In a vote cast by the league's coaches and sports information directors, the Navy men's lacrosse team has been picked to finish fourth in the 2022 Patriot League Preseason Poll, it was announced by the conference office Monday afternoon. Additionally, Navy midfielder Patrick Skalniak (Jr / Dallas, Texas) and defenseman Jackson Bonitz (So / Shrewsbury, Pa.) were named to the preseason all-league team.     

Breaking Down the Poll
Loyola secured 14 of the 18 first-place votes (eligible for only 16 due to not being able to vote for your own team) and amassed 126 points to top the poll for a ninth-consecutive year, which coincidentally is also its ninth season as a member of the league. Since its arrival in 2014, Loyola has won at least a share of the regular-season title every year except one (2015) and has won the tournament crown four times (2014-16-17-18).  

Lehigh, who was the Patriot League's automatic qualifier for the 2021 NCAA Championship, earned 109 points and a pair of first-place votes to finish second in the balloting. Army, meanwhile, accounted for the two remaining first-place votes and posted 105 points to finish third. Navy was fourth with 87 points, followed by Boston U. (69), Colgate (53), Bucknell (49), Lafayette (26) and Holy Cross (16).

Navy in the Patriot League
The Mids have won at least a share of the regular-season Patriot League title in eight of the 17 seasons (2004-05-06-07-08-15-16-18) they have been a member of the conference, including three of the previously-played five seasons (does not count 2020 or '21 when no winner was crowned). Meanwhile Navy has compiled an 11-8 record in the Patriot League Tournament to earn five conference tournament crowns (2004-05-06-07-09). Navy has amassed a 78-39 (66.7) 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 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team was also unveiled and headlining the 16-player team were the Patriot League's Preseason Players of the Year -  Offense (Brendan Nichtern / Army / Sr), Defense (Marcus Hudgins / Army / Sr), Goalkeeper (Wyatt Schupler / Army / Sr) and Faceoff (Mike Sisselberger / Lehigh / Sr).

The 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team is comprised of four grad students, nine seniors, two juniors and a sophomore. Five of the nine teams placed players on the preseason team, including Loyola who has a league-best six selections. Army has four, followed by Lehigh with three, Navy with two and Bucknell with one.

Patrick Skalniak garnered First-Team All-Patriot League honors a year ago after closing out the 2021 campaign as the Mids' second-leading scorer with 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists. A starter in every game in which he has played over his career (14 gms = 5 Fr // 9 So), he owns the team's longest active point streak having produced at least one point in 14-consecutive games. He has produced 34 points on 17 goals and 17 assists during that timeframe, scoring goals in 11 of the 14 games.

Jackson Bonitz, who is the only sophomore on the league's preseason team, was named a Second-Team All-Patriot defenseman last season, becoming just the third Navy freshman to garner All-Patriot League accolades (2007 Basil Daratsos, 2014 Brady Dove). He was part of a defensive unit that was ranked #11 in the country and #3 in the Patriot League in scoring defense (10.00) and #23 nationally (#2 in the PL) in man-down defense (20 of 29, 69.0). He finished his rookie campaign second on the team in caused turnovers (10) and fourth in ground balls, while his 10 takeaways ranked as the fifth most by a Navy freshman in program history.

More on the Mids
Third-year head coach Joe Amplo leads a Navy squad that returns six starters off a team that finished the 2021 season with a 6-3 record and a 4-2 mark in Patriot League action. The Midshipmen return the bulk of their offense, as five of their top six scorers return including First-Team All-Patriot League midfielder Patrick Skalniak who turned in 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists. Also returning to the offensive lineup are starting midfielders Dane Swanson (So / 5G-3A=8P) and Max Hewitt (So / 6-1=7), along with attackmen Jon Jarosz (So / 12-5=17) and Nick Cole (Sr / 6-9=15). Navy received a boost at the turn of the calendar when it was revealed Xavier Arline would join the team this spring. Arline, who plays quarterback for the Midshipmen football team, was a five-star lacrosse recruit who was ranked #5 overall and #4 among attackman on the Inside Lacrosse Power 100 Incoming Recruits heading into the 2020-21 academic year. Additionally, look for rookie Henry Tolker to have an early impact at attack for the Mids. Navy will, however, need to fill the void left by Christian Daniel, a four-year starting attackman who paced the Mids last season with 31 points on 16 goals and 15 assists.

