Second-half surge leaves Navy behind at William & Mary

Navy reached halftime within a goal Tuesday, but William & Mary turned that manageable deficit into a 4–0 defeat with three second-half scores in Williamsburg. Brown Huffard scored twice for the Tribe as the Midshipmen closed their regular-season nonconference schedule without finding an answer at the other end.

The teams finished level in total shots, 10 apiece. Their accuracy was considerably different. William & Mary put seven attempts on target, while Navy managed one, leaving goalkeeper Diego Garciarena with a single save to make for his shutout. Dylan Carmody recorded three saves for the Midshipmen.

Huffard supplied the opening goal at 24:09 after Carmody stopped Evan Rabush’s initial attempt. That left Navy time to respond before the break. Wyatt Stevens forced Garciarena’s save late in the first half, but the Mids went into the interval still trailing 1–0.

The decisive separation came just after the hour approached. Beckham Harris headed in Gabe Ruitenberg’s corner at 56:28. Huffard then finished another Ruitenberg delivery at 61:44. Two goals a little more than five minutes apart changed the match from one in which a Navy equalizer could reset the contest to one requiring a much larger recovery.

Alex Garrison completed the scoring at 79:52, assisted by Sullivan Carter. Stevens had another opportunity in the second half, but his effort went wide, and Navy’s late attempts did not break the shutout. Stevens led the Midshipmen with three shots; Duncan Sullivan and Jack Illig each attempted two.

For Navy, the problem was not simply reaching the same overall shot count as the opponent. Too few of those attempts required a goalkeeper’s intervention. The Tribe paired its greater threat on frame with effective service into the penalty area, and Ruitenberg’s two assists were central to the burst that put the result beyond a one-goal response.

Navy falls to 3–6–4, while William & Mary improves to 7–5–1. The Mids now turn back to Patriot League play, traveling to Lafayette on Saturday, October 17, for a 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff. That return offers an immediate opportunity to improve the quality of their chances after Tuesday’s difficult nonconference finish.