2015 Schedule

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Men's soccer head coach Dave Brandt has announced Navy's 2015 fall schedule. Navy's 18-game schedule will consist of nine Patriot League matches and nine non-conference matches.

Navy's challenging schedule features six teams that qualified for the 2014 NCAA Tournament, including five non-conference opponents that competed in at least the NCAA Second Round.

"It's a great schedule and our guys are excited to play," said Brandt. "We have a good team and we are hungry to play against anybody and we will be tested right away."

Navy will open the season at West Virginia (11-7-1, 3-1-1 MAC) on Friday, Aug. 28. The Mountaineers compete in the Big 12 in most sports, but are in the Mid-American Conference in men's soccer. The Mids will continue their season-opening road trip at NCAA Second Round team Penn State (13-6-1, 5-3-0 Big Ten) on Sunday, Aug. 30.

Navy will play its home opener at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility on Friday, Sept. 4 against Oakland (10-7-3, 5-0-3 Horizon), an NCAA Second Round squad and the 2014 Horizon League Champions. The Mids will then host Ohio State (9-8-5, 5-3-0 Big Ten) on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Buckeyes also advanced to the NCAA Second Round in 2014.

Navy will be back on the road to play at Longwood (4-14-1, 3-6-0 Big South) in Farmville, Va. on Friday, Sept. 11.

Navy will have a rematch with Maryland (13-6-3, 5-2-1 Big Ten) on Monday, Sept. 14 in College Park. Navy defeated then-No. 10 Maryland, 2-1, in Annapolis last season. The Terps won the Big Ten Tournament Championship and earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Navy will play its third home game of the season against Saint Joseph's (7-7-4, 2-5-1 Atlantic 10) on Saturday, Sept. 19. The Mids will then host William & Mary (6-11-1, 3-4-1 CAA) on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Navy will open its 24th season of Patriot League play at home against Loyola (5-8-4, 2-5-2) on Saturday, Sept. 26. Navy and Loyola played to a 1-1 draw last season.

A highlight of the 2015 season will be the Army-Navy Cup IV at PPL Park on Friday, Oct. 2 at the home of the Philadelphia Union. Navy defeated Army West Point (6-8-6, 3-4-2), 1-0, in double overtime in last year's edition of the Army-Navy Cup. The Army-Navy Star Match was played in front of 10,168 fans at PPL Park last fall. Navy holds a 40-27-14 record in the all-time series with Army West Point.

"I think the Army-Navy Cup has certainly gained some momentum and traction," said Brandt. "It has been an entertaining and a quality game that people want to come see and be a part of it. I think the game is good for the Patriot League, it's good for the two programs and it's good for college soccer."

Navy will play its first of two midweek conference games against Lehigh (10-8-1, 5-3-1) on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at home. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in 2014.

The Mids will play back-to-back conference road games on two consecutive Saturdays. Navy will play at Holy Cross (5-9-3, 2-6-1) on Saturday, Oct. 10 and at Bucknell (10-10-3, 4-3-2) on Saturday, Oct. 17. Navy defeated Holy Cross in the regular season, 2-1, and also defeated Bucknell, 1-0. Bucknell and Navy tied in the Patriot League Semifinals, but the Bison advanced on penalty kicks and eventually won the conference tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Navy will take a break from conference play on Tuesday, Oct. 20 to play 2014 NCAA Final Four team UMBC (14-6-5, 6-0-1 AE). Navy defeated UMBC, 2-0, last season. UMBC received an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament for winning the America East Tournament and advanced past Wake Forest, Maryland, Louisville and Creighton before falling to eventual College Cup Champion Virginia in the national semifinals.

Navy will return to its conference slate to host Colgate (6-10-2, 2-6-1) on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Mids defeated the Raiders, 2-0, in 2014. Navy will play a midweek game at American (11-4-4, 5-2-2) on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Navy defeated American, 2-0, when the Eagles were ranked 20th in the nation last season.

The Mids will play their final road game of the conference slate at Lafayette (6-10-2, 2-7-0) on Saturday, Oct. 31. Navy posted a 1-0 win over the Leopards in Annapolis last year.

Navy will close the 2015 regular season with a home match against Boston U. (12-4-4, 6-0-3) on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Terriers handed Navy its only conference loss of the season last year and won the regular season title by finishing just one point ahead of Navy in the league standings.

The six-team Patriot League Tournament will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 10 with the quarterfinal round. The semifinals and final will be played at the regular season champion from Nov. 13-15.

In addition to its challenging regular season schedule, Navy will also be tested in the preseason. The Mids will play an exhibition match at defending national champion Virginia on Aug. 15. Navy will also host Old Dominion, an NCAA Second Round team, in an exhibition match on Aug. 22.

"We know that we have our hands full with the entire schedule," said Brandt. "This is as strong as a non-conference schedule that you will find just about anywhere. We respect all of these teams and they have all done extremely well the last couple of years."

Navy (11-4-5, 6-1-2 PL) will return nine starters and five all-league players from last year's squad. Brandt enters his seventh season at Navy in 2015.