ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With seeding in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament up for grabs, the Navy men's soccer team (11-4-1, 5-3-0 Patriot League) will close out its 2021 regular season Wednesday as it travels to Washington, D.C. for a league match against American (7-4-4, 5-2-1 Patriot League).

Wednesday's match, slated to get underway at 1 p.m., will have free, live statistics provided on NavySports.com. Additionally, the contest will be broadcasted on ESPN+, a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign up for a monthly or yearly plan prior to tuning into the game.

POSTSEASON PICTURE
With a Patriot League Tournament berth in hand, the Midshipmen will turn their attention to seeding in the six-team tournament field in their match against American on Wednesday. Navy cannot be the No. 1 seed or the No. 6 seed, but can be seeded anywhere from second to fifth. The Midshipmen (15 points) are currently seeded fourth behind Loyola (18 points), Holy Cross (16 points) and American (16 points), respectively. Rounding out the tournament field entering the final day of regular-season action for the Patriot League is Lehigh (12 points) and Army (12 points.).

Loyola, American, Holy Cross, Navy and Lehigh have all clinched a bid into the tournament field while Lafayette and Army remain in play for the final berth entering Wednesday.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS (League-Only Records)
1 – Loyola (6-2-0, 18 points): Clinched at least a top-3 seed … Can clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with a win over Bucknell … Can clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with a tie, AND losses or ties from Holy Cross and American … Can clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with a loss, AND losses or ties from Holy Cross and American.
 
2 – Holy Cross (5-2-1, 16 points): Clinched at least a top-4 seed … Can clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with a win over Boston U, a Loyola loss and an American loss or tie … Can clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with a Loyola loss or tie.
 
3 – American (5-2-1, 16 points): Clinched at least a top-4 seed … Can clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with a win over Navy, a Loyola loss and a Holy Cross loss or tie … Can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win, a Loyola win/tie and a Holy Cross loss/tie … Can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win, a Loyola loss and a Holy Cross win … Can clinch the No. 2 seed with a tie and a Holy Cross loss.
 
4 – Navy (5-3-0, 15 points): Can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win AND a Holy Cross loss … Can clinch the No. 2 seed with a tie AND a Holy Cross loss … Can clinch the No. 3 seed with a loss AND a Holy Cross win … Can clinch the No. 4 seed with a loss, wins from Loyola and Holy Cross, AND a Lehigh loss … Can clinch the No. 5 seed with a loss and a Lehigh win, if Loyola and Holy Cross both win ... Can finish no lower than the No. 5 seed. 
 
5 – Lehigh (4-4-0, 12 points): Can clinch the No. 4 seed with a win and a Navy loss … Can clinch the No. 5 seed with a win and a Navy win … Can clinch the No. 5 seed with a tie AND an Army tie … Can clinch the No. 6 seed with a loss AND an Army loss … Can clinch the No. 6 seed with a loss AND a Lafayette loss.
 
6 – Army (4-4-0, 12 points): Can clinch a postseason berth with a win or tie over Lafayette … Can clinch the No. 5 seed with a win, a Lehigh and Navy loss … Can clinch the No. 6 seed with a win, a Lehigh win AND a Navy loss … Can clinch the No. 6 seed with a tie against Lafayette.
 
7 – Lafayette (3-3-2, 11 points): Can clinch a postseason berth with a win over Army … Can clinch the No. 5 seed with a win and a Lehigh loss … Can clinch the No. 6 seed with a win and a Lehigh win.
 
8 – Bucknell (2-4-2, 8 points): Eliminated from postseason contention.
 
9 – Colgate (0-8-0, 0 Points): Eliminated from postseason contention.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, Navy got back on track with a 1-0 win over Bucknell at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, clinching its second league tournament berth in the last three seasons. Jason Aoyama (So., Narberth, Pa.) netted a pass from Jacob Williams (Sr., Millersville, Md.) in the 54th minute that proved to be the game-winning score, leading the Midshipmen to a 1-0 win.
 
The Mids defended eight shots by Bucknell including limiting the Bison to just one shot on goal that was stifled by Tyler Fahning (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) to preserve the one-score lead, marking their league-leading ninth shutout of the season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
In a series that dates back to the 1979 season, American has a slight 13-11-9 edge over Navy. Over the last 10 meetings in the series, the Eagles have a narrow 4-3-2 edge with the Mids picking up the last win in the series with a 4-0 decision during the 2019 season.
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Over the last five matchups between American and Navy, the Eagles have a 2-1-2 advantage, however, the two programs have played tightly-contested matches over that span with the scoring margin being 9-7 in favor of the Midshipmen.
 
