ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy's men's soccer team (11-2-1, 4-2-1 Patriot League) caps off its 2019 regular-season road schedule on Saturday as the Midshipmen travel to Hamilton, N.Y., to take on Colgate (4-8-4, 2-4-1 Patriot League) at 4 p.m.
Navy will have another chance at clinching a spot in the Patriot League Tournament this weekend as a win or a tie against Colgate secures the Midshipmen a berth in the league tournament for the first time since 2014. Colgate is currently tied with American for the seventh spot in the league standings with seven points but the Raiders hold the tiebreaker after winning on the road last weekend against the Eagles. Both Colgate and American are two points outside the top six for the final spot in the league tournament as Boston University and Bucknell are tied for fifth with nine points each.
Last time out, the Midshipmen saw its winless streak stretch to three matches after dropping a 1-0 decision in double overtime to Boston last Saturday. Navy has lost its last two matches in shutout fashion and it has been held scoreless for its last 182:29 with the Midshipmen's last goal coming from Diego Manrique on Oct. 11 against Army.
Navy's offense has been led by Jacob Williams and Nicko West with 17 points and 14 points, respectively. However, Navy's offensive pair has been held without a point for nearly a month as Williams' last tally came against American on Oct. 2 and West last scored on Oct. 6 against Bucknell. After allowing just two goals over the first 11 matches of the season, the Midshipmen's defense has allowed four goals over the last three matches. Navy has a goals-against average of 0.42 for the season to go along with a .850 save percentage. Junior Ian Bramblett has been the lone goalkeeper to appear in net for the Midshipmen playing all 1,295-plus minutes.
Colgate has alternated results over the last four contests with losses to Lafayette and Loyola but grabbing wins over Vermont and American. Half of the Raiders' games this season have gone into overtime with eight of their 16 matches going into overtime, which includes their last three contests. Colgate has had eight different goal scorers this season and the trio of Drew Fischer, Edward Bass and Mason Miller leading the team with two goals each. Fisher leads the team with seven points and he is tied for the team lead in assists as he and Christian Clarke have three each. Jacob Harris has played the full time in each of the Raiders 16 matches this season making 59 saves for a .756 save percentage and a 1.10 goals-against average.
In the all-time series between Navy and Colgate, the Raiders hold a slight 14-12-5 edge over the Midshipmen. Colgate has also controlled its home field with a 10-4-2 record over Navy in games played in Hamilton, N.Y. The Midshipmen's last road win against the Raiders came in 2014 after Navy grabbed a 2-0 victory. Last season, Navy grabbed a 1-0 home win against Colgate after Williams buried a penalty kick in the 17th minute to propel the Midshipmen a win in their home finale.
