ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's soccer team (12-5-1, 5-4-0 Patriot League) is set to return to action Tuesday as it travels to take on American (8-4-4, 6-2-1 Patriot League) in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. Opening kick from Washington, D.C. is slated for 1 p.m. from the Eagles' Reeves Athletic Complex.
Tuesday's match will have free, live statistics available via NavySports.com along with being 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 match.
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Following the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament played on Saturday, the tournament field now stands at four teams. Navy, the fifth seed in the field, advanced to the league semifinals with a win over fourth-seeded Lehigh while Army, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, upended third-seeded Holy Cross, 1-0, in Saturday's second quarterfinal contest.
Following their respective first-round byes, No. 1 seed Loyola and No. 2 seed American will see their first action of the tournament with matchups against Army and the Midshipmen, respectively.
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
No. 5 Navy (12-5-1, 5-4-0 PL) at No. 2 American (8-4-4, 6-2-1 PL) – Tuesday, 1 p.m.
No. 6 Army (8-7-2, 4-4-1 PL) at No. 1 Loyola (9-6-2, 7-2-0 PL) – Tuesday, 7 p.m.
NAVY IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Navy enters the 2021 Patriot League Tournament looking to secure its second all-time league championship, with the first coming during the 2013 season. The Midshipmen have qualified for the Patriot League Tournament 12 times and has reached the tournament field in two of the last three seasons.
SERIES HISTORY
In a series that dates back to the 1979 season, American has a 14-11-9 advantage over the Midshipmen that includes picking up a 3-1 victory in the last meeting between the two programs on November 3. American and Navy have played tightly-contested contests over their last 10 meetings, with six of those matches being decided by one goal or less.
LAST FIVE GAMES
Over the last five games in the series, American has a 3-1-1 edge over Navy. However, over those five games, three have been decided by one goal or less along with Navy earning a 4-0 victory over the Eagles in the 2019 meeting played in Washington, D.C.
November 3, 2021: American 3, Navy 1
April 10, 2021: American 1, Navy 1 (2OT)
October 2, 2019: Navy 4, American 0
October 3, 2018: American 3, Navy 2
October 4, 2017: American 3, Navy 2 (OT)
LAST MATCHUP: American 3, Navy 1 – November 3, 2021 – Washington, D.C. –
Full Recap
In its final match of the 2021 regular season, Navy fell, 3-1, on the road to American. The Midshipmen opened the contest on the attack, posting each of the games first three shots before
Jacob Williams (Sr., Millersville, Md.) converted on a pass from
Sidney Paris (So., Oakville, Ontario), ripping a shot into the bottom-right corner of the net for his sixth score of the season, giving the Mids a one-score advantage at the 13:47 mark.
However, the advantage proved to be short lived for the Midshipmen as American tied the score just 45 seconds later when Jerry Zouantcha fired a set piece from Robert Matei into the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1.
Navy continued to push the pace on offense following the score by the Eagles, recording a 9-2 shot advantage over the final 31 minutes of the first half that included a pair of attempts on goal by the duo of
Cristian Coelho (So., Katy, Texas) and
David Jackson (So., Cypress, Texas). The American back line held strong despite the flurry of attempts by Navy, stifling the shots on goal by Coelho and Jackson to maintain the draw heading into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Mids continued to push for a go-ahead score, earning two corner-kick attempts through the first 10 minutes of action in the second half, but were unable convert as a pair of attempts by Williams were forced wide to hold the score at 1-1.
The defensive stalemate continued until the 77th minute, when the Eagles took their first lead of the day as Zouantcha caromed a pass from Evan Schweickert into the goal to give American a one-score advantage on his second goal of the day.
Clinging to a one-score lead in the 89th minute after defending a pair of corner-kick tries by the Mids, American netted its third goal of the game as Matei intercepted a pass from the Navy back line and sent a strike into the back the net for his third goal of the year, securing a 3-1 victory for the Eagles.
