Oct. 22, 2011

Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy men's soccer team scored twice in the game's first 10 minutes and then held on in the second half to defeat league-leading American, 2-1, at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility on Saturday night.

The win improves Navy to 5-7-3 overall and 2-2-1 in the Patriot League. American suffered its first league defeat, falling to 4-1-0 in league play and 6-9-1 overall.

The win, coupled with Army's win over Bucknell and Colgate's win over Lafayette, moves Navy back into a fourth-place tie in the league standings with seven points. American leads with 12 points, Lehigh and Colgate have 10 points each and Navy and Lafayette are tied for fourth with seven points. Bucknell and Army have six points each, meaning seven teams are within six points of each other.

"We caught a couple of breaks tonight, something that has alluded us pretty much all season long," said Navy head coach Dave Brandt. "I was pleased with the way we stuck to our game plan tonight and we stayed disciplined in the second half when we needed to. American is a good team, so this is a big win for us."

Navy got on the board just four minutes into the game to take a 1-0 advantage. Guy Skord (So. / Annapolis, Md.) sent a shot past the American goalkeeper Billy Knutsen that clanged off the left post, but Joseph Greenspan (Fr. / Westfield, N.J.) was there to easily chip the rebound into a wide-open net for a 1-0 Navy lead. The goal was Greenspan's third of the season.

Just five minutes later, David Jackson (Jr. / Forest, Va.) sent an innocent-looking shot towards the goal, that Knutsen dropped, allowing the ball to go between his legs and into the net for a 2-0 Navy advantage just nine minutes into the contest. The goal was Jackson's team-best fifth of the season.

Navy's two shots on goal for the entire evening came on Navy's two goals in the first nine minutes of the game, as American started to apply the pressure, outshooting Navy, 10-5, in the first half.

"I have always said that a 2-0 lead is the hardest lead to play with, and we saw that in the women's game last night," said Brandt. "I was pleased we were able to hold them off, because we knew they would come out and pressure us."

American would cut the lead to 2-1 in the 56th minute on a Tyler Collins goal, but the Eagles were dealt a major blow in the 70th minute when Alex Tilatti was red-carded, meaning American would play a man short for the remainder of the game as he impeded an Alex Wilson (So. / Phoenix, Ariz.) breakaway deep in American's end. The Eagles had no real solid chances after that as the Midshipmen killed the clock.

American outshot the Mids, 14-11, and drew six corner kicks to Navy's four. Both teams were whistled for 17 fouls each. Aaron Dupere (So. / Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) would make three saves in the first half, while Max Renaldo (Jr. / Tampa, Fla.) recorded two saves in the second half.

Navy will host Howard on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm in its final non-conference game of the year. Fans with a ticket-stub from tonight's game can show the ticket before Tuesday's game and gain free admission.

# GO NAVY #