Navy Men’s Soccer Falls 7-0 to UC San Diego in Season Opener
The John Hackworth era at Navy got off to a difficult start Thursday night as the Midshipmen fell 7-0 to UC San Diego at Triton Soccer Stadium in La Jolla, California.
UC San Diego scored twice in the opening seven minutes, added another goal just before halftime and then broke the game open with four second-half goals. Navy dropped to 0-1 on the season, while UC San Diego opened its campaign at 1-0.
It was the first regular-season game for Hackworth as Navy’s head coach and the beginning of the program’s 106th season.
Tritons Strike Almost Immediately
Navy actually generated the game’s first dangerous opportunity.
Duncan Sullivan forced UC San Diego goalkeeper Nic Thiele into a save less than 30 seconds after kickoff. Gavin McBride also put an attempt on target in the seventh minute.
Unfortunately for the Midshipmen, UC San Diego was even more dangerous at the opposite end.
Sean McTague worked his way down the right side before finding Oren Stuppel, who finished from close range just 4:01 into the game to give UC San Diego a 1-0 advantage.
Less than three minutes later, Stuppel struck again.
The Tritons forward got behind Navy’s defense and placed his attempt inside the right post at 6:56, suddenly putting the Midshipmen in a 2-0 hole.
It was a nightmare beginning for a Navy team that had traveled across the country to open its season.
Navy Settles Down
To Navy’s credit, the Midshipmen did not immediately allow the game to completely unravel.
After the two early goals, Navy stabilized defensively and remained within striking distance for much of the remainder of the first half.
An offsides call in the 21st minute eliminated one potential Navy attacking opportunity.
The Midshipmen were still down just two goals as halftime approached, giving them an opportunity to regroup at the break.
Instead, UC San Diego delivered another blow with only seconds remaining in the half.
Kelham Wolf finished a sequence involving Gavin Carlson and Cael McElderry at 44:26 to send the Tritons into halftime leading 3-0.
The timing of the goal proved especially damaging. Navy had managed to remain competitive following the disastrous opening seven minutes, but UC San Diego regained control immediately before the break.
UC San Diego Takes Over in Second Half
Navy goalkeeper Dylan Carmody was busy immediately after halftime.
Carmody recorded saves in the 50th and 54th minutes, while an offsides call wiped away another UC San Diego opportunity shortly afterward.
He then made three saves in less than a minute against Gavin Allegaert as Navy attempted to keep the deficit at three.
Carmody’s performance was one of the few positives for the Midshipmen. Despite allowing seven goals behind a defense that consistently surrendered dangerous opportunities, he finished with a career-high five saves.
Eventually the pressure became too much.
McTague, who assisted on the opening goal, scored one of his own at 60:54 to push UC San Diego’s lead to 4-0.
Jack Nishimoto followed at 66:24 when Navy’s defense was caught out of position near the end line.
The Tritons now led 5-0.
Namdar Adds Two More
UC San Diego continued attacking rather than simply protecting its advantage.
Ryan Namdar headed home an Adam Dunbar cross at 73:11 to make it 6-0.
Namdar then joined Stuppel as the second Triton to record a brace, scoring again at 84:22 off an assist from Lalo Barbieri.
That completed the scoring at 7-0.
Stuppel and Namdar scored two goals apiece, while Wolf, McTague and Nishimoto each added one.
UC San Diego finished with a 19-7 advantage in total shots and put 12 shots on goal compared with only three for Navy. The Tritons also held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Hackworth Does Not Sugarcoat Loss
Hackworth did not attempt to minimize what happened afterward.
He acknowledged that Navy competed during stretches of the first half but was disappointed with the way the Midshipmen responded once the deficit grew in the second half.
The first-year coach called the defeat humiliating and made it clear that the performance did not represent the resilient culture he expects Navy to build.
His message going forward was equally clear: use the loss as motivation.
For a coach beginning a new era in Annapolis, the season opener provided an immediate indication of how much work remains.
Navy entered the season picked ninth in the Patriot League preseason poll after receiving 20 points. Hackworth was brought to Annapolis with the long-term goal of turning the Midshipmen back into a championship-level program.
One result will not determine whether that happens, but the opener certainly exposed areas that need improvement.
Several Midshipmen Make Debuts
Despite the result, Thursday was an important night for several Navy players.
Liam Plum, Jack Illig, Cohen Nance, Denis Pauze and Chase Paige all made their Navy debuts.
Carmody established his career high with five saves.
The loss also dropped Navy’s historically impressive record in season openers to 70-21-15.
Navy entered Thursday having gone 70-20-15 in its previous 105 season-opening matches.
Defensive Problems Define the Night
The biggest concern was not simply that Navy allowed seven goals. It was how frequently UC San Diego created quality opportunities.
The Tritons placed 12 of their 19 attempts on goal, a 63.2 percent shots-on-goal rate.
UC San Diego scored on seven of those 12 shots on frame.
Navy’s defense struggled with runs behind the back line, service from wide areas and positioning when the Tritons attacked in transition.
The two goals during the opening seven minutes immediately forced Navy to chase the match.
The third goal just before halftime then eliminated much of the progress Navy had made stabilizing the game.
Once McTague scored the fourth goal in the 61st minute, the contest quickly got away from the Midshipmen.
Offense Shows Little After Early Chances
Navy’s early offensive activity never developed into sustained pressure.
The Midshipmen finished with seven shots and only three on goal.
UC San Diego goalkeeper Thiele stopped all three attempts that reached him to secure the shutout.
The Tritons controlled possession in dangerous areas and generated considerably more pressure throughout the evening.
For Navy, creating more sustained offensive possession will be critical going forward. The Midshipmen cannot consistently absorb that level of pressure defensively and expect their goalkeeper to keep them in matches.
Rough Beginning to a New Era
There is no way to dress up a 7-0 defeat.
Navy was outplayed.
But one of the challenges of a season-opening road trip like this is discovering weaknesses before Patriot League competition begins.
Hackworth scheduled strong early-season opponents for exactly that reason.
When Navy announced its 2026 schedule, Hackworth said playing quality competition early would help prepare the Midshipmen for their primary objective of competing in the Patriot League.
UC San Diego gave Navy a painful lesson in just how quickly mistakes can turn into goals against a talented opponent.
Now comes the important part: the response.
Navy will have to improve its defensive communication, protect the middle of the field and become more dangerous in possession.
For a program beginning a new chapter under Hackworth, adversity arrived immediately.
The Midshipmen will have plenty of opportunities to show that Thursday night was an aberration rather than an indication of what is ahead during the 2026 season.
