Martin Sanchez (George Vickers Grandson), From Worcester Prep Named To The UMBC/Navy Kickoff Tournament All-Tournament Team

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- After outscoring its two opponents this past week by an 8-1 margin, the Navy men's soccer team finds itself ranked seventh in the initial NSCAA / Middle Atlantic regional rankings released on Tuesday morning. Navy defeated Wofford, 3-1, last Thursday night, then ran past VMI, 5-0, on Saturday evening. Navy's five goals on Saturday night were the most for the program since the 2000 season opener (five vs. Long Island) and the Mids are now 2-0-0 for the first time since the 2005 season, Navy's last year that produced a winning record (8-6-2). The Mids are one of five Patriot League teams ranked in the region. Lafayette (3-0-0) is first, Lehigh (1-1-0) is fifth, Colgate (1-0-1) is sixth and Bucknell (1-1-0) is ninth. The regional ranking of No. 7 is the highest for the Navy program since the 2001 season. Navy's offense erupted for eight goals in the season-opening weekend, after scoring just 17 goals in all 19 games a year ago. A pair of freshmen, Dave Arnold (Baltimore, Md.) and Patrick Sopko (Gloucester, Va.) lead the Mids with six and five points, respectively. Arnold has a team-best three goals on the season, while Sopko has scored one goal with a team-high three assists. Sophomore Will Parker (Annandale, Va.) also has three points (1 g, 1 a) on the season, all coming against VMI. Meanwhile, the Navy defense has been impressive as well, holding foes to just 15 total shots and one goal in the two games. Freshman goalkeeper Aaron Dupere (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) owns a 0.58 GAA with an .857 save percentage so far this year. For the third straight season, Navy won the season-opening UMBC/Navy Kick-Off Men's Soccer Tournament. Both UMBC and Navy posted 2-0-0 marks, but Navy's plus-7 goal differential was greater than UMBC's plus-4 difference. Arnold, Sam Lepley (Sr. / Des Moines, Iowa), Alex Foskett (Sr. / Manassas, Va.) and Martin Sanchez (Fr. / Salisbury, Md.) were named to the All-Tournament team. Navy will host a strong UMBC team on Saturday night at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, beginning at 8:00 pm. The Retrievers are ranked eighth in the NSCAA Northeast regional rankings and have won 13 straight games during the month of September, dating back to the 2008 season. Fans that bring their Georgia Southern football ticket stub (3:30 pm on Saturday) to the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility ticket window will gain free admission to the soccer game. For ticket information, call 1-800-US4-NAVY.