ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's soccer team (6-7-5, 3-2-4 PL) posted a scoreless draw in its regular-season finale against Lafayette (8-5-5, 4-2-3 PL) on Wednesday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, locking up the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
 
With the 0-0 tie, the Midshipmen secured a trip to fourth-seeded Colgate for Saturday evening's quarterfinal round, as the Mids and Raiders are set for a 5 p.m. first kick at Beyer-Small '76 Field in Hamilton, N.Y.
 
Navy tried to establish an early lead when both sophomore A.J. Schuetz and junior Connor Walcott both put shots on net in the opening two minutes of play, but Griffin Huff stopped both chances while Lawrence put a shot wide in the fourth minute for the Leopards. Sophomore Andrew Schug then had an off-target shot at 16' and junior goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook made his first save of the night on Carter Houlihan in the 19th minute, while Schuetz tried once again to put Navy in front, but Huff stonewalled him again in the 29th minute.
 
Lafayette threatened in the 36th minute when the league's scoring leader, Hale Lombard, had a pair of shots inside the box but the Navy defense was able to block both, while the Mids pushed back in the other end with senior David Jackson's shot going high in the 42nd minute and freshman Nate Stewart putting a long-range kick on goal but right to Huff in the 43rd minute.
 
Another Lombard shot went wide in the opening minute of the second half, as the teams settled in for a bit until Schuetz had another shot saved at 56' and senior Jason Aoyama rifled a long shot wide right on the ensuing corner kick. A pair of Lafayette corner kicks led to Lombard nearly putting the Leopards ahead in the 61st minute, but sophomore Bryce Robisch cleared out the chance for a team save, while Holbrook then leaped to stop a Benji Grossi free kick in the 66th minute to maintain the shutout.
 
Aydlett put a shot into the side of the net at 75', while Navy's final chances came via off-target shots from Aoyama at 84' and Schuetz at 85', but neither side could take the lead in a back-and-forth final 10 minutes.
 
Holbrook made two saves for his seventh shutout of the campaign, while Huff registered five saves for his seventh clean sheet of the campaign as well.
 
Head Coach Tim O'Donohue Comments
"Our goal was to win tonight and clinch a home game Saturday, but we are continuing to play well and were able to stay healthy heading into the Patriot League Tournament. Lafayette is a good team and we kept them in check offensively and held the edge in possession and shots. Our attention is now on Colgate and preparing to play in Hamilton for the second time in a week's span. This group still has the chance to do something that has never been done at Navy, which is winning back-to-back league championships. Now it is on us to accomplish that, starting on Saturday."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 26-17-5 in the all-time series with Lafayette, as the Leopards snapped the Mids' three-game winning streak against them.
• This marks the second time in program history the Mids have earned the No. 5 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, joining the 2021 team.
• With Wednesday's clean sheet, Holbrook's 15 career shutouts are tied for the second most by a Navy goalkeeper since 1983, matching Mike Ulses (1985-88) and Dave Postell (1983-85).
• With a 11-9 shots advantage, this was the eighth time this season that Navy has outshot its opponent.
 
Up Next
Making its third-straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament, No. 5 Navy will face No. 4 Colgate in the league quarterfinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Beyer-Small '76 Field in Hamilton, N.Y.