ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  Seven home games, including the return of the Johns Hopkins series, highlight the 2020 Navy men's lacrosse schedule released Tuesday by first-year head coach Joe Amplo.

Navy's first three games of the 2020 campaign will be against programs the Mids have never played, including kicking off the season on Feb. 7 against Manhattan. Led by sixth-year head coach Drew Kelleher, the Jaspers put together a 6-8 record last spring and finished the season as the top-ranked man-down defense (.833) in the country and second best in clearing percentage (.888).

The following week (Feb. 15) former Navy head coach Richie Meade returns to Annapolis for the first time, leading a Furman program he helped launch in the spring of 2014. The Paladins are coming off a 4-10 mark that saw rising senior goalkeeper Alec Van de Bovenkamp garner Second-Team All-Southern Conference honors after posting the nation's 11th-best saves per game mark (13.00). Van de Bovenkamp closed out 2019 with a school-record 182 saves.

The Mids will play the first of three consecutive road games on Feb. 18 when they make the trip to Richmond for a midweek battle. One of five teams on Navy's schedule to play in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Richmond defeated Notre Dame (9-8) and came up a goal short of knocking off Maryland (10-9) en route to posting a 10-7 record last spring. The Spiders won the SoCon Championship with wins over Air Force and High Point to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament where they would succumb to No. 5 Duke, 12-11, in the opening round. Richmond has made three NCAA Tournaments appearances (2014, 2018, 2019) in its six seasons of existence.

Navy and 2019 NCAA quarterfinalist Maryland will meet in College Park, Md. on Feb. 22 for what will be the 95th contest between the two programs. The two schools have battled one another in each of the last 74 years in what is the second-longest continuous series Navy has with another team (Army, 87 consecutive years). The Feb. 22 contest marks the seventh time, including each of the last six years (March 25, 1972 / Feb. 14, 2015 / Feb. 13, 2016 / Feb. 10, 2017 / Feb. 10, 2018 / Feb. 23, 2019), that Navy and Maryland have met prior to the month of April. The Mids are looking for their first win in the series since 2009.

The Midshipmen will begin their quest for a ninth Patriot League crown when they open conference play on Feb. 29 at Lehigh. It will be the third time in the program's 17 years as a member of the Patriot League that Navy will open conference action against the Mountain Hawks. It's the first time since 2011, the last time Navy opened league play against Lehigh, that Navy has not opened against either Boston University or Bucknell. Meanwhile, it will be the 12th time Navy starts league play away from Annapolis (Home 1-3 / Road 5-6 / Neutral 1-0). Navy leads the all-time series, 32-8, however Lehigh has won the last two games.

Navy returns home for three straight games beginning with a March 7 game against Colgate. The Mids lead the series against the Raiders, 15-7, winning each of the last two including last year's game in Hamilton, N.Y. that saw Navy go on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to post a 16-11 win.

After a two-year hiatus, Navy and Johns Hopkins resume the series with a March 14 game in Annapolis. The 2020 contest marks the 92nd game in the series that began in 1908 on the banks of the Severn River. The Blue Jays have won five in a row in the series, including back-to-back one-goal games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2014 (6-5) and 2016 (12-11 2OT).

Closing out the Mids' home stand is a March 21 contest against Holy Cross. Under the direction of then-interim head coach Peter Burke, the Crusaders posted a 7-7 record in 2019 and qualified for the Patriot League Tournament for the third time in the last four years. Navy owns a 14-3 series advantage.

The Mids will play three of their next four on the road beginning with a March 28 game at Boston University. A nearly dead-even series has Navy up two games (4-2) with each of the last four contests having been decided by two goals or less. Last year, Christian Daniel scored five goals and added three assists, while netminder Ryan Kern turned aside 18 shots to match his personal best in the Mids' 13-12 victory in the season finale.

2019 NCAA quarterfinalist Loyola makes the short trip to Annapolis on April 4 for what will be the 13th game between the two programs. The Greyhounds lead the series, 8-4.

Leading the all-time series 19-2, Navy will travel to Easton, Pa. for a second straight year to face Lafayette on April 11. The Mids opened up a 5-2 lead after the first quarter a year ago and never looked back, as starting attackmen Christian Daniel and Jack Sweeney combined for six goals and Ryan Kern made 12 stops between the pipes en route to the 12-7 Navy victory.

2019 Patriot League Tournament Championship Army will play host to the annual Star Game on April 18 in West Point, N.Y. One of the sport's longest and most cherished rivalries, last year marked the 100th meeting between the two programs in a series the Mids lead 61-36-3. Navy has won two in a row at Michie Stadium, including the 2018 contest that saw the Mids capture a 9-8 victory over the Black Knights while also securing a share of the Patriot League regular-season title for the eighth time in program history.

Navy will play its regular-season finale on Friday, April 24 when it welcomes Bucknell to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Winners of each of the last four meetings, the Mids own an 11-8 series advantage over Bucknell, including a 6-3 mark in games played in Annapolis. Last year's Patriot League opener saw Navy jump out to a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter before closing in on a 14-8 victory against the Bison.

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 28. The Patriot League semifinals will be played on Friday, May 1 at the site of the top seed with the championship slated for Sunday, May 3.

Navy's television and radio schedule will be announced at a later date, as will game times.


### Go Navy ###