June 15, 2009
• 2009 Schedule | 2009 Printable Schedule
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Head coach Dave Brandt and the Navy men's soccer team has released its 2009 schedule, which will commence on Sept. 4, when the Mids host Saint Joseph's in the Navy Soccer Classic, beginning at 7:30 pm at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The game will be the first of seven home games for the Midshipmen this fall.
The Midshipmen face a challenging schedule in 2009, as five of Navy's 19 games this year will come against teams that competed in last year's NCAA Tournament, including defending national champion Maryland (Nov. 3 in College Park). It marks the first time Navy will have played the defending NCAA champ since Navy lost to Virginia (1994 champs), 7-5, in the 1995 season. Four of Navy's 12 non-conference games come against 2008 NCAA Tournament participants.
"Obviously, the Patriot League portion is always more than challenging, and I think with our non-league schedule, we wanted to make it as strong as possible in order to sharpen our skills," said Brandt, who enters his first year as the Navy head coach this fall. "It's important for us to play a strong schedule and we want to play against the best teams we can, and we think we have done that with our schedule this fall."
Navy will kick off the 2009 season by hosting the four-team Navy Soccer Classic on Sept. 4 and 6. The Mids will battle Saint Joseph's (5-8-2 in 2008) on Friday at 7:30 pm, in what will be the first game of the Dave Brandt era. The Mids defeated Saint Joseph's last year, 1-0, on a double-overtime goal by Sam Miller with just 28 seconds left to play. On Sunday, Sept. 6, Navy will take on regional rival Delaware (3-13-3 in 2008) at 3:30 pm. It will mark the first meeting against the Blue Hens since the 2006 season. The two other games will pit UMBC vs. Delaware (Friday; 5:00 pm) and UMBC vs. Saint Joseph's (Sunday; 1:00 pm)
The following week, Navy will head just up I-97 to Baltimore for the UMBC adidas Kick-off Classic. On Thursday, Navy will battle Saint Francis (Pa.) (5-11-2 in 2008) for the first time in school history. On Saturday, the Mids will take on Mount St. Mary's (9-10-1). The Mount defeated Navy last year, 3-0, and advanced to the title game of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament. Times have yet to be determined for the contests.
Navy will remain on the road for its next three games all coming in the City of Brotherly Love. On Friday, Sept. 18, the Mids will take on Temple (10-5-4 in 2008) in the first game of the Penn Soccer Classic. Temple, which reached the Atlantic 10 semifinals a year ago, and Navy last met in 2007 in Annapolis. On Sunday, the Mids will battle their first NCAA Tournament team from the previous year as it faces off against Ivy League Champion Penn in the second game of the Penn Soccer Classic. The Quakers finished last year with an 11-3-4 record and lost to George Mason in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It will be the 41st meeting between the two teams, but first since 1980.
Navy will tune up for Patriot League play with a non-conference tilt at La Salle (2-14-3) in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 7:00 pm. The Mids and Explorers last met in 2005.
Navy will then open up league play against its biggest rival, Army (3-14-1 in 2008), on Saturday, Sept.. 26, beginning at 8:00 pm at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The Mids own a 35-27-13 all-time series lead against the Black Knights, but will be looking for their first win against Army since 2005. The Black Knights defeated Navy last year, 1-0, in front of a national-television audience (Fox Soccer Channel) and 1,491 fans in West Point. The game will follow Navy's football contest against Western Kentucky, which begins at 3:30 pm.
The Mids will return to the road for a non-conference tilt against George Washington (8-6-3 in 2008) on Sept. 30, in Washington, D.C. Navy leads the series with George Washington, 10-8-4, but the Navy's last win against the Colonials came in 1988.
Navy returns home for its second Patriot League match, this one coming against Bucknell on Oct. 3, beginning at 8:00 pm (football plays Air Force at 3:30 that day). Navy leads the series against the Bison, 22-8-2, but hasn't defeated Bucknell since 2001.
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Navy will face regional foe Loyola (Md.) for just the second time in school history, beginning at 5:00 pm in Baltimore. The Greyhounds advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, reaching as high as No. 6 in the national polls and posting an 18-2-1 overall record. The Greyhounds boasted the second-highest scoring offense in the country a year ago and tied Wake Forest for the best record in the country during the regular season (17-0-1).
The Midshipmen will then take to the road for the first time in Patriot League play on Oct. 10, as it travels to Lehigh for a 7:00 pm kickoff. Lehigh went 2-3-2 in league play last year and was 7-7-3 overall. Navy leads the series with Lehigh 28-16-6, but has lost nine straight games to the Mountain Hawks.
Navy returns home for a two-game homestand against Howard and American on Oct. 14 and 17 (both games at 7:00 pm), before traveling to Tobacco Road for a tilt with ACC member Duke on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Duke reached the NCAA Tournament last year and went 10-5-2 last year. Navy leads the series with the Blue Devils, 14-1-2, but the two teams have not met since the 1979 season.
Navy will host Holy Cross on Oct. 24, for Senior Night, beginning at 8:00 pm (football plays at 3:30 vs. Wake Forest) on Homecoming Saturday. Holy Cross was 4-1-2 in the Patriot League a year ago and reached the Patriot League Tournament final wth a 9-5-5 overall record. The Crusaders lead the series with Navy, 11-7-2, including last year's 4-0 victory over the Mids in Worcester, Mass.
The next weekend, Navy will travel to upstate New York to face the two-time defending Patriot League champion, Colgate, on Oct. 31. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie last year in Annapolis, and the series is tied 9-9-3 overall.
On Nov. 3, Navy will without a doubt, face its toughest challenge of the season as it heads to College Park and hostile Ludwig Field to face defending NCAA Champion Maryland at 7:30 pm. The Terrapins went 23-3-0 last season and enter 2009 with a 16-match winning streak. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 1987 season and Maryland owns a 15-12-9 advantage.
The Mids will then close out the regular season at Lafayette on Nov. 7. Lafayette was 8-6-5 overall last year, including 3-1-3 in the Patriot League, reaching the league tournament. The series is tied between the two teams, 15-15-3, but the Leopards have won the last six meetings.
The Patriot League Tournament will commence the following weekend (Nov. 13, 15) at the site of the regular-season champion. The NCAA Tournament will begin on November 20.
# GO NAVY #
