Oct. 24, 2006

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite being eliminated from Patriot League Tournament contention just four days earlier, the Navy men's soccer team played one of its best games of the year, defeating American, 1-0, on a brisk Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C. The win snapped a five-game winless streak for the Mids and dealt American a major blow to its Patriot League Tournament hopes. Navy improves to 5-8-2 with the victory, while American drops to 6-9-3. The victory also ended an 18-game winless streak (0-16-2) on the road in the Patriot League.

Navy withstood a first-half American onslaught as the Eagles outshot the Mids, 9-3, in the first 45 minutes. Despite being outshot, Navy sophomore goalkeeper Nolan Grebb (Woodbury, N.J.), making just his second career start, was forced to make just one save in the opening stanza.

With the field reversed, Navy took advantage. McKenzie Plank (Mountain View, Calif.) pounded home his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 62nd minute with an assist from freshman Mark Garcia (Tempe, Ariz.). Plank's eight goals are the most for a Navy player since Brye Gerhardt tallied nine in the 2000 season and his 19 points are the most since Gerhardt scored 21 during the same season. The assist was Garcia's first of the season. Plank has now scored a point in three straight games (2 g, 1 a).

Navy then turned to its defense, holding American to just seven shots in the second half. Grebb recorded four saves in goal to earn Navy's third shutout of the season and his first career blanking. Navy committed just 10 fouls (five in each half), significantly fewer than its 16.2 fouls per game it averaged in the first 14 games of the year. American did draw eight corner kicks, including five in the pivotal second half, to Navy's two.

The win snaps an 18-game winless streak on the road in Patriot League play dating all the way back to an Oct. 13, 2001, victory over Colgate (3-1). Navy has also scored goals in consecutive road Patriot League contests for the first time since Oct. 2001, when the Mids defeated Lafayette 1-0 on Oct. 6, and Colgate, 3-1. Navy has also defeated American two years in a row for the first time since the 1979 and 1980 seasons. Navy defeated the Eagles, 2-0, a year ago.

Navy will conclude its season on Saturday with a 4:00 p.m., kickoff at Bucknell. Currently, Bucknell sits in fifth place with seven points in the Patriot League. The Bison need a victory and an Army win over American to advance to the Patriot League Tournament. Last year, the Mids ended Bucknell's tournament hopes on the last day of the regular season with a 2-2 tie.

# GO NAVY #