ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After 27 days away from competition, Navy men's soccer (2-0-0, 1-0-0 Patriot League) returns to the field this weekend and hosts Bucknell (1-2-0, 1-2-0 Patriot League) on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. from the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
Attendance is limited to 200 faculty, staff and midshipmen, masked and socially-distanced. No members of the general public, alumni, parents or sponsors will be permitted unless they fall into the category of faculty, staff or midshipmen.
Just before the pause for Navy, it started its Patriot League schedule with a 2-1 win over Colgate at home where the Midshipmen rallied from a one-goal deficit to earn the come from behind win.
Baba Kallie scored the game-tying goal in the 44th minute against the Raiders and he then forced Colgate into a miscue, which resulted in an own goal. Kallie's efforts against Colgate earned him United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week honors.
For the season, Navy has four different players with at least one point along with three different goal scorers.
David Jackson has a team-leading three points for the Midshipmen with a goal and an assist both coming in Navy's first win of the season on the road against North Carolina State. Along with Jackson and Kallie,
Matt Nocita – who was named as the Preseason Patriot League Defender of the Year – scored Navy's first goal of the season while
Wyatt Millard also chipped in with an assist for Navy in the early portion of its schedule.
Ian Bramblett has played all 180 minutes in goal for the Midshipmen where he has a 1.00 goals-against average and a .667 save percentage. Bramblett has four saves on the year and in his career, the senior has 77 saves and posted 11 shutouts en route to a 15-11-2 record in goal for Navy.
Bucknell has alternated results to start its spring campaign as it suffered losses to Lafayette (1-0) and Lehigh (4-1) but earned a 2-1 win at home over American. Trevor Wiggins has scored two of the team's three goals to start the year with his first goal being the game-winning score against American. Matt Thorsheim is the only other Bison individual to be involved in multiple goals this season as he notched two assists this spring. Bennett Schwartz has started all three games in goal for Bucknell where he has made five saves while posting a 2.00 goals-against average.
The Midshipmen lead the all-time series against Bucknell with a record of 27-15-4. The Bison won the last meeting between the two programs with a 2-0 win during the 2019 Patriot League Tournament. However, in the last two regular-season contests, Navy has won both affairs en route to outscoring the Bison, 6-1.
After Saturday's match, Navy continues its home slate on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Loyola from the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