While Navy looks to be set on the offensive side of the field, the defense took a hit with the graduation of its starting goalkeeper (Spencer Rees), two of its three starting close defensemen (Nick Franchuk, Andrew McKenna), its long-stick midfielder (Jeff Durden) and its two short-stick defensive middies (Tim Griffin, Colin Meehan). Second-Team All-Patriot League defenseman Jackson Bonitz will serve as the leader as Amplo rebuilds his defensive unit. Nick LiCalzi (So) and Kyle Fairbanks (Sr) are expected to join Bonitz at close defense, while Bobby Kittelberger (Fr) and Zach Snider (Jr) will serve as long-stick midfielders. Augie Fratt (Sr), Henry Rentz (Jr) and Ryan Chase (Sr) will look to fill the short-stick defensive midfield positions. Pat Ryan (Jr), Gabe Craven (So) and Ryan Verducci (Sr), meanwhile, are battling one another for the starting goalkeeper left vacant by the graduation of All-American Spencer Rees.

The Mids return their full complement of faceoff specialists, including Jacob Jarosz (Sr) who took 132 of Navy's 217 draws and won 53.8 percent (71-132) of the faceoffs he took.

Navy will play a 14-game regular-season schedule for the first time in program history and will feature seven home games. Additionally, after a four-year interruption, Navy and Johns Hopkins will rekindle their series which dates back to 1908 and has featured 90 meetings. The two last met on Feb. 7, 2017 in Baltimore. The Mids and Blue Jays were due to play one another in 2020, however, just a day prior to their scheduled contest the pandemic arrived on American soil and the season came to an abrupt end. The two programs will meet in Baltimore on March 18 (7:00 pm).

Season Opener Fast Approaching
Navy will open its 115th year of varsity lacrosse when it plays host to Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at 12:00 pm. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and will also be carried on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller on the call.

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. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under, while groups of 20 or more will be offered a discounted ticket (in advance only, contact Jordan Albright at 410-293-8791 / grouptickets@usna.edu). Additionally there is a $5 charge to park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for all games except the Loyola game and that will be $10.

2022 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1. Loyola, 126 points (14 first-place votes)
2. Lehigh, 109 (2)
3. Army, 105 (2)
4. Navy, 87
5. Boston U., 69
6. Colgate, 53
7. Bucknell, 49
8. Lafayette, 26
9. Holy Cross, 16

2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team
A - Brendan Nichtern, Army (Sr)
A - Tommy Schelling, Lehigh (Sr)
A - Kevin Lindley, Loyola (Gr)
A - Aidan Olmstead, Loyola (Gr)
M - Bobby Abshire, Army (Sr)
M - Harry Wellford, Bucknell (Sr)
M - Evan James, Loyola (Jr)
M - Patrick Skalniak, Navy (Jr)
D - Marcus Hudgins, Army (Sr)
D - Teddy Leggett, Lehigh (Gr)
D - Cam Wyers, Loyola (Sr)
D - Jackson Bonitz, Navy (So)
GK - Wyatt Schupler, Army (Sr)
FO - Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh (Sr)
LSM - Ryan McNulty, Loyola (Gr)
SSM - Payton Rezanka, Loyola (Sr)

Preseason Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year:  Brendan Nichtern, Army (Sr, A)
Preseason Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year:  Marcus Hudgins, Army (Sr, D)
Preseason Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year:  Wyatt Schupler, Army (Sr)
Preseason Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year:  Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh (Sr)

### Go Navy ###