The Bison defeated the favored conference opponent, Navy, in a 1-0 shutout on Oct. 17. Goalkeeper Clarke Fox ’16 had nine saves to keep the men’s soccer team alive. Adam Bradshaw ’17 assisted the sole goal for the Orange and Blue, to be finished off by a Navy competitor for an own goal.

“We are still working to become a better defensive team,” head coach Brendan Nash said. “We have given up unfortunate goals in our first four Patriot League games, so after a big defensive performance versus Navy, we have to build from that.”

In the 16th minute, Bradshaw sent in a corner kick. Despite having several teammates in the box, it was a Navy opponent who made an own goal, giving the Bison a 1-0 lead. Andrew Leischner ’17 picked up his second yellow card during the game, and for the final 24:37, the Bison played a man down. After fighting off 26 shots and 11 corner kicks from Navy, they managed to maintain the lead and finish with a shutout.

“We knew that Navy touts a high-powered offense, so managing to keep them scoreless, especially when playing with only 10 men for 20 plus minutes, was a great accomplishment and will give our defense confidence as we move into the final stretch of Patriot League play,” Fox said. “This year, like every year, the Patriot League is incredibly competitive from top to bottom, and every team is vying for one of the limited spots in the Patriot League Tournament. Therefore, we try not to pay much attention to where we stack up against other teams in the Patriot League standings, and instead try to concentrate on what we can control.”

Zack Rockmore ’16 controlled the Orange and Blue’s defensive game, leading the team in efforts to keep Navy scoreless. Fox managed three saves in the first half of the game and six in the second. Sebastiaan Blickman ’17, Peter Krebs ’17, and Dany Teran ’19 all contributed to the team’s efforts, with one shot on goal apiece.

“The highlight of Saturday’s game was getting our first shutout in the Patriot League,” said Bradshaw said. “The back four and Clarke Fox did a solid job of blocking shots and making big clearances. Right now, the team’s focus is on preparing for next Saturday’s game at American. It’s going to be very important to get three points next weekend as we try to secure a playoff spot in the next couple of weeks.”

The Orange and Blue improved to 5-5-4 overall, and 1-2-2 in the conference. The Bison will travel to American on Oct. 24 for their next conference match.