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No. 18 American Tops Navy in Patriot League Opener
Eagles use late goals to win, 3-0

Shawn Kuykendall had a part in all three goals in the AU's 3-0 win over Navy.

Sept. 25, 2002 | Game Stats

Gameday Central
Navy	0
American	3
Box Score | Final
Goals: Espinal (AU), Herman (AU), S. Kuykendall (AU) Assists: S. Kuykendall (AU) 2, K. Kuykendall (AU), King (AU) Saves: Behonick (AU) 3, Copare (Navy) 4

WASHINGTON — American University’s men’s soccer team opened Patriot League play with a 3-0 victory over Navy. For the second straight match, the No. 18 Eagles (7-2, 1-0) used goals late in the period to win the match. Sophomore Shawn Kuykendall had a part in all three AU goals, scoring the final goal and assisting on the other two.

The teams traded shots early in the first half with AU’s Michael Behonick and Navy’s Matt Copare both having to make saves in goal. The Patriot League foes battled for much of the rest of the first half, yet neither team could find the net.

In the 42nd minute, AU’s build-up resulted in a goal as Kuykendall touched the ball to Melvin Espinal who buried the ball in the left corner of the net to give AU a 1-0 lead. The Eagles outshot Navy 8-5 in the first half, yet could only manage one goal.

It appeared that American was going to get a goal early in the second half as Peter Philipakos brought the ball down the left side of the field. Copare came out of the net and Philipakos took his shot on goal, but a Navy defender was able to clear the ball away for the Midshipmen and keep the score at 1-0. AU had another opportunity in the 50th minute as Kris Bertsch touched the ball to Charlie Koniver, but his centering pass was cleared away.

Melvin Espinal has netted three goals in the last two matches.

Navy started to put some pressure on the Eagles in the middle of the period. In the 62nd minute, Jamie Coyle broke in alone on Behonick. Coyle was able to get the ball over Behonick but his shot went high over the goal. Minutes later Matt Sanchez brought the ball in for the Midshipmen but David Pryor was able to stand him up and kick the ball away. Ryan Peters gathered the ball for Navy, but his shot went wide.

Once again, the Eagles used goals late in the game to put away its opponent. In the 84th minute Kuykendall sent a long ball ahead to Andrew Herman. Herman took a great shot throught the legs of the Navy defender and into the net past a diving Copare. Just two minutes later, Kris Kuykendall crossed the ball to J.J. King who made one-touch to a sliding Shawn Kuykendall who was able to bury the ball in the net for the final goal of the match.

“I’m happy with where we are sitting record-wise,” American head coach Todd West said after the match. “However, we still haven’t played our best soccer yet.”

AU’s defense was solid in posting its fourth shutout of the season. Pryor, Koniver, Jeff Kinney and Larry McDonald allowed only three shots on goal in the match. Behonick saved all three on his way to his second shutout of the year. The Eagles outshot Navy 17-10 for the match.

American takes to the road for its second Patriot League match of the year. The Eagles play Lafayette in Easton, Pa. on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Goals: AU - Espinal, Herman, S. Kuykendall
Assists: AU - S. Kuykendall (2), K. Kuykendall, King
Saves: AU - Behonick 3; Navy - Copare 4
Shots: AU - 17; Navy - 10
Corners: AU - 5; Navy - 3
Offsides: AU - 1; Navy - 7