Nov. 3, 2009

Final Stats

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland's Kaoru Forbuss scored the game's lone goal in the 10th minute and the Maryland defense held off every Navy challenge to defeat the Mids, 1-0, in men's soccer action at Ludwig Field on Tuesday night.

The loss drops Navy's overall record to 8-10-0 overall, while sixth-ranked and defending NCAA Champion Maryland improved to 11-4-2 overall.

"Maryland is obviously a very good team, and they are hard to play against. I thought we battled well," said Navy head coach Dave Brandt. "We had a couple of very good chances that we didn't capitalize and that is the ballgame. In a game like that against Maryland, you have to finish. That is the bottom line."

The Mids have now been shut out for five straight games, two of which have come to ACC powers Duke and Maryland.

Navy broke out early, peppering the Maryland defense with three shots in the first three minutes. The best chance came on a Chris Marino shot from straight on that hit the top of the crossbar and bounced out of play in the third minute.

Maryland recovered and scored the game's only goal when Forbuss, who played at the same high school of Navy's Andrew Garcia (Garland, Texas / Naaman Forest), sent a 20-yard rocket into the top left corner in the 10th minute.

The two teams then played out the first half, with the Terrapins outshooting the Midshipmen, 9-4, in the opening 45 minutes.

Maryland then picked up the pressure in the second half, outshooting the Mids, 10-1, but were not able to put the Midshipmen away. The Mids were pressuring late when an offsides, their fourth of the evening, was called after a Navy player got behind the defense a moment too early, essentially ending Navy's comeback hopes and Maryland held on for a 1-0 victory.

"I think its a very positive result for our program. We aren't into moral victories, but playing here in rather intimidating for most teams, and I felt we really competed," added Brandt. "They have the best players in the country. They press very well and are very athletic. But I felt at the end of the game, we had a couple of really good looks to get behind them. We just didn't finish them or were a step off."

The Terrapins outshot Navy, 19-5, and drew two corner kicks to Navy's one. Maryland had three fouls, while Navy committed seven. Junior Will Craven made two saves in goal in 60 minutes, before Tyler Bristol came on and made one save.

Navy will close out its season on Saturday when it tries to play spoiler against Lafayette. Lafayette will likely earn a Patriot League Tournament berth with a victory over Navy. The game will start at 7:00 pm in Easton, Pa.

# GO NAVY #