ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Coming off its first Patriot League match of the season, the Navy men's soccer team (1-2-4) returns to non-conference action at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday evening when it faces Longwood (5-1) at the Longwood Athletics Complex in Farmville, Va., to complete a three-game road trip.
 
The Midshipmen enter the matchup on a four-game unbeaten streak after Saturday's 1-1 draw at Holy Cross to begin its league slate, while the Lancers enter their final tune-up before Big South play having just had their season-opening five-game winning streak snapped last Friday at James Madison. Tuesday's match can be streamed on ESPN+.
 
Last Time Out
An action-packed 90 minutes ended with Navy coming away with a 1-1 draw at Holy Cross in the teams' Patriot League opener Saturday in Worcester, Mass. … Sam Clark helped the Midshipmen weather an early storm from the Crusaders' offense, making four first-half saves, before Duncan Sullivan buried a penalty-kick attempt at 57' to give Navy the lead … While Archie Hatcher equalized the game in the 71st minute, good fortune and Clark's continued brilliance in net late helped the Mids grab a road point in the Patriot League table.
 
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 1-1-4 … Dating back to the Aug. 28 match against George Washington, Clark had posted a shutout streak of 408:29 before Holy Cross broke through at 71' of Saturday's draw … 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 0.58 goals against average, .500 shutout percentage and .875 save percentage are all the best among league goalkeepers … The .875 save percentage ranks 13th in the country and the 0.577 goals against average ranks 16th nationally.
 
Navy Notes
Nick Gallucci paces the Patriot League with his three assists on the season, while Cohen Nance's two goals are good to be tied for second in league scoring … Gallucci's three assists also rank 37th in Division I entering the week … Duncan Sullivan sits third in the Patriot League with 17 shots and nine shots on goal … Navy is 3-0-2 when Sullivan records a point, while the Mids are 2-1-3 when Gallucci tallies a point.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Longwood rifled off one of the best starts in the country by beating William & Mary, Coastal Carolina, Southern Virginia, Campbell and East Tennessee State before Friday's defeat at JMU … James Madison scored twice in a six-minute span in the opening half to end the Lancers' streak … Joshwa Campbell holds the team lead and ranks 11th nationally with five goals this season … Brando Bedolla's team-leading seven assists lead all of Division I, while his 15 total points sits third nationally … Longwood is the third-best scoring offense in the country with 3.50 goals per game, while the team's 3.83 assists per game ranks second among Division I programs.
 
Series History
Navy is 7-6-1 in the all-time series with Longwood … The Mids are 4-3-0 when facing Longwood in Farmville, although Navy's most recent trip resulted in a 2-1 loss in 2024 … Last year's meeting between the sides in Annapolis saw Navy fight back twice with goals from a pair of seniors, as Andrew Schug (42') and Tommy Lockhart (68') helped pull out a 2-2 draw on Oct. 21.
 
Up Next
Navy returns home on Saturday, Sept. 19 to host Boston University at 1:00 p.m.