NAVY PRIMER
Overall Record: 12-5-1
Patriot League Record: 5-4-0
Patriot League Tournament Seed: No. 5
Last Patriot League Title: 2013
Home Record: 8-1-0
Away Record: 3-5-1
Neutral Record: 1-0-0
Last Five Games: 2-3-0
Streak: W1
Head Coach: Tim O'Donohue I 16th Season (205-65-33), Sixth Season at Navy (40-44-10)
SCOUTING THE MIDSHIPMEN
LAST TIME OUT: Navy is coming off a 1-0 win over Lehigh in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament last time out.
Charlie Kriel headed home a corner-kick pass from Jackson in the 50th minute and
Tyler Fahning (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) recorded his 10th shutout of the season to lead Navy to a one-score win over the Mountain Hawks and a berth in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. In addition to the score by Kriel, the Midshipmen were led on offense by Williams who placed a game-best six shots, two being on goal, along with Paris who finished with two attempts on goal. Leading the Mids defensive effort was Fahning who tallied five saves over 90 clean minutes that included a crucial-leaping save in the 78th minute to secure his league-leading 10th shutout of the year.
Navy went on the attack to open the game, placing eight shots including two on goal that were stifled by the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh placed six shots of its own in the first half, but the Midshipmen defense matched the effort of its counterpart, turning away each of the attempts including two stops by Fahning to send the match to halftime scoreless.
Coming out of the break, Navy continued to put immense pressure on the Lehigh backline including a narrow miss by Williams on a header at the 47:43 mark. Just two minutes later, the pressure resulted in a corner-kick attempt in which Jackson was tasked with taking the try. The sophomore midfielder placed the attempt perfectly as Kriel leaped and sent a header into the back of the net for his third score of the season, giving the Mids a one-score advantage at the 49:12 mark.
Over the final 41 minutes following the score by Kriel, Navy turned in a stifling effort defensively, defending each of the nine attempts by the Mountain Hawks including a trio of saves by Fahning and a crucial final-minute stop by
Matt Nocita (Sr., Porter Ranch, Calif.) during a chaotic scramble in front of the net. The save by the senior defender in the final seconds of the match proved to be a deciding stop, securing a 1-0 victory over the Mountain Hawks and a spot in Tuesday's Patriot League Tournament semifinal.
LEADING THE CHARGE: Williams leads the way for the Navy offense through 18 games with 16 points on a team-high six goals along with having four assists. The senior forward and Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year also leads the way in total shots (77), shots on goal (27) and game-winning scores (3). Paris ranks second on the team with 15 points on four goals and a team-leading seven assists while Jackson is third with 14 points on four goals and six assists. Rounding out the double-digit point performers for the Midshipmen is
Baba Kallie (So., Coatesville, Pa.) who has 10 points on five goals along with 33 shots, 14 being on goal.
ON THE ATTACK: As a team, Navy has proven to be one of the top-offensive units in the Patriot League this season with a league-best 31 goals on an average of 1.72 goals per game. The Midshipmen have outshot opponents 284-179 (+105) on an average of 15.8 shots per contest, with 113 of those shot attempts being on goal. The 31 goals this season by the Mids are the most by a Navy men's soccer team since scoring 37 during the 2013 season.
STIFLING THE OPPOSITION: In addition to the efforts of its offense this season, Navy has gotten consistent contributions from its backline. The Midshipmen defense has yielded just 16 goals this season for an average of just 0.89 goals per game on 9.9 shots per contest in addition to tallying a Patriot-League best 10 shutouts.
KEEPER COUNT: At the forefront of the aforementioned defensive effort for Navy this season is Fahning, who has played event minute in goal in 2021 for the Mids to the tune of a 0.86-goals against average and a .750-save percentage. Additionally, the senior goalkeeper has recorded 48 saves while allowing just 16 goals over his 18 starts.
