Oct. 10, 2009

Final Stats

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Andrew Garcia tapped in a loose ball in the 98th minute to lift Navy to a stunning 2-1 overtime victory at Lehigh on Saturday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The win was Navy's second in a row and moves the Mids' record to 7-5-0 overall, but more importantly to 2-1-0 in the Patriot League. Lehigh drops to 5-5-2 overall and 1-2-0 in the league standings.

Navy's two league wins are the most since it won three league games in 2005. In addition, Navy snapped an eight-game road losing streak in Patriot League play.

Lehigh took a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute, but freshman Eric Wootten (Woodbridge, Va.) tallied his second career goal just six minutes later to tie the game at one.

"I thought it was big for us to not fold when they scored with just 20 minutes left," said Navy head coach Dave Brandt. "It was big for us to respond right away, I was very proud of that. We stayed composed and didn't throw in the towel or panic."

Wootten's goal came off a Mark Garcia (Tempe, Ariz.) cross from a sharp angle, that Lehigh goalkeeper Jonathan Nydell saved. The ball deflected off the post right to Wootten, who simply tapped the ball into the back of the net.

Navy nearly ended the game in regulation when Michael Rakoczy (Cincinnati, Ohio) could not quite corral a loose ball along the left endline after Nydell came out of the net to cut off a Navy shot. Nydell fell down, but Rakoczy's sliding shot slipped just wide.

In the overtime session, Navy fired off three shots before Andrew Garcia's (Garland, Texas) game-winner. Rakoczy sent a shot that was destined for the net, but Nydell made the save straight up into the air. The ball bounced off the bottom of the crossbar, where Garcia raced in and tapped the ball into the net for his fifth career goal and third career game-winner.

The win snapped a nine-game losing streak to Lehigh, with the last win against the Mountain Hawks coming in 1999.

The victory was also Navy's fourth overtime win of the season. Navy's last four wins have come via overtime goals. This year alone, Navy is 4-0-0 in OT games and the Mids are 7-1-3 since the start of last year in OT contests.

"We don't do anything different in overtime or regulation. We are still trying to play our style no matter when it is," said Brandt. "Sometimes, it takes all our focus and energy to play that way. But I am pleased that we maintained that focus and energy. Sometimes, I guess, you get rewarded."

Navy was outshot 20-10 and had just three corner kicks to Lehigh's seven. Lehigh had 11 fouls, while Navy had 10. Senior goalkeeper Tyler Bristol (Clinton, Conn.) stopped five shots in goal to earn the victory.

Navy will return home for a two-game homestand, beginning on Wednesday night to face Howard at 7:00 pm at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Next Saturday night at 7:00 pm, Navy will host the league front-runners, American, in a battle for first place in the league standings.

GAME NOTES
* Navy's four overtime wins are the second most for a Navy team in school history. The 2001 team won five overtime games.
* Andrew Garcia became the 13th different Navy player to score a goal. Just four players (Eric Wootten, Michael Rakoczy, Wes Powell and Mark Garcia) have scored two goals each.
* Mark Garcia dished out his 13th career assist in the win over Lehigh, moving into a tie for ninth place on the school's career assist chart. He is tied with Michael Paisant (1997-00) and Justin Lemmon (1993-96) for ninth place.
* The win smapped a nine-game losing streak to Lehigh, dating back to 1999. It also snapped an eight-game Patriot League road losing skid, dating back to Oct.24, 2006.
* Navy improved to 7-0-0 on the season when scoring at least one goal.
* Navy has scored three goals in Patriot League play this year. Navy had scored just two goals in the seven PL games in each of the past two seasons.
* Navy freshmen have scored 24 points (8 g, 8 a) on the season.
* Lastly, Andrew Garcia became the seventh different Navy player to score a game-winning goal this year.

# GO NAVY #