April 10, 2021: American 1, Navy 1 (2OT)
Oct. 2, 2019: Navy 4, American 0
Oct. 3, 2018: American 3, Navy 2
Oct. 4, 2017: American 3, Navy 2 (OT)
Oct. 26, 2016: American 0, Navy 0 (2OT)
 
LAST MATCHUP: American 1, Navy 1 (2OT)  (April 10, 2021 – Washington, D.C. - Full Recap)
Looking for a win to secure its spot in the postseason, Navy men's soccer (4-1-1, 3-1-1 Patriot League, 2-1-1 PL South Division) fell short of the win and played to a 1-1 draw with American (2-1-2, 2-1-2 Patriot League, 2-1-1 PL South Division) on Saturday afternoon from Reeves Field. Following Saturday's results within the South Division, the Midshipmen finished their season with four wins over their six-match season.
 
Williams broke the scoreless affair in the 74th minute to put Navy ahead late in the contest. After a corner kick from Paris got kicked to the top of the 18-yard box, Williams ripped a left-shot into the back of the net to give the Midshipmen a 1-0 advantage. In the 85th minute, the Eagles were awarded a free kick in their attacking third and American tied the match with a goal from David Coly.
 
The score remained tied at one after regulation to push the match into overtime. During the first overtime period, Williams recorded the only shot for either team but his shot missed the frame. With Navy continuing to pressure American in the 10 minutes of the game, the Midshipmen could not find the game-winning goal as the contest ended in a 1-1 draw. The Midshipmen dictated the pace of the match throughout as they outshot the Eagles 16-4 for the match. Navy also had 10 corner kicks in the match compared to American's five.
 
NAVY PRIMER
Overall Record: 11-4-1
Patriot League Record: 5-3-0
Patriot League Standings: Fourth
Home Record: 8-1-0
Away Record: 2-3-1
Neutral Record: 1-0-0
Streak: W1
Head Coach: Tim O'Donohue I 16th Season (204-64-33) I Sixth Season at Navy (39-43-10)
 
SCOUTING THE MIDSHIPMEN
POSTSEASON BOUND: With its win Sunday over Bucknell, Navy clinched its second Patriot League Tournament berth in the last three seasons. The league tournament bid was the 12th for the Midshipmen since its inaugural season in the Patriot League in 1991. Navy has one Patriot League Championship to its ledger (2013), along with reaching the NCAA Tournament 11 times, the last being after earning an automatic bid to the field in 2013.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE: Paris and Williams sit atop the offensive leaders for Navy in 2021, having 14 points apiece. Paris has tallied his 14 points on four goals and a team-best six assists while Williams is tied for the team lead in goals (5) with Baba Kallie (So., Coatesville, Pa.) along leading the team in total shots (68), shots on goal (24), game-winning goals (3) and being third in assists (4).
 
David Jackson (So., Cypress, Texas) is third on the team with 13 points on four goals and five assists followed by Kallie who has 10 points on the aforementioned five scores. Following his game-winning score against Bucknell on Sunday, Aoyama rounds out the top-offensive performers for the Midshipmen in 2021 with seven points on two goals and three assists.
 
KEEPER COUNT: Fahing has proven to be one of the top goalkeepers in the Patriot League this season, allowing just 13 goals and tallying 41 saves for a 0.78-goals against average and a .759-save percentage. The senior goalkeeper also has a league-high nine shutouts in 2021, that also ranks as the second-most in the nation this season.
 
BOUNCE BACK: Having only four losses on the season, the Midshipmen have found success in games immediately following those defeats. In contests immediately following a loss, Navy has a 3-1-0 record that includes outscoring opponents 8-2 in those matches.
 
ON THE ATTACK: Entering its final game of the 2021 regular season, Navy has proven to be a formidable foe for opposing defenses, scoring 29 goals for an average of 1.81-goals per game. Additionally, the Midshipmen have tallied a league-best 249 shot attempts, 101 being on goal, for a Patriot-League best average of 15.6-shots per game.
 
STIFLING THE OPPOSITION: Equal to the efforts of its offense has been that of the Navy defense, limiting opponents to just 13 goals this season, equaling a +16-scoring margin, for an average of 0.81-goals per game. The Midshipmen back line also has limited opposing offenses to an average of 9.7-shots per game and a total of just 58 shots on goal.
 