WINNING WAYS: Navy's quarterfinal round win over Lehigh marked its first postseason victory since 2013 when it defeated Bucknell, 1-0, in the opening round of the Patriot League Tournament. Additionally, over their last 46 games, the Midshipmen have a 32-11-3 record which is the best record in the Patriot League over that span.
BOUNCE BACK: The Mids have shown an ability to bounce back following a loss this season, now having a 4-1-0 record in contests immediately following a loss. Additionally, in those five contests, Navy is outscoring opponents 9-2 (+7).
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Along with being one of the top-offensive units in the Patriot League this season, the Midshipmen have proven to be a versatile unit with 11 different players scoring at least one goal 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.
IN THE RECORD BOOK: The 2021 Navy men's soccer team has worked its way up the program record book, led in the individual rankings by Fahning and Williams. With his 10 shutouts this season, Fahning is tied with
Ian Bramblett (Easley, S.C.) and Gavin Snyder (Severna Park, Md.) for the program record for the most shutouts by a goalkeeper in a single season. Additionally, with 12 career shutouts to his ledger, the senior goalkeeper sits just one clean sheet shy of tying Bramblett for the fifth-most career shutouts in program history. Williams also stands on the precipice of joining the offensive leaders of the Navy men's soccer career ranks, sitting just five points shy of being tied for the 10th-most career points in program history along with being just two goals shy of that same mark in career-goals scored.
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE: The Midshipmen enter Tuesday's semifinal match against American with 14 players having prior postseason experience. Six of those players, including
Joe Alex (Sr., Lockport, N.Y.),
Bayne Bentley (Sr., Austin, Texas),
Tyler Collins (Sr., Crofton, Md.), Nocita, Wagner and Williams, have appeared in two postseason games for the Midshipmen in their careers. Head coach
Tim O'Donohue also has extensive postseason experience over his 16 seasons as a head coach, having led the Midshipmen to two postseason appearances along with leading the Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer program to nine conference championships and nine NCAA Tournament appearances over his 10 seasons.
ROUNDING OUT THE ATTACK: Rounding out the top-offensive performers for Navy this season is the quartet of Aoyama, Coelho, Kriel and Nocita. Aoyama and Kriel lead the group in points with seven apiece while Kriel has seven points have come on three goals and an assist. Coelho is next with five points on two goals and an assist followed by Nocita, who along with his contributions to the Navy defense, has tallied four points on two goals.
AMERICAN PRIMER
Overall Record: 8-4-4
Patriot League Record: 6-2-1
Patriot League Tournament Seed: No. 2
Last Patriot League Title: 2020-21
Home Record: 4-1-2
Away Record: 3-3-2
Neutral Record: 1-0-0
Last Five Games: 4-0-1
Streak: W3
Head Coach: Zach Samol I Third Season (15-17-9)
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, American earned the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament field and a first-round bye with a 3-1 win over the Midshipmen. The win marked the third-straight victory for the Eagles and its fourth in five games. American is currently riding a five-game unbeaten streak along with being winners in seven of its last 10 games.
ON THE ATTACK: David Coly leads the way for the American offense with 17 points on a team-best six goals and five assists. Jack Green is second with eight points on three goals and two assists followed by the trio of Matei, Zouantcha and Ethan Boyle who have seven points apiece.
IN NET: Dominic Dominguez and Lorenzo Gordon have split time in goal this season for the Eagles, with Dominguez leading the way having started all nine games he has appeared in. The freshman goalkeeper has allowed just eight goals and recorded 30 saves for a 0.95-goals against average and a .789 save percentage. Gordon has appeared in nine games with seven starts, posting a 1.38 goals-against average and a .733 save percentage.
UP NEXT
With a win over American, Navy would advance to its first Patriot League Championship game since the 2013 season. If Army defeats Loyola, the Midshipmen would host the Black Knights at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility with a 12 p.m. opening kick. If the Greyhounds advance over Army, the contest would be hosted in Baltimore with a start time to be determined.
