ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Riding a five-game unbeaten streak, the Navy men's soccer team (5-4-2, 2-0-1 PL) travels to Boston University (6-2-2, 3-0-1 PL) on Saturday afternoon for a pivotal Patriot League regular season contest, as the Midshipmen and first-place Terriers are set for a 1 p.m. start at Nickerson Field in Boston, Mass.
 
Saturday's match will also serve as a rematch from the 2022 Patriot League Tournament Semifinals, as well as a matchup between the top two teams from the 2023 Patriot League Preseason Poll. It will also kickstart a stretch of four consecutive league matches for the Mids that will include trips to Chester, Pa., for Army-Navy Cup XII (Oct. 13) and to American University (Oct. 18), along with Senior Day on Oct. 21 against Holy Cross.
 
Veterans of the Patriot League
Since the start of the 2022 season, the Mids have posted a 7-1-7 record against Patriot League opponents, including a 5-1-6 mark in the regular season … Navy is undefeated in its last 10 matches against Patriot League schools, going 5-0-5 since a 2-0 loss to Army on Oct. 7, 2022 … Over three-plus seasons, the current Navy senior class has posted a 16-8-8 record against Patriot League competition … With 57 career points, senior standout David Jackson has accrued 26 of those points against Patriot League competition … Senior forward Baba Kallie has tallied 10 of his 25 career points against Patriot League teams with four goals and two assists … Fellow senior Jason Aoyama has had 12 of his 16 career points come against league foes.
 
Saade Named Patriot League Rookie of the Week
After helping the Midshipmen pick up their third-straight win and remain undefeated in league play, freshman defender Victor Saade was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, the league office announced Monday … The freshman center-back was crucial in Navy's shutout victory over Lehigh on Saturday, playing the full 90 minutes and leading a defensive effort that saw the Mids surrender just one shot on goal … On the season, Saade has started all 11 matches for the Mids and played in the second-most minutes for Navy (948), registering a goal and an assist.
 
League Leaders
Jackson enters Saturday as the Patriot League leader in both assists (5) and points (19), while his seven goals ranks second in the league … Sophomore A.J. Schuetz sits second in the Patriot League with 2.80 shots per game, while his 10 points and five goals both rank fifth-best in the league … Fellow sophomore forward Andrew Schug stands third in the league in both goals (5) and points (10), with his two game-winning goals being tied for second in the circuit as well … Junior goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook is tied for the league lead with four shutouts and ranks second in the PL with 35 saves … As a team, Navy leads the Patriot League in shots per game (12.91), shots on goal per game (6.36), shot accuracy (.493) shutout percentage (.455), total goals (20), total assists (17) and total points (57).
 
Navy in the National Rankings
As a team, Navy's 0.455 shutout percentage ranks 21st in the nation, while the Mids' 6.36 shots on goal per game is the 26th-most in Division I … Along with his 19 points ranking seventh nationally, Jackson's six goals stand 18th in the country and his 1.73 points per game rank 18th … Additionally, Jackson's three penalty-kick goals are tied for the second most in the country … Sophomore Andrew Schug's two game-winning goals rank 32nd in the nation, while fellow sophomore A.J. Schuetz is 50th nationally with 2.80 shots per game … Holbrook's four shutouts are 18th-most in the country, while his 965:23 of time in net ranks 24th in the NCAA.
 
Navy Notes
Jackson enters Saturday on a four-game point streak, having scored in each of Navy's last three contests after tallying an assist at Marist … The current Navy senior class have helped the Mids post a 28-17-13 overall record during their four years with the program … Navy is 8-0-2 over the past three seasons when Baba Kallie records a goal, 11-4-4 when David Jackson scores, 4-0-2 in games where Jason Aoyama registers a tally and 2-0-2 when Zach Wagner finds the net.
 
Last Time Out
In a game that saw Navy take a three-score lead into halftime and UMBC rally with three late goals in a six-minute stretch, the Midshipmen and Retrievers finished in a 4-4 draw on Tuesday night at a packed Retrievers Soccer Park … Jackson, fellow senior Cristian Coelho and Schuetz all posted three-point performances, while UMBC's Alek Wroblewski scored a brace for a Retrievers squad that had four players earn multiple points … Navy entered the break with a 3-0 lead after Coelho scored in the 18th minute and assisted on Schug's tally in the 27th minute, while Schuetz added to the scoring in the 34th minute … Wroblewski broke Holbrook's shutout streak in the 51st minute but Jackson got one back in the 67th minute … Wroblewski notched his second goal of the game in the 78th minute, followed by Loc San's tally in the 81st minute and Taylor Calheira's equalizer in the 84th minute … Holbrook wrapped up his night with a career-high 10 saves on 21 shots, including 16 shots faced in the second half, as the 10 saves 10 saves are the most by a Navy goalie since Mac Burke tallied 12 against Colgate on Oct. 29, 2017.
 
Scouting Boston
The Terriers are tied with Loyola atop the league table with 10 points, having posted wins over Lehigh, American and Holy Cross before playing a scoreless draw against Colgate last Saturday … Other notable results for Boston U. have included a 2-1 loss to No. 23 New Hampshire in the opening weekend of the season and a 2-2 tie with rival Boston College on Sept. 19 … As a team, BU leads the Patriot League with a 0.60 scoring margin and a .700 winning percentage … Eitan Rosen leads the Terriers and ranks fourth in the league with four goals this season, while his two game-winning goals are tied for second in the PL … Quinn Matulis ranks second on the team with three goals and seven points, while Colin Innes is the team leader with three assists … Goalkeeper Francesco Montali is tied for the Patriot League lead with four clean sheets, while his 0.778 goals against average ranks second in the league and 26th in the nation.
 
Series History
Navy is 2-6-2 in the all-time series against Boston University … The Mids' scoreless draw in the 2022 Patriot League Semifinals at Nickerson Field marked the first time Navy either tied or beat the Terriers in Boston, as the Mids had lost their five previous trips to the BU campus … Last season saw both the regular-season and postseason meetings between the teams end in a tie, as the Oct. 1, 2022 match between Navy and BU in Annapolis ended in a 1-1 draw after Aoyama scored the opening goal in the 35th minute off a Jake Granados pass and Andrew Rent notched the equalizer in the 73rd minute.
 
Up Next
Navy will head to Subaru Park in Chester, Pa., on Oct. 13 for Army-Navy Cup XII. The Mids and Black Knights are set for a 7 p.m. first kick as part of the Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA.