Oct. 22, 2008

Blood is thicker than soccer
By Mike Klingaman - Baltimore Sun
Published - October 22, 2008

Carissa Youker is the top scorer for Navy's playoff-bound soccer team. Her father, Jim, is a retired Army colonel who attends her games.

Friday night, when Navy plays at West Point, for whom will Jim Youker be rooting?

"I'll be there in the stands with a goat on my shirt," he said.

Blood trumps an Army hitch, said Youker, of Annapolis.

"I've got to [cheer] Navy. I mean, jeez, they're paying for my daughter's education - and they have an outstanding team," he said.

Navy is 12-3-2; Army, 11-4. Neither team has surrendered a goal in Patriot League play. The Mids also blanked Army each of the past two seasons.

"We try and treat this like any other game, but it's very important that we win the Army contest," Navy coach Carin Gabarra said.

The Mids wouldn't be thriving if not for Youker, a sophomore who attended Winston Churchill. Of her seven goals, five have been game-winners.

"We will be pumped to play," said Youker, who'll scan the stands during the game to check out her father's attire.

Not to worry, Jim Youker said.

"I had 30 years of loyalty to Army sports," he said. "Now it's the Navy's turn."