half,
Nick Gallucci got a pass in space and raced in for a shot on target that Almankaas knocked down. Navy was able to counter following a near-chance for the Mount at 59', as the Mids finished an attack with
Jack Illig forcing an Almankaas stop at 60'.
The Mountaineers had another near-goal in the 66th minute when a cross found a sliding Abou Cherif but went left of the net, and Navy finished a push the other way with another Gallucci shot seconds later. Several offsides calls on the Mountaineers late in the half helped the Mids, as
Ryan Skandalis shot through traffic at 84' but Almankaas was able to handle the deflected chance. Navy then staved off a last push from the Mount, preserving the Mids' third-straight clean sheet.
Head Coach John Hackworth Comments
"It's pretty impressive when you get three shutouts in a row. Sam's doing great, while our backline and our whole team is collectively defending really well. We created some really good chances, too, with better service tonight but we just couldn't find that connection. They blocked some shots, so credit to Mount St. Mary's. I thought they were a good team and well-coached, clearly battling and competing for everything. Both teams kind of negated each other a little bit. We have to look at the positives from this. We go into Patriot League play on Saturday against Holy Cross, and I think we can feel really good about the fact we are not giving up a lot of chances over these three clean sheets."
Match Notes
• Navy is now 8-1-4 in the all-time series with Mount St. Mary's, with Tuesday's draw extending the Mids' unbeaten streak against the Mount to five-straight contests.
• Navy's
Jude Klein,
Chase Paige and
Liam Plum all made their first collegiate starts on Tuesday.
• Clark's three-straight shutouts are the most by a Navy netminder since Pierce Holbrook's three consecutive clean sheets from Sept. 19-30, 2023.
Up Next
Navy will open Patriot League action on Saturday at Holy Cross, with a 2:00 p.m. start slated for the Mids and Crusaders in Worcester, Mass.
