ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The 106th campaign of Navy Men's Soccer is set to kick off Thursday, as new head coach John Hackworth and the Midshipmen travel to San Diego for a pair of matches against Pac-12 foes this week to begin the 2026 season.
 
Opening the fall at UC San Diego, the Mids and Tritons are set for a 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT) contest on Thursday evening at the Triton Soccer Stadium. Navy will then complete the west coast swing when it plays San Diego State on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET (noon PT) from the SDSU Sports Deck. Thursday's contest will air on ESPN+ while Sunday's game is slated to stream on the Pac-12's YouTube channel.
 
Introducing John Hackworth
Bringing over 30 years of experience across the highest levels of American soccer, John Hackworth was named the next head men's soccer coach at the Naval Academy in December 2025 … Hackworth becomes just the seventh head coach in the 105-year history of the Navy men's soccer program … Hackworth spent the last four years as the director of coaching and technical director of Major League Soccer's St. Louis City SC … Also spending time as an assistant coach for the senior U.S. men's national team and the head coach for USMNT U17 team, he previously had stints as head coach of the USL's Louisville City FC, MLS' Philadelphia Union and the University of South Florida.
 
Going Back to Cali
This will mark the Mids' first trip to California since 2006, when Navy posted a 2-0 win at Cal Poly before falling to Saint Louis, 2-0, in a neutral-site match in Santa Clara … Navy is 2-6-0 all-time in games played in California, while the Mids hold a 2-7-1 record all-time against California schools … The Mids also have four current players from the state of California, as senior midfielder Ben Leisegang, junior defender Will Boyd, sophomore goalkeeper Sam Clark and sophomore forward Yul Hong all hail from the Golden State.
 
2026 Preview
While losing four starters from last year's roster, including leading scorer Andrew Schug and starting goalkeeper Robert Eaton, the Mids bring back contributors up and down the lineup … Replacing Eaton in net will be senior Dylan Carmody, who made two starts last season and helped the team earn three draws in his three appearances … A two-year starter and key contributor since his freshman year, senior captain Nate Stewart has moved to the backline and will be joined by sophomore Will Cawlfield, junior Keane Brown and senior Alex Galloway, as all three started every game for Navy last year … A bevy of midfield talent returns with junior Duncan Sullivan and sophomore Nick Gallucci both coming off three-goal campaigns, while fellow sophomore midfielders Luke Parker and Braedy Strothkamp and freshman Jack Illig supplement them … Up front, forwards like sophomores Gavin McBride, Yul Hong and Ronan Harding and junior Liam Plum will look to have breakout campaigns.
 
Navy Picked Ninth in Patriot League Preseason Poll
The Mids were slated to finish ninth in the Patriot League, tallying 20 points in the league's preseason coaches poll in August … Defending regular season champion American was picked to win the league with five first-place votes (76 points), and Boston U. was second at one first-place votes and 70 points … Bucknell's Drew Roskos was named the Preseason Forward of the Year and teammate Jack Lucas earned Preseason Defensive Player of the Year … Lehigh's Trey Sheeler was selected as the Preseason Midfielder of the Year and fellow Mountain Hawk Anton Kinnunen picked up Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year honors.
 
Navy in Season Openers
The Mids are 70-20-15 in season openers over the program's first 105 years, posting a 4-4-2 mark in the last 10 season-opening contests … Last season's opener saw the Mids post a 2-2 draw at home against Mount St. Mary's, as a Duncan Sullivan penalty kick at 11' and Andrew Schug's 56th-minute score gave Navy a 2-0 lead before the Mount's Jack Kehoe tallied a pair of late goals to spoil opening night.
 
Navy Notes
Duncan Sullivan's .73 points per game last season finished eighth in the league, as he tallied eight points (three goals, two assists) over the first 10 games before missing seven of the final eight contests due to injury … Sullivan's 2.55 shots per game ranked third in the Patriot League last year … Navy finished 36th in the nation with 4.44 saves per game last year, while the team's 0.755 save percentage ranked 53rd in the NCAA … Navy is 3-0-1 when Sullivan records a point, while the Mids are 1-1-2 when Nick Gallucci tallies a point.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Both UC San Diego and San Diego State enter their first seasons in the reorganized Pac-12 Conference for men's soccer … UC San Diego is coming off a 2-9-7 campaign in 2025 that saw the Tritons go 2-2-5 in Big West before bowing out to Cal Poly in the first round of the conference tournament … The Tritons return leading scorer Adam Dunbar, who collected three goals last season in just 12 games played, while Sean McTague and Sean Ueda joined Dunbar on the Pac-12's Preseason Impact List … San Diego State finished last season with a 7-9-2 overall mark and a 3-2-2 record in the WAC, having its season end with a 4-0 loss to San Jose State in the WAC Tournament's opening round … The Aztecs were picked to finish third in the Pac-12 preseason poll and Carson Ballagh, Jonah Kawamura and Oscar Emilio Trujillo Lizárraga were named to the conference's Preseason Impact List.
 
Series Histories
Navy is 0-0-1 all-time against UC San Diego, as the teams played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 24, 2024 following Tommy Lockhart's 86th-minute equalizer … The Mids are 0-2-0 in the all-time series against San Diego State, falling by a 2-0 score in San Diego in 1988 before suffering another 2-0 loss in 1993 as part of a neutral-site meeting in Las Vegas.
 
Up Next
Navy will return to Annapolis for its home opener against George Washington on Friday, Aug. 28. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.