Army-Navy Cup XI Presented by Leidos returns to Subaru Park on Friday, October 7, where the rival academies will kick off at 7:00 p.m. It’s a regular season Patriot League match, but there’s nothing like it anywhere, in terms of competition and action, whenever Army and Navy battle one another.
Philadelphia Union has played host to the Army-Navy Cup since its inaugural match in 2012, with Army currently leading the series at 4-3-3 across 10 editions. The inaugural match in 2012 ended in a draw, as did the 2017 match. Navy won in both 2013 and 2014, while Army took the victory in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2019, the match ended in a 1-1 draw in double overtime. In April 2021, Army retained the Cup behind a 2-0 win. The two academies last played men’s soccer in October 2021 when Navy saw its first win in seven years.
Navy go into the matchup with an overall record of 4-2-4. The Midshipmen are led by Head Coach Tim O'Donohue, who returns for his seventh season at the helm of the Navy men's soccer program, having led the team to winning records in each of the last three years. Under his leadership, senior defender and two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Matt Nocita was selected No. 7 overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft to the New York Red Bulls, making him the highest-drafted Patriot League men's soccer player. Captaining the Midshipmen is senior defender JD Wagner, a product of the Philadelphia Union Academy. Wagner was named to the All-Patriot League Team in 2021 and started all 19 games for Navy.
Joining Wagner among the top returning players for Navy this season are David Jackson and Baba Kallie, who garnered Second Team All-Patriot honors. Jackson looks to build off a strong 2021 season where he was awarded Patriot League Rookie of the Year and United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-Atlantic Region.
"We are looking forward to the game. It is a great event and the players look forward to it each year,” said Navy Head Coach, Tim O'Donohue. “It will be a close game as always and an intense back-and-forth match. The atmosphere last year was phenomenal and this year we are hoping for It to be even better."
The Black Knights go into the matchup with an overall record of 4-3-3. They finished the 2021 season with a record of 8-7-3 in head coach Brian Plotkin’s first full campaign at the helm. Under Plotkin’s direction, the Black Knights will be captained by a pair of returning senior defenders, Luke Doyle and D'Anthony Brown. Doyle was a member of the All-Patriot League Academic Team and was a key contributor to an Army back line that ranked No. 3 in the Patriot League in fewest goals allowed. Brown will also return to help the Black Knights after anchoring the defensive unit for Army last season, playing in all 18 games and scoring two goals, tied for most on the team as a defender.
In goal, Army returns the duo of Josh Taylor and Tomas Hut. Offensively, sophomore Gage Guerra – who ranked in the Patriot League’s Top 10 in goals (t-5th), goals per game (t-5th), shots (t-9th), shots per game (t-10th) and points (t-10th) – will look to continue the success of his inaugural season as a Black Knight.
“We are thrilled to be returning to Philadelphia to continue the tradition of the Army-Navy Cup hosted by the Philadelphia Union,” said Army Head Coach Brian Plotkin.”They have been incredible in their support of the game, and we are thankful for the continued partnership. We hope to make it a great weekend of soccer in Philadelphia as fans can attend the Army-Navy Cup on Friday night followed by the Decision Day game for the Union on Sunday.”
“We are excited to bring back the 11th anniversary match between Army West Point and Navy for Army-Navy Cup XI,” said Philadelphia Union President, Tim McDermott. “As we prepare to celebrate the 11th anniversary, we look back and recognize how special this event truly is and look forward to welcoming both academies back to Subaru Park on October 7th.”
Army Navy Cup XI is presented by Leidos and made possible with the support from the following sponsors: Visit Delco, Energy Transfer, Sunoco, Steamfitters Local Union 420, Holman Automotive, PHL Sports, IBEW Local 98, Comcast, Lockheed Martin, Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Philadelphia2026 (World Cup), Boeing, U.S. Army Recruiting, U.S. Navy Recruiting, Ernst & Young, and Monroe Energy.
