Setting the Stage
• Navy (3-2, 1-2 PL) will look to snap a two-game skid on Saturday (1:00 pm) when it travels to Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md. to face 15th-ranked Loyola (5-4, 3-2 PL) for the second time in a three-week span. The two programs met in Annapolis on April 3 with the Greyhounds prevailing 14-10.
• Saturday's contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+, however no radio coverage will be available. Per usual, live stats will also be available on Navy's website.
• Adhering to current Baltimore city guidelines, visiting team spectators are not permitted at Loyola's home events.

Game Day Storylines
• It's a First: For the first time in Patriot League history, Navy will play a conference opponent twice during the regular season when it battles Loyola for a second time on Saturday (L, 14-10 on April 3). Due to COVID 19, this year's Patriot League schedules drastically changed for multiple sports, including men's lacrosse which was split into two divisions to limit overnight travel. This is the first year since sponsoring the sport in 1991 that each of the teams will not play every team within the league. The Mids will not face Boston U., Colgate or Holy Cross during the regular season this spring. Navy and Holy Cross were originally scheduled to meet on March 28, however, Naval Academy sports were put on pause for 21 days and the schedule was reworked to accommodate divisional games. It will mark the second-consecutive year Navy has not played Boston U. or Holy Cross after the 2020 season was cut short due to the pandemic. The Mids played five games, including conference contests against Lehigh and Colgate, before shutting down on Friday, March 13.
• Reaching 100: With his first (14:07, 3Qtr) of three goals against Loyola on April 3, Christian Daniel (Sr / A) became the 36th player in program history to reach 100 career points and the 12th-fastest to achieve the feat. Daniel, who has been held without a point in just two of the 36 games he has played in over his career, has amassed 107 points on 71 goals and 36 assists and is tied for 27th on the Mids' all-time scoring list alongside Rob Bailey (1992-95). He is 14 points outside of the top 20 (121 by Brendan Schneck, 1977-78).
• On the Road Again: Last Saturday's contest at Lehigh marked Navy's first road trip in 287 days. Ironically, the Mids' last road game prior to last week was at Lehigh on Feb. 29, 2020, a game the Mountain Hawks would win, 14-6. Navy has lost three in a row away from home and all to nationally-ranked foes - 12-9 loss at #18 Richmond and 14-6 loss at #19 Lehigh in 2020; 13-7 loss at #8 Lehigh in 2021. The Mids' last road victory was a 16-11 decision at Colgate on April 6, 2019.
• It Starts at the "X": Navy has faced two of the best faceoff specialists in the country over the last two weeks in Loyola's Bailey Savio (#20, 102 of 174, 58.6) and Lehigh's Mike Sisselberger (#1, 108-139, 77.7). Over the last two games, Navy has won just 14 of the 51 draws (27.5) - 9 of 28 (32.1) vs. Loyola and 5 of 23 (21.7) at Lehigh.
• Swanson Returns: After missing three-consecutive games after suffering a foot injury in the opener against Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 20, Dane Swanson (Fr / M) returned to the lineup last Saturday against Lehigh. He contributed the first-three points of his career, including his first-collegiate goal at the 14:12 mark in the second quarter. Swanson, who was ranked by Inside Lacrosse as the 25th-best overall player and fifth-best midfielder among the incoming freshman class, did not play in the first matchup against the Greyhounds.
• Elusive Win: Navy enters Saturday's contest having never won a game at Loyola. The two have met on the Greyhounds' home field just four times, including three times as conference foes - 2011 (L, 8-9), 2015 (L, 17-7), 2017 (L, 18-7), 2019 (L, 18-5). Loyola is the only Patriot League team in which Navy has not beaten on its home field.

Scouting Loyola
• In his 16th season as head coach at Loyola, Charley Toomey has directed his Greyhounds to a 5-4 record that includes a 3-2 mark in Patriot League action.
• The Patriot League preseason favorite for an unprecedented eighth-consecutive year, Loyola opened its Patriot League slate with a 10-6 loss at Lehigh. The Greyhounds bounced back with three-consecutive conference wins over Lafayette (16-6), Bucknell (24-10) and Navy (14-10), before Army dealt Loyola a 12-7 loss a week ago in Baltimore.
• The Greyhounds own nonconference wins over Richmond (8-7 OT) and Utah (10-8), while dropping decisions to Virginia (15-12) and Towson (7-6 OT).
• Leading the way for the Greyhounds is Aidan Olmstead (Sr / A), who has recorded 37 points on 17 goals and 20 assists. He is ranked 40th nationally in points per game (4.11) and 25th in assists per game (2.22).
• Kevin Lindley (Sr / A) is second on the team with 29 points on a team-high 26 goals and 3 assists, while Evan James (So / M) has produced 23 points on 17 goals and 6 assists
• As a team, Loyola stands 25th in scoring offense (12.56) and 15th in scoring defense (9.44).
• Sam Shafer (Sr / GK) stands between the pipes where he is yielding 9.08 goals per game and owns a 49.6 save percentage.
• Cam Wyers (Jr / D) leads the team with 16 caused turnovers and is ranked 22nd nationally (1.78). Senior defenseman Matt Hughes has forced 12 turnovers. Preseason Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Ryan McNulty owns 10 caused turnovers, 28 ground balls, scored 3 goals and dealt out 5 assists.
• Bailey Savio (Sr / FO) has taken 174 of the 227 faceoffs for the Greyhounds this season. He has won 102 of the 174 (58.6) which is the nation's 20th-best percentage. He leads the team with 64 ground balls and is seventh nationally in ground balls per game (8.00).
• Loyola is 31st nationally in extra-man offense, scoring 11 goals on 33 opportunities (33.3). Peter Swindell (Gr / M)owns a team-high 4 extra-man goals, while Olmstead has 3. The Greyhounds' man-down unit is ranked ninth, stopping 76.9 percent of its opponent's opportunities (20 of 26).

Navy vs. Loyola - The Series
• Loyola and Navy are meeting for the 14th time overall and the eighth since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2014. Saturday's contest will mark the second meeting this season between the two programs. Loyola posted a 14-10 victory over the Mids two weeks ago in Annapolis.
• Loyola owns a 9-4 series advantage, winning 9 of the last 10 meetings. Navy's 10-9 win over the Greyhounds at home in 2016 marked its first win over Loyola since 1943 and only win since the Greyhounds joined the league.
• Saturday's contest marks just the fifth game played at Loyola with the Greyhounds winning all four - 2011 (9-8), 2015 (17-7), 2017 (18-7), 2019 (14-10).
• The two programs first met on May 6, 1939, with Navy posting a 14-4 victory. The Mids also took wins over Loyola in 1942 (12-8) and 1943 (8-1). However, the two teams would not meet again until the NCAA Tournament in 1993. The Greyhounds dealt the Mids a 19-8 to end their season.
• The series was rekindled in 2010 with Loyola scoring an 8-7 decision in overtime and a year later the Greyhounds earned a 9-8 come-from-behind win over the Mids in Baltimore.