ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Returning 20 players from last year's Patriot League Tournament championship squad, the Navy men's soccer team (7-5-9, 3-1-5 PL in 2022) is set to open the 2023 regular season on Thursday night at UNC Asheville (2-11-4, 1-4-3 Big South in 2022). The Midshipmen and Bulldogs will kick off the campaign at 6 p.m. on ESPN+ from the Greenwood Soccer Field in Asheville, N.C.
 
Led by a trio of All-Patriot League selections and four Patriot League All-Tournament, Navy takes on an UNC Asheville roster that brings back a pair of all-conference performers of its own, as the schools meet for the just the second time in program history.
 
Series History
The Mids hold a 1-0-0 record all-time against the Bulldogs and are making their first-ever trip to Asheville, N.C. … Navy and UNC Asheville previously played each other on Aug. 30, 2019 in Annapolis, as the Mids captured a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs in the 2019 season opener … A pair of current pro players in Matt Nocita (MLS Next Pro - New York Red Bulls II) and Jacob Williams (MLS Next Pro – Crown Legacy FC) both scored for the Mids, while Ethan Singer also scored for the Mids and the Bulldogs' Tyson Hichman spoiled the Navy shutout with a tally in the 88th minute.
 
Scouting UNC Asheville
The Bulldogs overcame a 1-6-0 start to the 2022 season to go 1-5-4 over its last 10 games, including a 1-4-3 mark in Big South Conference action … Despite averaging 1.18 goals per game, UNC Asheville's troubles came on the defensive end as the team allowed 2.59 goals per game to its opponents … The Bulldogs' goalkeepers averaged 4.53 saves per game to rank 25th in the nation … An All-Big South Second Team pick last season as a freshman, Sam Pitts-Eckersall led the Bulldogs in goals (six) and points (12), finishing fifth in the conference in goal totals … Brendan Herb also returns after a campaign that saw him earn All-Big South Honorable Mention distinction, finishing with three goals and three assists for nine points … Pitts-Eckersall was named to the Big South's Preseason All-Conference Team last week, while the Bulldogs were picked to finish sixth in the conference's preseason coaches' poll.
 
Navy in Season Openers
The Mids are 70-18-14 in season openers over the program's first 102 years, including a 4-3-3 mark in the last 10 season-opening contests … Navy is 3-3-1 in season openers under head coach Tim O'Donohue, going undefeated (3-0-1) over O'Donohue's last four season-opening games … Senior midfielder David Jackson has tallied two goals and three assists over Navy's last three season openers, including setting up fellow senior Baba Kallie's game-winning tally in the 1-0 win against Saint Joseph's to begin last year … Last season's 1-0 win over SJU was the first shutout by Navy in a season opener since a 1-0 victory over West Virginia to start the 2015 campaign.
 
Navy Picked First in Patriot League Preseason Poll
Garnering 134 points and eight first-place votes, reigning Patriot League Tournament champion Navy claimed the top spot in the 2023 Patriot League preseason poll when it was announced by the league office on Aug. 16 … After finishing second last regular season, Boston University earned the second spot in the poll with 130 points and three first-place votes, while 2022 league finalist American tallied five first-place votes and recorded 129 points for third place … Colgate and Loyola Maryland tied for fourth with 107 points, followed by 2022 Patriot League regular-season champion Army with 106 points and four first-place votes … Lafayette tallied 75 points for seventh place, followed by Lehigh (52), Bucknell (37), and Holy Cross (22).
 
Jackson, Kallie and Wagner Earn Preseason All-League Selections
In addition to being picked first in the league's preseason poll, Navy placed three players on the 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Team … The reigning Patriot League Midfielder of the Year, senior David Jackson earned the league's preseason midfielder-of-the-year honor for the second-straight season, while fellow seniors Baba Kallie and Zach Wagner joined Jackson on the 11-member Preseason All-Patriot League Team … The leading scorer for the Mids last year with six goals and 15 points, Jackson picked up First Team All-Patriot League, Second Team All-Atlantic Region and First Team All-ECAC honors in addition to his midfielder of the year distinction … Kallie returns as the team's second-leading scorer with four goals and 11 points, earning a spot on the All-Patriot League Second Team in back-to-back seasons … The Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player, Wagner was a leading force among a Navy defensive unit that posted eight shutouts while also chipping in two goals and two assists, as the defender started each of the Mids' 21 games and played all 1,910 minutes of action on the backline.
 
Reviewing 2022
The 2022 season saw Navy win its first league tournament title and earn an NCAA Tournament berth since 2013, also marking the first Patriot League championship under O'Donohue … The Mids' put together a seven-game undefeated streak (3-0-4) from Sept. 4 to Oct. 1 that helped navy start league play at 2-0-2 … Navy's defensive prowess showed throughout November, as the Mids posted a shutout streak of 436:20 minutes that included blanking American in the regular-season finale and shutting out Lafayette, Boston and American during their league tournament run … The team showed discipline all season, recording a league-low 19 yellow cards that ranked fourth-lowest amount in Division I, while the team's 9.19 fouls per game were the ninth-lowest average in the nation … The team's .793 save percentage sat 17th nationally and Navy's 0.895 goals against average ranked 29th in the country … Navy posted a winning record for the fourth-straight season, the first time the program had accomplished that since 1973-80.
 
Previewing 2023
Among the 20 returning players for the Mids are 10 starters, with graduated defender JD Wagner being the lone departure from the starting XI … Navy returns 90 percent (18-of-20) of its goal scoring from last year, while 91.5 percent of its total offense is back (54-of-59 points) … Despite seven total departures, the team added eight freshmen to the roster, made up of five midfielders, two defenders and a goalkeeper.
 
Holbrook Holding It Down
Goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook broke out with a superb sophomore campaign in 2022, posting a league-best eight shutouts and 69 saves across 19 starts for the Mids and earning himself Patriot League All-Tournament Team honors … Holbrook ended with the 10th-most shutouts in the nation and 19th-most minutes (1730:00) among Division I keepers, while his .802 save percentage ranked second in the league and 17th nationally … His 3.63 saves per game also ranked second in the Patriot League and his 0.884 goals against average stood as the 33rd-best in the NCAA … Holbrook also gathered Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors on Sept. 19 after a pair of road shutouts at Longwood and Bucknell.
 
Last Time Out
Navy had its storybook 2022 season come to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, falling at Georgetown, 2-0, on Nov. 17 … Despite a valiant defensive effort that saw the Mids keep the Hoyas' offense at bay in the first half, the hosts eventually cracked the Navy defense with two second-half goals … Pierce Holbrook managed six saves on the afternoon, his eighth game on the season with five-or-more saves … A.J. Schuetz, the rookie hero in Navy's 1-0 win over American in the Patriot League Championship game, led the Mids offensively at Georgetown with two shots.
 
Up Next
Navy travels back to Annapolis for its home opener on Aug. 28 against VMI, starting a four-game homestand. First kick is set for 7 p.m. from the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, with Joe Miller calling the action on ESPN+.