Oct. 24, 2008
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy men's soccer team begins its final homestand this Saturday as it hosts Colgate for a 12:00 pm kickoff at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The Mids enter the contest with a 4-9-2 overall mark and are 0-4-0 in the Patriot League. Colgate, meanwhile, is 8-4-2 overall and 3-1-0 in the Patriot League, and is currently in second place in the league standings with nine points.
Navy enters the contest on six-game winless streak (0-6-1) and is just 1-8-1 in its last 10 games after starting the year 3-1-1. Navy has struggled to find the scoring touch as evidenced in its current streak. The Mids have been shut out in a school-record six straight games, and have gone 659 minutes without scoring a goal, dating back seven games to Navy's last tally, which came in the ninth minute of a 2-1 overtime loss against Bucknell on Sept. 27.
Navy has been outscored over the last 10 games, 18-2, after netting eight goals and allowing seven tallies in the first five games of the season.
In the Mids' last outing, a 4-0 setback to Holy Cross, the Crusaders scored three goals in the game's first 18 minutes, then added an insurance goal just three minutes into the second half.
Mike Porcelli (So. / West Islip, N.Y.) leads Navy with six points on three goals, while Chris Marino (Jr. / Longwood, Fla.) has added five points (2 g, a). Mark Garcia (Jr. / Tempe, Ariz.) has scored four points (1 g, 2 a) and senior captain Adam Pennington (Tampa, Fla.) has three points (1 g, 1 a). Four other players have added two points.
Porcelli is the only Navy player to record goals in the last 10 contests, netting tallies against Birmingham Southern and Bucknell. The last time a Navy player other than Porcelli scored a goal came in the Sept. 12 contest against Saint Joseph's, when freshman Sam Miller (Tulsa, Okla.) tallied his first career netter.
Nolan Grebb (Sr. / Woodbury, N.J.) has played all but 201 minutes in goal, recording a .747 save percentage and a 1.58 GAA. Grebb leads the league with 65 saves and is 46th nationally. His four shutouts are tied for third in the Patriot League.
Colgate enters the game with an 8-4-2 overall and has won three straight games by a combined margin of 4-0. Two of the wins have come against Patriot League foes, Lafayette and Bucknell. The Raiders also defeated Army, 2-0, after dropping its league opener to Holy Cross, 1-0, on Sept. 27.
The Raiders boast a balanced attack as five players have scored at least seven points on the year, led by Steven Miller (5 g, 2 a, 12 pts.). Alex Weekes (3-5=11), Matt Schuber (4-2=10), Chris Ross (4-1=9) and Jeff Leach (2-3=7) have also contributed on the offensive end. As a team, Colgate is outscoring its opponents, 20-11, and has outshot its foes, 220-149. The Raiders rank 32nd in goals against average at 0.81 GAA.
Defensively, Colgate is paced by David Cappuccio with a 0.85 GAA and an .845 save percentage. He has recorded five shutouts on the season and ranks 18th in the country in saves (5.22), 27th in save percentage (.845) and 60th in GAA (0.85).
Colgate leads the all-time series with Navy, 9-8-3, and Navy hasn't won in the series since a 2-1 victory in 2004. Colgate won last year's meeting, 1-0, on a Matt Leach goal in the 61st minute.
For the remaining two home games (Oct. 25 and Nov. 1), shuttle service will be provided from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The shuttle will pick up customers in front of the Navy baseball stadium on King Georges Street. Tickets can be purchased at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility ticket window on the day of the game.
# GO NAVY #
