Nov. 6, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy men's soccer team looks to close out its season on a high note on Saturday night, when it travels to Easton, Pa., to face Lafayette in a 7:00 pm start. The Mids enter the contest with an 8-10-0 overall record and are 2-4-0 in Patriot League play. Lafayette is 9-6-2 overall and 3-3-0 in league play.

The Mids have been mathematically eliminated from Patriot League Tournament contention, but could finish the year as high as tied for fourth with a victory.

The contest will also mark the final game in the careers of seniors Kyle Behbehani, Matthew Biesecker, Tyler Bristol, Andrew Garcia, Mark Garcia, Chris Marino, Scott Robertson and Matt Tapajcik.

After winning three games in a row over Loyola (Md.), Lehigh and Howard on Oct. 6-14, the Mids have been shut out in five straight games by American, Duke, Holy Cross, Colgate and Maryland. The Mids have been shut out 10 times this year, posting an 0-10-0 record when they fail to score. However, when Navy scores at least one goal in a game, the Mids are 8-0-0. Since the start of last year, Navy has been blanked 21 times in its 36 games.

Two players, senior Mark Garcia and freshman Michael Rakoczy, lead a balanced Navy attack with two goals and four assists each for eight points. Garcia currently has 13 career assists to rank tied for ninth on the Navy career assists list. Sophomore Wes Powell has added seven points (2 g, 3 a), while freshmen Michael Uyehara and Eric Wootten have five points (2 g, 1 a) each. In all, 12 players have scored Navy's 17 goals, and no player has more than two goals this year. In addition, seven different players have netted Navy's eight game-winning goals. Uyehara is the only player with multiple game-winning tallies.

Defensively, Tyler Bristol has seen all but 238 minutes in goal, registering a 1.47 GAA and a .671 save percentage. He has made 47 saves while posting three shutouts on the season. Junior Will Craven earned the start against Holy Cross and Maryland, and also saw 20 minutes of action against Colgate last Friday night. Craven owns a 0.76 GAA with an .800 save percentage in 238 minutes of play.

The Mids are getting outscored, 25-17, as a team and outshot, 220-189 (12.2 to 10.5 per game). Navy has done a remarkable job of playing without fouling, recording just 153 fouls with just five yellow cards so far this year. Foes have committed 192 fouls and have had 12 yellow cards issued against them.

Lafayette is 2-1-1 in its last four games and is coming off a 1-0 loss on national television to league-leader Bucknell. The Leopards are outscoring their foes, 16-15, and have been outshot by their opponents, 196-190 (11.5 to 11.2 per game). Lafayette has committed 232 fouls (13.6 per game).

Leading Lafayette's offensive attack is B.J. Glenn (6-1-13) and freshman Sean Peckham (5-2-12). The duo has combined for 25 of Lafayette's 41 points on the season. In all, just six players have scored goals for the Leopards, who are trying to make the league tournament for the seventh straight season.

Philip Nelson owns a 0.63 GAA and .855 save percentage in 1136 minutes of play. He owns a 7-3-2 record on the season with eight shutouts.

The series is tied between the two teams, 15-15-3, but Lafayette has won six games in a row in the series. Navy's last win came in a 1-0 win in Easton in 2001. Since Navy joined the Patriot League in 1991, the Mids are just 5-13-1 against the Leopards.

# GO NAVY #