ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's soccer team (1-1) is set to host a pair of non-conference opponents this weekend at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, continuing a stretch of four home games in 12 days.
Navy opens the weekend when it welcomes Howard (0-1) on Friday, Sept. 1, while the Mids will face off with Liberty (2-0) on Sunday, Sept. 3. Both contests are slated for a 7 p.m. opening kick.
O'Donohue Closing in on 50 Dubs
Head coach
Tim O'Donohue enters the weekend with 48 wins at Navy, just two shy of the 50-win milestone … O'Donohue would become the fifth Navy men's soccer coach to reach 50 career wins with the Midshipmen, joining Glenn Warner (241), Greg Myers (233), Tom Taylor (104) and Dave Brandt (64) … O'Donohue has 213 total victories in his coaching career, notching 165 wins during his 10 seasons leading Division III Stevens Institute of Technology.
Happy to be Home
After opening the season with a 3-1 road loss at UNC Asheville, the Mids returned to Annapolis for a 3-0 home-opening victory over VMI on Monday night to begin a four-game homestand … Navy enters the weekend on a four-game home winning streak and 10-game home undefeated streak dating back to last season, going 4-0-6 at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility since a 1-0 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson on Sept. 2, 2022 … The Mids sport a 32-18-11 home record in eight seasons under O'Donohue … Since it opened in 2001, Navy has gone 90-57-29 when playing at Glenn Warner.
An All-American Start by Jackson
Senior midfielder
David Jackson has been an offensive force to start his final campaign at Navy, scoring three goals over the team's first two games after being named to the TopDrawSoccer Preseason All-America Third Team … Knocking in his own rebound, Jackson recorded the Mids' lone goal at UNC Asheville just over a minute into the second half, as the midfielder has totaled three goals and three assists over four season openers … He then notched a pair of penalty-kick goals against VMI on Monday night, giving Jackson his first collegiate brace … Jackson has scored in each of his last eight PK opportunities, dating back to the 2021 season … The senior now has 16 career goals for Navy, tacking on 12 assists for 44 career points as a Midshipman.
Navy Notes
The current Navy senior class have helped the Mids post a 24-14-11 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, 9-3-3 when Jackson scores, 3-0-2 in games where
Jason Aoyama registers a tally and 1-0-2 when
Zach Wagner finds the net.
Last Time Out
Navy used its offense to grab a 3-0 home-opening win against VMI on Monday, its fifth-straight home-opening victory over the past five seasons … Generating a multitude of chances in the first half, the Mids finally broke through when junior
Connor Walcott beat the VMI goalkeeper in the 43rd minute for his first collegiate goal … A pair of penalty kicks for the Mids in the second half led to two more goals, each coming off the foot of Jackson, while junior goalkeeper
Pierce Holbrook made two saves in the final 45 minutes to pick up his first shutout of the young season … Navy improved to 5-0-0 in the all-time series with VMI, with Monday marking the fourth shutout by the Mids in the series.
Scouting Howard
After finishing the 2022 season at 2-11-2, the Bison opened the 2023 campaign with a 5-0 loss to No. 5 Pittsburgh on Monday as JR Gawel tallied seven saves in the losing effort … Howard returns all of its offense from last season, including All-NEC First Teamer Bryson Baker and his 13 points (six goals, one assist) … Other returners include Nathan Leggett (one goal, three assists), Mason Christian (two goals) and Nigel McCloud (two goals) … Gawel is back in net after playing in 14 games and making 75 saves last season, earning 13 starts.
Scouting Liberty
Going 3-6-6 last season, the Flames have nearly matched their win total just two games into the new campaign, pulling off a 3-2 victory against Saint Peter's in their season opener before posting a 3-1 win over Belmont Abbey on Monday … Gabe Findley and Michael Huss pace the squad with two goals apiece … Ohio Valley Conference Player to Watch Luke Eberle has tallied a goal and an assist already after scoring six times for Liberty last year, while Leo Conneh leads the team with three assists … Blake Franzen racked up four saves in the win over Saint Peter's, while Owen Moore got the start against Belmont Abbey, notching one save and the winning decision … The Flames also bring back 2022 ASUN All-Freshman Team selection Bryce Swinehart.
Series History vs. Howard
Navy and Howard have split the all-time series at 12-12-4 since its inception in 1963, with the Mids holding a 7-7-2 mark against the Bison in Annapolis … Winning the last three meetings between the schools, Navy boasts a seven-game undefeated streak against Howard that dates back to the 2007 season … The Mids scored a 4-0 victory in the most recent meeting on Sept. 5, 2018, as four different Navy players scored, highlighted by a three-point performance from Bayne Bentley.
Series History vs. Liberty
The Mids hold a 4-2-0 record over Liberty in an all-time series that began in 1989 … Navy has posted a 3-1-0 mark against the Flames in Annapolis, but have split the two meetings at home since the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility was completed … After not playing each other since a 1-0 Liberty win in 2002, the two teams renewed the series on Sept. 24, 2019, as Navy delivered a 1-0 shutout at home thanks to a Jacob Williams tally in the 24th minute.
Up Next
Navy closes out the homestand on Friday, Sept. 8, hosting Longwood at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
