Sept. 24, 2007
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Navy seniors Doug DeVuono and Anthony Parker were selected as the Patriot League men's soccer Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday. It's the third and fourth weekly honor already this year for the Navy men's soccer team, as seniors Will Riordon and Evan Barnes earned weekly accolades on Sept. 3. The Mids are 4-1-1 on the season and are off to their best start since 2001.
DeVuono, a 5-9, 170-pound senior forward from Racine, Wis., broke out in a big way in a 4-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast University on Friday night. Playing in a driving rainstorm, DeVuono pounded home three goals propeling Navy to the victory. His first goal, the game-winner in just the third minute of the contest, gave Navy a 1-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the game. He closed out his hat trick with netters in the 72nd and 80th minutes. The hat trick came six years to the day since Navy's last hat trick, a three-goal performance by Craig Ruhs against Fordham on Sept. 21, 2001. DeVuono entered the game with no career goals, but is now tied for the team lead with six points and three goals. It marks the first time a Navy player has won the Patriot League Player of the Week since Oct. 6, 2003 (Doug Kurz).
Parker, a 5-11, 168-pound defenseman from Fredericksburg, Va., helped Navy to the weekend sweep. He led a defense that allowed just seven shots with just one shot coming on goal in the 4-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast University. In Sunday's 3-1 win over a solid Florida International team, the Mids allowed 14 shots, including 10 in the second half. However, the Panthers had very few solid chances in the contest as Parker and his teammates limited FIU's close opportunities.
The Navy defense has been outstanding this year, allowing just five goals in six games with three shutouts. The Mids have allowed just one team (St. Francis, N.Y.) to score more than one goal and just two teams (St. Francis, N.Y. and Florida International) have recorded double-digit shots. The Mids have allowed just 59 shots (9.8 per game average) this year with 27 of them coming on goal. Navy has also improved its discipline, fouling just 76 times this year for an average of 12.7 per game.
Navy will open its Patriot League campaign on Saturday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility against 2006 NCAA second-round participant Bucknell. The contest is slated for 7:00 pm and fans that attend Saturday's football game with Air Force can get into the soccer game free by presenting the ticket stub from that afternoon's football game. For ticket information, please call 1-800-US4-NAVY.
# GO NAVY #
