ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A pair of Navy men's soccer players were honored by the Patriot League office on Monday afternoon, as sophomore Yul Hong was named the league's Defender of the Week while freshman midfielder Jack Illig was tabbed as the Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
 
The duo was crucial to the Midshipmen's 4-1 win at Lafayette on Saturday, with both starting and scoring in the contest to help propel Navy back into the postseason picture.
 
Making his third straight start for Navy after a move to the backline, Hong broke out for a three-point game at Lafayette. After playing the full-90 at William & Mary, Hong posted a goal and an assist in the victory over Lafayette while logging 77 minutes of action. He assisted on the Mids' first goal by Cohen Nance, putting a shot on goal that Nance was able to get the rebound to and beat the Leopards' keeper at 30', and then used an incredible individual effort at 63' to recover a Lafayette clearance attempt, beat several defenders and then finish off his first career goal.
 
Illig continued his great freshman year with another pair of full-90 performances for Navy, including his third goal of the season at Lafayette. The midfielder started the week by recording two shots at William & Mary on Tuesday, and then went the full-90 in Saturday's victory over Lafayette, finishing off Keane Brown's pass at 82' to seal Navy's win. Illig has now recorded at least a point in three-straight Patriot League games.
 
This marks the first weekly league honors for Hong and Illig in their careers. It also gives the Mids the league's Defender of the Week and Rookie of the Week for the second-straight week, following junior Keane Brown and freshman Will Smith earning the honors last Monday, respectively.
 
Navy returns to action Saturday evening, hosting Loyola at 8:05 p.m. for Senior Night.