ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Riding a three-game shutout streak and making the trek north, the Navy men's soccer team (1-2-3) will open its Patriot League schedule Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against Holy Cross (0-3-3) at the Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium in Worcester, Mass.
The Midshipmen and Crusaders will renew an all-time series that has seen the two sides go 1-1-3 in the last five meetings, as Jorge Bannister will call all the action on ESPN+.
Navy in Patriot League Openers
The Mids are 3-4-3 in their last 10 Patriot League openers … Navy is 12-18-4 overall in Patriot League openers since joining the league in 1992, going 5-5-3 since the current configuration of PL schools formed in 2013 … Last year's Patriot League opener was a 1-1 draw against Holy Cross in Annapolis on Sept. 13, with
JP Torres scoring for the Mids.
Galloway Named to TDS Team of the Week
A key cog in Navy's back-to-back shutouts last week, senior defender
Alex Galloway has been named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Men's Team of the Week on Tuesday … Galloway had a dominant week, scoring off a
Nick Gallucci corner in the 3-0 victory over Presbyterian last Monday while making his first start of the season and logging 86 minutes, before playing all 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw with Temple on Saturday … Galloway is the first Navy player to be named to the TDS Team of the Week since Zach Wagner on Sept. 26, 2023.
Clark and Nance Receive Patriot League Weekly Honors
Navy picked up a pair of weekly conference awards on Monday, as sophomore
Sam Clark was named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week while freshman
Cohen Nance earned the league's Rookie-of-the-Week honors … The duo was crucial to Navy's 3-0 victory over Presbyterian last Monday and a scoreless Saturday draw against Temple, as Clark posted back-to-back shutouts while Nance tallied a goal on six shots … The awards are the first Patriot League weekly honors for Clark and Nance in their careers … This marks the Mids' second and third weekly awards of the season after
Nick Gallucci was named Patriot League Midfielder of the Week on Aug. 24.
Last Time Out
A back-and-forth midweek battle for Navy at Mount St. Mary's ended in a 0-0 draw Tuesday evening in Emmitsburg … A quiet start to the match gave way to action late in the first half that saw the Midshipmen defense hold strong, before an end-to-end second half proved unfruitful for either side … Keeping their teams scoreless, Navy goalkeeper
Sam Clark notched three saves to record his and the Mids' third-straight shutout, while Lars Almankaas also collected three saves for the host Mountaineers.
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 by going 1-1-3 … Clark enters Tuesday with 337:46 consecutive scoreless minutes in net, dating back to the Aug. 28 match against George Washington … Clark's three-straight shutouts are the most by a Navy netminder since Pierce Holbrook's three consecutive clean sheets from Sept. 19-30, 2023 … Clark's 0.48 goals against average, .600 shutout percentage and .875 save percentage are all the best among league goalkeepers.
Navy Notes
Nick Gallucci paces the Patriot League with his three assists on the season, while
Cohen Nance's two goals are good to share the league lead in scoring …
Duncan Sullivan sits third in the Patriot League with 13 shots and six shots on goal … Navy is 3-0-1 when Sullivan records a point, while the Mids are 2-1-3 when Gallucci tallies a point.
Scouting the Opponent
Holy Cross enters league action looking for its first win, coming off a pair of draws at Iona and UMass Lowell in the last week after a 2-0 loss to then-No. 11 Vermont on Sept. 1 … Freshman goalkeeper Caleb Klepacz recorded a shutout with two saves in the scoreless draw against UMass Lowell, marking his first collegiate clean sheet … Archie Hatcher's two goals on the season pace the Crusaders and are tied for the league lead, while Jude Jakes-McKay has a team-best two assists … Hatcher is the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year, as the All-Patriot League Second Teamer is joined by 20 fellow returners from last year's squad.
Series History
Navy is 14-16-7 in the all-time series with Holy Cross … The Mids are 5-10-2 all-time when facing the Crusaders in Worcester, going 2-2-1 in the last five trips up to Holy Cross' campus … Navy's four-game unbeaten streak over Holy Cross was broken by the Crusaders' 2024 win over the Mids … That 1-0 Holy Cross victory in 2024 was the Mids' last visit to Worcester … The 2025 meeting between the teams in Annapolis opened Patriot League play last season on Sept. 13, as Holy Cross' Archie Hatcher scored at 68' before Navy's
JP Torres got the equalizer in the 77th minute.
Up Next
Navy will finish the road trip with a non-conference showdown at Longwood on Tuesday.
