ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Making the trip to Hamilton, N.Y., for the second time in an eight-day span, the Navy men's soccer team (6-7-5, 3-2-4 PL) is set to face Colgate (7-9-2, 4-3-2 PL) in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 Patriot League Tournament on Saturday evening, as the No. 5-seed Midshipmen and the No. 4-seed Raiders are slated for a 5 p.m. contest from Beyer-Small '76 Field.
 
Looking to defend its 2022 Patriot League Tournament title and capture back-to-back league championships for the first time in program history, Navy starts that journey with four players fresh off earning All-Patriot League honors, including back-to-back Midfielder of the Year David Jackson, while Colgate boasts three recent all-league honorees, led by First Teamer Aidan Davock.
 
Jackson Named PL Midfielder of the Year
Jackson was named the Patriot League Midfielder of the Year for the second-straight season on Friday afternoon … Jackson becomes just the second player in league history to pick up Midfielder-of-the-Year honors twice in a career, joining three-time winner Barry Sharifi on Loyola (2017-19) … Coming off a 2022 campaign that saw him lead the team in scoring and become the first Navy player to win PL Midfielder of the Year, Jackson continued to fill up the scoresheet this season, as his 23 points are tied for the league lead, while his nine goals and five assists both rank second league-wide … The senior scored his first collegiate brace in the Aug. 28 win against VMI and immediately followed that by becoming the first Navy player to tally three assists in a game since Michael Paisant in 2000.
 
Four Mids Earn All-Patriot League Nods
With Jackson picking up first-team all-league distinction at midfielder for the second consecutive year as well, a trio of Navy players were also selected as All-Patriot League performers for the first time in their careers … Fellow senior Jason Aoyama was recognized on the All-Patriot League Second Team while senior captain Zach Wagner and sophomore Andrew Schug claimed spots on the All-Patriot League Third Team … Tallying two goals and three assists over 17 starts at full-back, Aoyama was also part of a defense that posted eight clean sheets … Last year's Patriot League Tournament MVP, Wagner split time this season between the midfielder and the centre-back positions, tallying one goal on the offensive side in 17 starts and leading the Navy defense to eight shutouts … A breakout star who ranks sixth in the Patriot League for goals, Schug established himself as the Mids' top striker by racking up five goals in 16 games … This marks the fifth-straight season for Navy with four-or-more All-Patriot League selections.
 
Navy vs. Colgate in the Postseason
The Mids are 2-0-1 all-time against the Raiders in the Patriot League Tournament, with their last postseason meeting coming in 1999 … Navy is 1-0-1 when facing Colgate in the league tournament at Colgate's home field … The first postseason meeting between the schools was a 2-1 road win by Navy in the 1996 league semifinals … The two sides played to a 1-1 draw in the 1997 semifinals, as Colgate advanced on penalty kicks at its home field … Playing each other in a 1999 neutral-site semifinal match in Worcester, Mass., the Mids beat the Raiders that day by a 3-1 score after Brye Gerhardt tallied a brace.
 
Mids in the Patriot League Tournament
This marks the third-straight season and the fourth time in five years that Navy has qualified for the Patriot League Tournament … Navy's three-straight Patriot League Tournament berths match a program record set in 1995-97 … Navy has qualified for the league tournament 14 times since joining the Patriot League in 1991 … The Mids have won the league's postseason tournament twice, as the 2013 squad captured the program's first league title overall while last season's Navy squad claimed the first league title for current head coach Tim O'Donohue … Navy is 3-2-4 all-time on the road during Patriot League Tournament action, going 1-1-1 in the postseason under O'Donohue as the away team … The Mids have only been the No. 5 seed once before, winning its quarterfinal game at Lehigh in 2021 before falling to American in the semifinals … Navy is 2-1-0 all-time in the Patriot League quarterfinal round.
 
Series History
The all-time series between Navy and Colgate is knotted up at 15-15-6, but the Mids are undefeated in their last four meetings with the Raiders … Navy is 6-11-2 in 19 trips to Hamilton, winning its last two matches at Colgate … The Mids' most recent trip to Colgate was a 1-0 victory last Saturday, Oct. 28, as David Jackson scored in the 45th minute off a Jason Aoyama cross, while Pierce Holbrook made two saves for the shutout … Jackson has five points in four games against Colgate, while Baba Kallie has four points in four contests against the Raiders.
 
