Navy returning All-American Chris Fennell will lead the defensive efforts for the Mids in 2016.

• 2015-16 Navy Men's Lacrosse Schedule

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2016 Navy men's lacrosse schedule will feature eight home games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, including contests against service academy foe Air Force and long-time rival Johns Hopkins to open the program's 109th season it was announced by fifth-year head coach Rick Sowell on Wednesday.

Sowell, the 2015 Patriot League Coach of the Year, also released the Mids' preseason scrimmage schedules highlighted by fall matchups against Notre Dame (Oct. 11 / 12:00 pm / at Georgetown Prep), Syracuse (Oct. 18 / 10:00 am / Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium) andTowson (Oct. 18 / 2:00 pm / Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium), followed by road scrimmages to open the spring at Ohio State (Jan. 23 / Columbus, Ohio) and Richmond (Jan. 30 / Richmond, Va.).

Coming off a season that saw the Mids produce a 9-5 record and win a share of the Patriot League regular-season title, Navy will open its 2016 campaign with the same opponent it closed out 2015 with - Air Force. The two service academies rekindled their series last May after better than a decade layoff. Thanks in part to then-rookie Jack Ray's five-goal performance, the Mids held off the Falcons for a 9-8 win and a 5-1 advantage in the series. Navy and Air Force will square off on Saturday, Feb. 6 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at 12:00 pm.

Just three days later, Navy will shift its attention to one of the longest-standing rivalries in college lacrosse. The Mids will play host to Johns Hopkins on Feb. 9 at 7:00 pm in what will be the earliest the two programs have met in the series' 90-game history. Although the Blue Jays have won three in a row against the Mids, Navy has won two of the last three games played in Annapolis (9-8 in 2010, 8-2 in 2012).

Not only will Navy play its third game in an eight-day span, it will play its third game against a rival when it makes the short trip to College Park on Feb. 13 to battle Maryland. While the two programs have met 90 times, they have battled one another in each of the last 70 years in what is the second-longest continuous series Navy has with another team (Army, 83 consecutive years). Eight of the last 17 games between the two have been decided by one goal.

The Feb. 13 meeting is the earliest the two programs have met in series history and will be just the third time (March 25, 1972 / Feb. 14, 2015) they have met prior to the month of April.

Navy returns home a week later to play host to Delaware (Feb. 21 / 12:00 pm) in its final non-conference tune-up before Patriot League action. The Mids and Blue Hens have met on 17 previous occasions with Navy holding a 15-2 series advantage, but the two programs have not met since the Mids dealt Delaware a 9-7 loss in the 2005 NCAA Quarterfinals. The last time the two met during the regular season was in 1999, when Turnbull and Enners Award winner John Grant Jr. paced the Hens to an 11-8 victory over Navy in Newark.

The Midshipmen will begin its quest for a seventh Patriot League regular-season crown and sixth tournament title when they open conference play on Feb. 27 at Boston University. It's the first time since 2011 that Navy won't open its league slate against Bucknell, however, it will be the 11th time in 13 seasons as a member of the Patriot League that it will start its season on the road (4-5) or a neutral site (1-0).

Navy will play its second straight Patriot League road game when it travels to Lewisburg, Pa. to battle Bucknell on March 5. Bucknell took the series lead (8-7) a year ago after escaping Annapolis with an 8-7 victory. Seven of the 13 league matchups between the two have been decided by one goal, including six of the last nine.

The Mids return home to play four of their next five games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy will look to extend its series lead (16-1) against Lafayette when the two faceoff on March 12 at 12:00 pm, while the following week (March 19) the Mids will play host to Loyola at 12:00 pm.

Navy will play its seventh game in Bethlehem, Pa. over the last eight years when it takes on Lehigh on March 26. Remarkably, the Mids have played the Mountain Hawks in Annapolis just twice since 2008, while playing at Lehigh in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and twice in 2014. The Mids held off a late rally by the Mountain Hawks to earn a 13-12 victory last March.

The Mids will play host to Holy Cross (April 2 / 12:00 pm) and defending Patriot League Tournament Champion Colgate (April 9 / 12:00 pm) in back-to-back weekends. A year ago Navy picked up a pair of 7-6 victories on the road against both the Crusaders and the Raiders.

One of the sport's longest and most cherished rivalries, the Army-Navy game will be played on April 16 at the Black Knights' Michie Stadium in what will be the 96th meeting between the two service academies. The Mids own an 58-34-3 series advantage, including a 10-7 victory over Army West Point in last year's Star Game in Annapolis.

With Navy's conference bye weekend once again falling at the tail end of the Patriot League season, the Mids will pick up a nonconference matchup against Sacred Heart on Friday, April 22 (7:00 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The Patriot League Tournament will again feature six teams with the top two seeds receiving a bye, while quarterfinal contests will be played between the 3-6 and 4-5 seeds on Tuesday, April 26. The Patriot League semifinals will be played on Friday, April 29 at the site of the top seed with the championship slated for Sunday, May 1. Navy, owns an 11-4 all-time record in the Patriot League Tournament, played host to last year's semis and championship after earning the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Navy's television and radio schedule will be released at a later date, as will game times for road contests.

### Go Navy ###