The Navy men's lacrosse team has been picked fifth in the 2020 Patriot League Preseason Poll in a vote cast by the league's coaches and sports information directors, it was announced by the conference office this week.  Additionally, goalkeeper Ryan Kern (Sr / Middletown, Del.) was named to the preseason all-league team.  

Breaking Down the Poll
In one of the closest polls in Patriot League men's lacrosse history, Loyola, the reigning Patriot League Regular-Season Champion, secured 8 of the 18 first-place votes (eligible for only 16 due to not being able to vote for your own team) and amassed 111 points to top the poll for a seventh consecutive year, which coincidentally is also its seventh season as a member of the league.

Army, the 2019 Patriot League Tournament Champion, also totaled 111 points, however, it grabbed seven first-place votes to finish second in the balloting. Lehigh, meanwhile, accounted for the remaining three first-place votes and posted 99 points to finish third.  Boston Univeristy was fourth with 76 points, followed by Navy (59), Bucknell and Holy Cross (55), Colgate (31) and Lafayette (15).

Navy in the Patriot League
The Mids have won at least a share of the regular-season Patriot League title in eight of the 16 seasons (2004-05-06-07-08-15-16-18) they have been a member of the conference, including three of the last five years. Meanwhile Navy has compiled an 11-7 record in the Patriot League Tournament to earn five conference tournament crowns (2004-05-06-07-09). Navy has amassed a 73-36 (67.0) regular-season record in the Patriot League since 2004 in joining what is now a nine-member lacrosse conference (Hobart left following the '04 campaign; Loyola and Boston U. joined in 2014), and includes two undefeated seasons (2004, '07).

The Cream of the Crop
In addition to the preseason poll, the 2020 Preseason All-Patriot League Team was also unveiled and headlining the 16-man team were the Patriot League's Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year - returning All-Americans Kevin Lindley (attack) and Ryan McNulty (long stick midfielder) from Loyola.

The 2020 Preseason All-Patriot League Team is made up of 11 seniors, three juniors and two sophomores. It features a pair of individuals that garnered First-Team All-Patriot League honors last season and 10 that were named to the second team. Seven of the nine teams placed players on the preseason team, including Lehigh who has a league-best five selections.  Loyola and Army have three representatives, while Holy Cross has two and Bucknell, Colgate and Navy have one.

Kern, a starter for the Mids in every game in which he has played over his career (41 gms), stood #12 nationally in saves per game (12.85) a year ago, was #22 in save percentage (53.2) and #48 in goals against average (12.00). He finished the season with 167 saves which tied as the 15th most by a Navy player in a single season and the most since RJ Wickham recorded 188 saves in 2010. Additionally, he is one of just two Navy players in the last 20 years who rank among the top 15 on the single-season list. Kern stands 10th on the Mids' all-time saves list with 416 and enters his senior campaign 84 saves shy of becoming one of only five players in program history to reach 500. Kern was a 2018 Second-Team All-Patriot League selection.

More on the Mids
Navy begins a new era under the guidance of first-year head coach Joe Amplo who arrived in Annapolis in June after building the Marquette program from the ground up and catapulting it into the national spotlight.

Navy returns eight starters off a team that finished the 2019 season with a 6-7 record and a 4-4 Patriot League mark. The Mids return four of their top six scorers from a year ago - Christian Daniel (31-12=43), Nick Cole (20-9=29), Jack Sweeney (16-7=23) and Michael Foster (12-8=20). Daniel has amassed 74 points in his first two seasons (52-22). The biggest loss for the Mids will be at midfield where they lost two 100-point scorers with the graduation of leading point producer Ryan Wade (20-28=48) and Greyson Torain (24-13=37). Navy will be incredibly young with mostly freshmen and sophomores accounting for the midfield corps.

Defensively, Navy returns its entire starting line beginning with Kern between the pipes. Co-captain Tom Evans, Nick Frankchuk and Andrew McKenna return at close defense, while Jeff Durden at long stick midfielder and co-captain Brad Alexander and Tim Griffin at short stick defensive midfield round out the unit.

Season Opener Fast Approaching
The Mids have already played two scrimmages (Jacksonville and North Carolina) and will play three more - Jan. 25 at Delaware / Feb. 1 vs. Penn and Georgetown - before officially kicking off its 113th year of varsity lacrosse when they play host to Manhattan on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 6:00 pm. The game will be streamed (free) on the Patriot League Network and will be carried live on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Joe Miller on the call.

Opening weekend for lacrosse across the country is Feb. 1 with 13 games scheduled, including five that involve Patriot League schools (Boston U., Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette).

Single-game tickets for home Navy men's lacrosse games are on sale now and may be purchased by stopping by the Navy Ticket Office at Ricketts Hall, by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY, via the internet at www.navysports.com or at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on game day.  Tickets prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students, while groups of 20 or more will be offered a discounted ticket (in advance only, contact Jordan Albright at 410-293-8791 or Kristin McIntire at 410-293-8743 / e-mail: grouptickets@usna.edu).  


2020 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1. Loyola, 111 points (8 first-place votes)
2. Army, 111 (7)
3. Lehigh, 99 (3)
4. Boston U., 76
5. Navy, 59
T6. Bucknell, 55
T6. Holy Cross, 55
8. Colgate, 31
9. Lafayette, 15

2020 Preseason All-Patriot League Team
A - Brendan Nichtern, Army (So)
A - Kevin Kodzis, Holy Cross (Sr)
A - Andrew Pettit, Lehigh (Sr)
A - Kevin Lindley, Loyola (Jr)
M - Matt Manown, Army (Sr)
M - Griffin Brown, Colgate (Sr)
M - Sean Mullaney, Holy Cross (Sr)
M - Andrew Eichelberger, Lehigh (Sr)
D - Tom Rigney, Army (Sr)
D - Bryant Boswell, Bucknell (Jr)
D - Teddy Leggett, Lehigh (Jr)
D - Cam Wyers, Loyola (So)
GK - Ryan Kern, Navy (Sr)
FO - Conor Gaffney, Lehigh (Sr)
LSM - Ryan McNulty, Loyola (Sr)
SSM - Christian McHugh, Lehigh (Sr)

Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year:  Kevin Lindley, Loyola (Jr, A)
Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year:  Ryan McNulty, Loyola (Sr, LSM)


### Go Navy ###