EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men's soccer team fell to Navy 2-1 in the teams' second conference matchup of the season.
The match was very back-and-forth in the early going as both sides deciphered each other's game plan. Lafayette had two shots in the opening 10 minutes, but none that truly troubled Navy goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook. However, in the 20
th minute the Leopards came close to opening the scoring. Senior forward
Andrey McIntyre made a great run behind Navy's defense and rifled a shot from 12 yards out, but his effort struck the post and trickled wide.
Navy seemed to be comfortable with counter attacking/pressing as Lafayette had more of the ball in the first half (54-46 percent). In the 34
th minute, the Midshipmen's tactics came to fruition. A Lafayette player turned the ball over in their own defensive third, granting Navy a great counter opportunity. AJ Schuetz picked up the ball and dribbled into the penalty area before releasing a low-driven shot, which beat senior goalkeeper
Griffin Huff to his bottom-left corner.
Huff made a great save shortly after, that kept the match at 1-0.
The Leopards made some substitutions before halftime, but nothing came of it as Lafayette trailed 1-0 at the break.
Lafayette almost tied the contest just 40 seconds into the second period. McIntyre had the ball near Navy's penalty area before he drove towards the end line. His cutback found senior captain
Carter Houlihan but the skipper's effort blazed wide of Holbrook's goal.
Sophomore forward
Roy Biegon found the equalizer in the 72
nd minute. Strike partner
Lawrence Aydlett beat his man down the left wing before he served a cross towards Navy's back stick. Biegon slid past his defender and tapped home his third goal of the campaign to tie the match at one goal apiece.
Wyatt Stevens scored the game-winning goal for the Midshipmen in the 83
rd minute. Schuetz had the ball near the Leopards' penalty area before he laid the ball off to Stevens. Stevens didn't think twice before he smashed the ball past Huff with a one-time effort, scoring his fourth goal of the season.
Lafayette was reduced to 10 men in the later stages of the match and it was unable to find the equalizer as Navy advanced to 2-4-2 on the year.
The Leopards are back in action at 7 p.m. on Tuesday as they take a road trip to La Salle.
To keep up with the Lafayette men's soccer team, follow its social media pages.
X/@LafayetteMSOC | Instagram/@lafayette_msoc | Facebook/GoLeopards
