Go Navy...Beat ECU!
Hey there, and welcome to the Sing Second Sports Newsletter. This product will come out every Friday morning and will serve as your “Captain’s Night Orders” to guide your upcoming weekend of Navy fanaticism.
Be sure to send us feedback on the newsletter, podcasts or whatever you have on your mind... info@singsecondsports.com
This week's podcasts:
Navy-East Carolina Preview:
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):
East Carolina is off to a 2-1 start which includes a rout over Old Dominion (39-21) and a dominating win over FCS member Campbell (49-10). The Pirates' only loss was by 1 point to then #13 NC State (21-20) in a game ECU should have won. Normally reliable kicker Owen Daffer missed an extra-point and a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter as the Wolfpack hung on for the win. Daffer made a career-long 54-yard field goal at the gun to beat Navy last year 38-35.
The Pirates are a contender to win the AAC thanks to their potent backfield of quarterback Holton Ahlers and running backs Keaton Mitchell and Rahjai Harris. ECU is #23 in the country in total offense (495.3 yds/gm).
Navy has won 3 of its last 4 games away from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium: 17-13 over Army (12-11-21) at MetLife Stadium, 38-14 at Temple (11-27-21) and 20-17 at Tulsa (10-29-21). The only loss during that span was a 34-6 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame (11-6-21).
Navy and East Carolina are two of the top rushing defenses in the country. Navy enters Saturday's game ranked fourth, giving up just 52.0 yards per game on the ground, while ECU is #20, allowing just 83.7 rushing yards per game.
For the Plebes:
Game Day: Saturday, September 24, 2022
Game Time: 6:00 PM ET
TV Channel: ESPN+
Location: Greenville, North Carolina
Stadium: Bagwell Field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Over/Under: 49 points
Spread: ECU is a 17 point favorite
Weather:
By the numbers:
East Carolina
East Carolina put up just 1.4 more points per game (29.7) than Navy surrendered (28.3) last year.
East Carolina racked up 84.1 more yards per game (433.3) than Navy gave up per contest (349.2) last season.
Last season East Carolina ran for 30.8 more yards per game (161.8) than Navy allowed per contest (131.0).
Navy
Navy scored 6.2 fewer points per game (20.1) than East Carolina surrendered (26.3) last season.
Navy racked up 283.3 yards per game last year, 111.4 fewer yards than the 394.7 East Carolina gave up per contest.
Last year Navy racked up 226.5 yards per game on the ground, 63.0 more than East Carolina allowed per outing (163.5).
Headlines:
Five-Match Homestand Begins with Weekend Pair of Matches for Volleyball
Annapolis Council votes down resolution opposing golf course at Greenbury Point
Video:
This Week's Navy 90:
Navy Football Media Availability 9/20/22 (Nicholas Straw and Brian Newberry):
Bravo Zulu:
Sprint
The Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) announced its first group of Athletes of the Week for the 2022 season and Navy's placekicker Mychal Golden (Jonesboro, Ark.) was tabbed the Special Teams Player of the Week. It is the second time in Golden's career he has been named Special Teams Player of the Week.
In Navy's opening week victory over Chestnut Hill, Golden was a perfect 5-for-5 against the Griffins, registering nine points in the game. The All-Conference kicker made a pair of field goals – 42 yards and 32 yards – to go along with three extra points.
Soccer
Coming off a dominant 4-0 win over the defending Patriot League champions, Bucknell, on Friday night, the Navy women's soccer team was recognized with four Patriot League weekly awards on Monday afternoon. The quartet of Amanda Graziano (So., Middlebury, Conn.), Jenna Daunt (Jr., Haymarket, Va.), Mattie Gallagher (Jr., Gilbertsville, Pa.) and Marlee Heaven (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) were respectively honored as the Patriot League Offensive Player, Midfielder, Goalkeeper and Rookie of the Week. In addition to her nod as the league's offensive player of the week, Graziano was selected as the NAAA Athlete of the Week presented by Northrop Grumman.
XC
The Patriot League announced its athletes of the week and Navy cross country claimed three of the four awards. Alex Rizzo (Bronxville, N.Y.) claimed Male Runner of the Week, while Emily Boutin (Chicopee, Mass.) was tabbed Female Runner of the Week. Freshman Mia Claire Kezal (Saco, Maine) rounded out the Mids' selections, earning her second consecutive Rookie of the Week accolade.
The trio helped the Mids sweep the annual Navy Invitational with Boutin winning the women's 6K and Rizzo claiming the men's 4.9-mile run title. Kezal was Navy's top freshman, posting a sixth-place finish.
Soccer
After posting a pair of clean sheets for the Navy men's soccer team, sophomore Pierce Holbrook has been named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Holbrook posted back-to-back shutouts for the Midshipmen this past week, as Navy's goalkeeper made a combined 10 saves between the two wins at Longwood and Bucknell. A native of Littleton, Colorado, Holbrook opened the week by notching five saves in Navy's 1-0 victory against Longwood on Wednesday, and followed that with five more saves in the 2-0 shutout over Bucknell on Saturday to open Patriot League action and earn his third clean sheet of the season.
Golf
Posting a weekend-low team score in Sunday's final round, the Navy women's golf team finished in ninth place at the Nittany Lion Invitational to open the 2022-23 season.
Being played at the Penn State Blue Course in State College, Pa., the Midshipmen found themselves 12th at 32-over par 608 following the opening two rounds on Saturday, posting identical team scores of 16-over par 304 in both the first and second rounds, before shooting a 9-over par 297 in the final round to earn ninth place at 41-over par 905.
The 905 score from Navy ranks seventh in program history for a 54-hole tournament, while the 297 score in the final round is tied for the eighth-lowest overall round by the Midshipmen all-time. The 9-over par 297 on Sunday is also tied for the sixth-best round in relation to par across the program's 11-year history.
This Weekend:
Friday:
Sprint Football plays for the Star vs Army at 7pm at Navy/Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Saturday:
Rifle hosts VMI & TCU at 9:00am.
Offshore Sailing--Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in Chicago, Ill. - Saturday and Sunday; Annapolis Yacht Club Race to Solomons in Annapolis - Saturday and Sunday
Intercollegiate Sailing--Intrepid MAISA Match Race in Kings Point, NY - Saturday and Sunday; Webb/Woollum Regatta in Newport News, VA - Saturday and Sunday; Oyster Bowl in St. Mary's City, Md. - Saturday and Sunday
Men’s Tennis at Western Michigan Invite in Kalamazoo, MI - Saturday and Sunday
Women’s Rugby at West Chester in West Chester, Pa. - 11:00am
Men’s Rugby vs Mary Washington in Annapolis - 11:00am
Women’s Soccer at Boston University - 1:00pm
Men’s Soccer vs Colgate in Annapolis - 3:00pm
Volleyball vs Loyola in Annapolis - 4:00 pm
Football at East Carolina in Greenville, NC - 6:00pm
Sunday:
Volleyball vs American in Annapolis - 2:00pm
For a complete listing of times and locations visit Navysports.com
That’s it, folks. Until next week….Beat Army.
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