IN THE RECORD BOOKS: The 2021 Navy men's soccer team has worked it ways up the program record books, lead in the individual rankings by Fahning and Williams.
 
Fahning has nine shutouts this season, sitting just one clean sheet shy of tying Ian Bramblett (Easley, S.C.) and Gavin Snyder (Severna Park, Md.) for the most shutouts in a single season in program history. Additionally, with 11 career shutouts to his ledger, the senior goalkeeper sits just outside the top-five in career clean sheets with Bramblett ranking fifth with 13 career shutouts. Fahning also stands to have one of the best single-season marks by a Navy goalkeeper in goals against average, his current mark of .78 is tied for the fifth-best goals against average for a single season with a minimum of 1,000 minutes played.
 
Williams also stands on the precipice of joining the offensive-leaders of the Navy men's soccer ranks, being just eight points shy of being tied for the 10th-most career points in program history along with being just three goals shy of that same mark in career goals scored.  
 
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Along with being one of the top-offensive teams in the Patriot League this season, the Midshipmen have proven to be a versatile unit with 11 different players scoring at least one goal this season in addition to having eight players score at least once in addition to having an assist. The 11 different goal scorers this season are the most among Patriot League teams in 2021.
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE LEADERS: Entering the final game of the regular season, Navy has gone wire-to-wire in leading the way in several offensive categories among Patriot League teams along with having several leaders in the individual rankings. The Midshipmen are first in the league in shots, shots per game, goals scored, goals allowed, team goals against average, shutouts and corner-kick attempts.
 
In the individual rankings, Williams is first in total shots, shots per game and tied for first in game-winning goals in addition to being top-10 in points, points per game, goals, goals per game and assists. Joining Williams among the individual-offensive leaders in the Patriot League is Paris who is top-10 in the league in shots, shots per game, points, points per game, assists and assists per game.
 
On the defensive end, Fahning leads Patriot-League goalkeepers in goals against average and shutouts along with being second in save percentage and fourth in saves.
 
ROUNDING OUT THE ATTACK: The trio of Cristian Coelho (So., Katy, Texas), Charlie Kriel (Fr., Severna Park, Md.) and Matt Nocita (Sr., Porter Ranch, Calif.) round out the top performers on offense for the Midshipmen in 2021, having scored two goals apiece. Joe Alex (Sr., Lockport, N.Y.), JD Wagner (Jr., Medford Lakes, N.J.) and Zach Wagner (So., Medford Lakes, N.J.) have also tallied one score each this season in addition to the Wagner pairing have one assist apiece.
 
AMERICAN PRIMER
Overall Record: 7-4-4
Patriot League Record: 5-2-1
Patriot League Standings: Second
Home Record: 3-1-2
Away Record: 3-3-2
Neutral Record: 1-0-0
Streak: W2
Head Coach: Zach Samol I Third Season (14-17-9)
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, American picked up a 2-1, home victory over Colgate that cemented a Patriot League Tournament bid for the Eagles. Jack Green got the scoring started for AU in the 25th minute with his third goal of the season before Colgate tied the score in the 31st minute on a American own goal. The Eagles rebounded at the 86:00 mark, netting what proved to be the game-winning score as Green recorded his second goal of the contest to secure a 2-1 comeback win for American. The Eagles tallied a narrow 8-7 advantage in shots over Colgate along with outshooting the Raiders, 6-2, in attempts on goal.
 
ON THE ATTACK: David Coly leads the way for the American attack with 17 points on six goals and five assists, followed by Green and Ethan Boyle who have seven points apiece this season. Green has three goals and one assist while Boyle has tallied two goals and three assists during his 2021 campaign.

IN NET: The duo of Dominic Dominguez and Lorenzo Gordon have split time in goal for the Eagles this season. Dominguez has started all eight games he has appeared in, allowing seven goals and recording 27 saves for a .794-save percentage and a 0.95-goals against average. Gordon has appeared in nine games with seven starts, yielding 12 scores and making 33 saves for a .733-save percentage and a 1.38-goals against average.
 
UP NEXT
Following Wednesday's match at American, Navy will begin play in the Patriot League Tournament. Should the Midshipmen earn the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the league standings, they would host a quarterfinal match at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility Saturday at noon. If the Mids finish as the No. 5 seed, they would hit the road for a quarterfinal match at the No. 4 seed. Should Navy earn the No. 2 seed in the tournament field, it would earn a first-round bye and return to play by hosting the winner of the 4/5 seed match on November 9 at 7 p.m.