ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A lockdown effort by Navy's defense coupled with a strong showing over the final 45 minutes was enough to squeeze past an energetic Longwood men's soccer team 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Charlie Kriel and Sidney Paris each scored second half goals to support a Navy (5-0-1) defense that has been nigh impenetrable all season long, ranking 25
th in the nation in goals against average after only surrendering three goals in five matches. Against Longwood, the Mids bent but didn't break to win their fifth straight match, surviving waves of early pressure to post their third straight shutout and fourth in five matches.
Longwood (1-3-1) had opportunities and created chances of their own by totaling 13 shots spread across eight different players.
Leif VanSlyke,
Ben Wilkinson,
Tosin Ayokunle,
Mason Butcher and
Matt Ward each had a pair of shots in the contest, and the Lancers also had 12 corner kicks.
"Goals win games, and Navy took their chances and that was it in a nutshell," said Longwood head coach
Jon Atkinson. "I felt we had the upper hand in the first half and still weren't playing to our best in all honesty, and that's when you have to put points on the board. Navy gave a good push back in teh second half and capitalized on two set piece opportunities which to their credit they worked for and deserved."
In the first half, the Lancers came out of the gates aggressive and on the hunt for scoring chances, carrying their momentum forward from strong effort against American over the weekend. That offensive pressure allowed Longwood to tally the first seven shots and four corner kicks of the match as they controlled the pace of play for much of the opening half.
However, as the first half waned, Navy found its footing and started to apply pressure of its own, totaling four shots in the final 10 minutes of the opening frame.
After halftime, Navy stayed in attack mode and posted 11 shots. Kriel broke the scoreless tie with a header off a corner kick in the 65
th minute, his first collegiate goal off the cross from Paris. Paris added a goal of his own in the 75
th minute to add insurance.
"I'm not massively disappointed, as we fought hard throughout and had some golden chances," Atkinson said. "The lads always bring decent effort, but we lacked the polish tonight. This team has shown great strides this season and a maturity that will be needed as we fast approach conference."
Longwood stays on the road with a trip to UNC Wilmington on Saturday at 6 p.m. They then turn and head back to Farmville to open up conference play against UNC Asheville on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m.
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