ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With the event hitting a milestone 15th season, the Navy men's soccer team (2-5-4, 0-3-1 PL) is back in action Friday night as it takes on rival Army (1-5-3, 0-3-0 PL) in Army-Navy Cup XV at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa.
 
Friday's Patriot League contest is slated for a 7:05 p.m. opening kick from the home of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, with Marco Socci calling the action on ESPN+. Army-Navy Cup XV includes a doubleheader featuring the women's teams for the second-straight year, with the women's match set to kick off at 4:05 p.m.
 
The women's and men's games will mark the fourth and fifth competition of the 2026-27 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, with the Mids holding a 2-1 lead in the all-sport season series entering the weekend. The volleyball star match will also be played Friday evening for the sixth star in the series, taking place at 7:00 p.m. in West Point.
 
Series History
Going into the 93rd all-time meeting between the two programs, the Mids hold a 41-43-17 advantage over their rivals from West Point … Army has an 9-4-4 edge over Navy in neutral-site matches … The longest winning streak in the series from either side was a 10-game win streak by Navy from 1955 to 1964, with draws making it a 13-game unbeaten streak for the Mids against Army from 1954 to 1966.
 
Army-Navy Cup History
While Army and Navy had faced off in two neutral-site contests in the 1960s, the first iteration of the Army-Navy Cup at the Philadelphia Union's home stadium came in 2012 … The Black Knights have a 7-3-4 edge over the Mids through the first 14 meetings at now-Subaru Park … After the 2012 game ended in a 1-1 tie, the Mids won the 2013 and 2014 meetings by a 1-0 score each time before Army rattled off two-straight victories in the event, while a scoreless draw in 2017 set up an Army win in 2018 … A tie in the 2019 match built momentum for the 2020 meeting, but COVID-19 forced the ninth edition of the Army-Navy Cup to be played on April 25, 2021, as Army grabbed a 2-0 win … Just 166 days later, Navy got revenge on Oct. 9 thanks to a hat-trick from Jacob Williams, the first hat-trick in the Cup's 10-year history, as Navy picked up a 3-0 shutout … Army used a pair of second-half goals to defeat Navy in the 2022 iteration of the match … Along with nine saves by the Mids' Pierce Holbrook, goals from Navy's David Jackson and Army's Gage Lyons resulted in a 1-1 draw in 2023 … The 2024 meeting saw Gage Lyons break a 1-1 deadlock in the 84th minute to give Army a 2-1 victory despite eight saves from Holbrook … On Oct. 10 2025, Jack Kryger gave Army an early lead at 15' and the Black Knights added three second-half goals, including Jubril Bamgbala scoring a brace in under a minute, to seal a 4-0 win over Navy.
 
Army-Navy Star Series Update
The men's contest will mark the fifth of 26 Star Games between Army and Navy teams in the 2026-27 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA … Navy leads the series, 2-1, as Army sprint football scored a 21-12 road win two Fridays ago, but Navy men's rugby posted a 26-14 home victory the next day and Navy men's golf sang second this past Sunday after a 6.5-4.5 win in West Point … This weekend has three stars on the line with women's and men's soccer in Chester on Friday night and the volleyball match at West Point that same night … Next weekend will feature two stars up for grabs in Annapolis, with men's and women's cross country competing in their star matches … Navy had won eight-straight star series before falling in the 2024-25 all-sport series, but reclaimed the series in 2025-26.
 
Army-Navy Packing Subaru Park
The attendance of 11,363 at the 2025 Army-Navy Cup marked the largest crowd in the event's history, beating the previous record of 10,168 fans in 2014 … Last year's Army-Navy Cup attendance was also the largest crowd for any men's college soccer match in 2025, surpassing the College Cup semifinal matches and the 2025 national championship game … The largest crowd at a men's college soccer game this season so far was 11,075 for the UC Santa Barbara at Cal Poly game on Sept. 26.
 
Hackworth Returns to Philly
Navy head coach John Hackworth initially entered the pro ranks with the then-expansion Philadelphia Union of the MLS, spending six years (2009 to 2014) with the organization … Hired as an assistant coach and youth director, Hackworth was ultimately promoted to head coach and chief soccer officer in 2012 and led the Union for three seasons, highlighted by a trip to the 2012 US Open Cup semifinals … Hackworth was part of the Union staffs that drafted current Union interim head coach Ryan Richter and current Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, as Richter was picked in the 2011 Supplemental Draft out of La Salle and Blake was selected in the 2014 SuperDraft from UConn … Another current Union player, midfielder Indiana Vassilev, played for Hackworth with St. Louis City SC in 2023 and 2024.
 
