ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The 19th-ranked Navy men's soccer team (11-0-0, 4-0-0 Patriot League) is back in action on Friday night as it takes on rival Army (2-5-2, 0-3-1 Patriot League) in the eighth edition of the Army-Navy Cup at Talen Energy Stadium on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Chester, Pa.
Friday's match is a Star Match within the Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA. The series is currently tied after Navy won sprint football and women's soccer. Army won the Star in volleyball and men's golf.
The Midshipmen come into the week after moving up to 19th in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll, which is the program's highest ranking since the coaches' association took over the poll in 1996 under the name of National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). This week, Navy earned a total of 173 points and it is one of three teams in the country without a loss or a tie this season. The Midshipmen join No. 1 Virginia (10-0-0) and No. 14 Missouri State (10-0-0) with perfect winning percentages.
Navy's 11-0-0 start to the 2019 campaign is the program's best start since 1964, which was when the Midshipmen captured the national championship. In 1964, Navy went 15-0-0 overall en route to winning the title. This is also just the third time in program history the Midshipmen have started a year with 11-straight wins.
Coming into the rivalry match with Army, Navy also sits atop the Patriot League standings with 12 points and four wins. Last time out, the Midshipmen scored two second-half goals separated by just 51 seconds to upend Bucknell, 2-0, this past Sunday. Nicko West finished with a goal and an assist to spark him to Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, with Ian Bramblett making four saves recording his ninth shutout of the season to be named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week.
On the year, the offensive pair of West and Jacob Williams have sparked the Midshipmen. Williams leads the team with seven goals and 17 points to rank second in the Patriot League and West is right behind with six goals and 14 points to sit at third in the league. On the defensive side of the field, the Midshipmen are tied for the most shutouts in the country with top-ranked Virginia at nine. Navy has allowed just two goals this season and has a current shutout streak of 490:21. Bramblett has a 0.18 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Bramblett's nine shutouts this season are the second-most in program history since 1983.
Army comes into the week with a record of 2-5-2 overall and sits at 0-3-1 in the Patriot League following a scoreless draw with Lehigh last time out. The tie last weekend snapped a four-game skid for the Black Knights but they are still looking for their first win in five matches. Kennan O'Shea – who led the Patriot League in scoring last year – has paced the Army offense with three of the team's five goals. Christian Takaki and Oscar Pereira have each scored a goal this season with Sam Epitime leading the team with two of the team's four assists.
In goal, Justin Stoll played the first 733:10 of the season for Army and recorded 24 saves for a .632 save percentage to go along with a 1.72 goals-against average. Jacob Suppiah got the start against Lehigh and played the final 16-plus minutes against Lafayette to post a 0.71 goals-against average and a .667 save percentage.
The all-time Army-Navy series is currently in favor of the Midshipmen with a record of 40-30-15. The two programs have met at least once a season since 1938. However, Army has controlled the series as of late and has not lost to Navy since 2014. The Black Knights have three wins over the last four meetings and the two teams played to a scoreless draw in 2017. Last year, Army recorded the first multi-goal victory in the first seven seasons of the Army-Navy Cup in Chester, Pa. The Black Knights scored four unanswered goals to grab a 4-1 victory over the Midshipmen last season.
Tickets for Army-Navy Cup VIII are still on sale and can be purchased here. Parking for the event at Talen Energy Stadium is free. For more information on Talen Energy Stadium, home of the Philadelphia Union, please visit philadelphiaunion.com/stadium.
