Sam Miller named Navy Soccer captain for 2011 season

Navy men's soccer rising senior midfielder Sam Miller will serve as the 2011 team captain. It marks the second straight year that a midfielder will act as the team captain as Sam Lepley served in that capacity a year ago.

“Sam is a good example of the type of leader we want the guys on our team to be,” said Navy head coach Dave Brandt, who is entering his third season as the head coach of the Navy soccer program. “He has a great relationship with every player on the team as well as the coaching staff. He is a good person to follow and is a hard worker, both on and off the field.”

“I feel honored to be named the Navy men's soccer team captain for the 2011 season and I hope that I will be able to serve the team to the best of my abilities,” said Miller. “We all are looking forward to the upcoming season and have high expectations for making this year a successful one.”

Miller, a 6-0, 175-pound midfielder from Tulsa, Okla., has appeared in 49 of a possible 53 contests during his three years at Navy, including every game but one during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He has started 27 of those contests, including the last 11 games of the season a year ago. He scored two goals for four points as a junior, tallying big goals against Wofford in the season opener on Sept. 2 and against Holy Cross on Oct. 23. His goal against Holy Cross kick-started a Navy rally as the Mids came back from two goals down with three netters in a 13-minute span to earn the victory. In addition, Miller was part of a strong defensive effort all season long as the Mids ranked No. 1 in the Patriot League in goals against average and were 22nd nationally.

As a sophomore in 2009, Miller scored one goal while playing in 18 games with eight starts. He tallied his lone goal of the season in the 85th minute of a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory over Temple. His goal tied the game at 2-2 and sent the game into the extra session, where the Midshipmen would eventually prevail.

During his rookie season in 2008, Miller played in 15 games with eight starts. His lone goal on the season was a big one, giving the Midshipmen a 1-0 overtime victory over Saint Joseph’s in early September, resulting in Patriot League Rookie of the Week accolades.

Off the field, Miller has been a three-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, was a member of the 2010 Patriot League All-Academic Team and was a third-team CoSIDA / ESPN Academic All-American as a junior. He has twice been named Academic All-District by CoSIDA and currently sports a 3.95 GPA in mechanical engineering, ranking 51st on the overall order of merit and 19th on the academic order of merit in the Class of 2012. He has had a 4.00 GPA in each of his last four semesters at Navy.

Miller and his teammates will open the 2011 season on Friday, August 26 at VCU. Navy’s home opener will be on Thursday, Sept. 1, against Fairleigh Dickinson, beginning at 7:00 pm at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.