Covering the Connections
Both natives of Phoenixville, Pa., senior captain Nate Stewart and freshman sensation Jack Illig are the latest in a long line of Navy players to come out of the Philadelphia Union Academy program … Stewart played 14 minutes off the bench as a rookie in the 2023 Army-Navy Cup, played the full-90 during the 2024 edition and then suffered a season-ending injury halfway through the 2025 game … Stewart also has the rivalry in his blood, as his father Jason is a 1994 West Point graduate and former cross country/track athlete, who was a three-time NCAA All-American and was inducted into the Army Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017 … Another Pennsylvania native, junior Keane Brown from New Hope, Pa., will face off against his former Pennington School teammate in Army's Justin Davidyock, with Brown playing the full-90 back-to-back years against Army … Sophomore Ronan Harding (Warminster, Pa.) is another local product, playing his club soccer for FC Delco … Along with Illig, rookies Gavin McLain (Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Vince Ayala (Malvern, Pa.) are the latest Pennsylvania natives to find their way onto the Mids' roster for Army-Navy Cup.
 
Holbrook The Pro
Former Navy goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook signed a professional contract with the Philadelphia Union II of the MLS Next Pro last June … The former All-Patriot League goalie went on to play nine games in 2025 for the official affiliate of MLS's Philadelphia Union, posting five shutouts, before earning a short-term call-up to be the backup in the First Team's Aug. 23 game against the Chicago Fire … His 2026 season with Union II saw Holbrook tally 16 starts, posting one shutout and a .736 save percentage.
 
Last Time Out
Despite a clear possession edge, Navy's return home resulted in a 4-1 loss to Colgate in Patriot League action last Saturday … Off Alex St. John's first tally in a two-goal, five-point day, the Raiders grabbed a lead just two minutes into the game and Ryan Schachter added to it at 39' … The Mids' Will Smith made it a one-score game early in the second half before St. John completed the brace in the 68th minute and Malik Samms sealed the Colgate victory with another goal at 83' … Gavin Vichengrad earned the nine-save win while Navy's Sam Clark posted four saves on his end.
 
Clark Stepping Up
After Dylan Carmody went down with an injury in the second game of the season, Sam Clark has stepped into the starting role and solidified the Mids' net while going 2-4-4 … Dating back to the Aug. 28 match against George Washington through the Sept. 12 game at Holy Cross, Clark had posted a shutout streak of 408:29 … Clark's three-straight shutouts from Aug. 31 to Sept. 8 were the most by a Navy netminder since Pierce Holbrook's three consecutive clean sheets from Sept. 19-30, 2023 … Clark's .776 save percentage and 1.20 goals against average both sit second in the league, while his .400 shutout percentage ranks third among league goalkeepers … The .776 save percentage ranks 43rd in the country and his 38 total saves stand 48th in Division I.
 
Navy Notes
Will Cawlfield and Nick Gallucci are tied for second in the Patriot League with their three assists apiece on the season … Jack Illig, Cohen Nance and Will Smith's two goals each are good to be tied for fifth in league scoring … Duncan Sullivan sits third in the Patriot League with 24 total shots and fourth with 12 shots on goal … Navy is 4-0-2 when Sullivan records a point, while the Mids are 2-1-3 when Gallucci tallies a point and 2-0-3 when Cawlfield registers a point … Navy's 0.364 shutout percentage ranks 50^th nationally.
 
Scouting the Opponent
After opening the year on a high note with draws against rival Air Force and No. 12-ranked Akron followed by a 4-2 win at Columbia, Army has struggled recently … Dropping their last four matches, the Black Knights are coming off a 1-0 home loss to Lafayette last Saturday despite Keanu Likewise's three saves … Jubril Bamgbala and Kelly Cooper share the team lead with two goals apiece, with Bamgbala pacing the Black Knights with five points … Ronald Zhai and Kasem Minzey each have team-leading two assists … Bamgbala's 1.78 shots on goal per game ranks 14th in the country … Collin Gilbert had started the bulk of Army's games in net before Likewise's start against Lafayette, as Gilbert tallied 25 saves for a .676 save percentage in seven games … Bamgbala and Cooper were both named to Preseason All-Patriot League Team in August.
 
Up Next
Navy will head to William & Mary on Tuesday, Oct. 13 for its final non-conference contest of the regular season.