Veterans of the Patriot League
Since the start of the 2022 season, the Mids have posted an 8-3-10 record against Patriot League opponents, including a 6-3-9 mark in the regular season … Navy was undefeated in 10 straight matches against Patriot League schools before an Oct. 7 loss at Boston University, going 5-0-5 between Oct. 7, 2022 and Oct. 7, 2023 … Over three-plus seasons, the current Navy senior class has posted a 17-9-11 record against Patriot League competition … With 61 career points, David Jackson has accrued 30 of those points against Patriot League competition … Baba Kallie has tallied 10 of his 25 career points against Patriot League teams with four goals and two assists … Jason Aoyama has had 16 of his 20 career points come against league foes.
 
Jackson and Holbrook in Rare Air
David Jackson's nine goals are the most by a Navy player since Jamie Dubyoski's nine scores in 2014, while Jackson's 23 points are the most by a Mid since 2014 when Dubyoski racked up 24 points … With one more goal, Jackson would join Dubyoski's 10-goal campaign in 2013 and John Moraytis' 11-goal effort in 1984 as the only three Navy players to reach double-digit goals in a season since 1967 … Jackson is also among elite company in point totals, as his 20-plus points in 2023 are only the eighth 20-point season by a Midshipman since 1969 … Pierce Holbrook's 62 saves this season and 69 saves in 2022 makes him the first Navy goalkeeper with back-to-back 60-save seasons since Mac Burke in 2016-17 (64, 92) … Additionally, Holbrook is the seventh Navy goalie since 1975 to have back-to-back 60-save seasons … 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).
 
Navy Notes
The current Navy seniors have helped the Mids post a 29-20-16 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, 12-4-5 when David Jackson scores, 4-1-2 in games where Jason Aoyama registers a tally and 2-0-2 when Zach Wagner finds the net.
 
League Leaders
Navy paces the Patriot League with 220 total shots and 94 corner kicks this season … David Jackson ranks second in the league in goals (9), assists (5) and points (23), while his 1.00 shots on goal per game are fourth in the league … Andrew Schug's five goals are tied for sixth in the Patriot League as are his 0.88 shots on goal per game, while A.J Schuetz is second in the league at 2.94 shots per game and 1.18 shots on goal per contest … Pierce Holbrook leads the league with 62 total saves and seven shutouts, while his 3.44 saves per game rank second in the PL.
 
Navy in the National Ranks
One of the nation's best, David Jackson's 23 points rank 29th among Division I leaders, while his nine goals are tied for 36th nationally … Jackson's 1.28 points per game stands 55th in Division I … A.J. Schuetz is 39th in the country with 2.94 shots per game … Pierce Holbrook's 62 saves ranks 25th in the nation, while his 1595:23 minutes played stands fourth and his seven shutouts rank 10th nationally … As a team, the Mids' 0.444 shutout percentage ranks 18th in the nation.
 
Last Time Out
Navy posted a scoreless draw in its regular-season finale against Lafayette on Wednesday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility … Navy tried to establish an early lead when both A.J. Schuetz and Connor Walcott both put shots on net in the opening two minutes of play, but Griffin Huff stopped both …  Pierce Holbrook made his first save on Carter Houlihan in the 19th minute, while Schuetz tried once again to put Navy in front, but Huff stonewalled him at 29' … Lafayette threatened in the 36th minute when Hale Lombard had a pair of shots blocked inside the box, while the Mids pushed back in the other end with David Jackson's high shot going high at 42' and Nate Stewart putting a long-range kick on goal at 43' … 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 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 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 … 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.
 
Scouting Colgate
Going 3-6 against a non-conference schedule that included then-No. 22 Vermont and No. 18 Syracuse, the Raiders have been able to find their footing in league play … After defeating Lafayette in its Patriot League opener and falling to Loyola and Lehigh, Colgate rattled off a four-game undefeated streak in league play by tying Boston, beating Bucknell, winning at American and then drawing at Army before last Saturday's loss to Navy … The Raiders responded with a 1-0 road win at Holy Cross on Wednesday to secure its place in the Patriot League Tournament, as an Alejandro Coury header in the 23rd minute was the game-winner while Oliver Townend made three saves for the shutout… Sitting sixth in the league, Aidan Davock paces the Raiders with his five goals, while his 12 total points also lead the team … Connor Cates is the team assists leader with three helpers this season, while Coury paces Colgate with 24 total shots … Andrew Cooke's 3.50 saves per game are a league best.