Setting the Stage
• Inside the Game: Navy (6-3, 2-1 Patriot League) will look to extend its three-game winning streak when it heads to Massachusetts to battle league-leader and 14th-ranked Boston University (7-1, 4-0 Patriot League) Saturday at Nickerson Field. Faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm. The Mids are led by Joe Amplo, who owns a 15-8 record in three seasons at the helm of the Navy program, while Ryan Polley has posted a 63-56 record in nine seasons as the Terriers' head coach.
• Follow the Action: Saturday's contest will be streamed via ESPN+ (subscription based) with Craig White and Leverett Ball on the call. Additionally, the game will be carried live on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Pete Medhurst on the call. Coverage begins at 11:45 am with the Navy Lacrosse Pregame Show. Live stats will also be available on NavySports.com(.)

Game Day Storylines
• Defense Takes Center Stage: Saturday's contest will feature two of the best defensive units in the country as Navy and BU are tied for #3 in the nation in scoring defense (9.00 goals / gm). All-Patriot League defenseman Jackson Bonitz (So) has served as the backbone of an inexperienced Navy defensive unit this spring. Bonitz, who leads the team with 14 takeaways, is joined by first-year starters at goalkeeper (Pat Ryan), close defense (Kyle Fairbanks, Nick LiCalzi), long-stick midfielder (Zach Snider) and short-stick defensive midfielder (Ryan Chase, Henry Rentz, Augie Fratt).
• BU Undefeated at Home: Boston U. is undefeated at Nickerson Field this season, boasting a 5-0 mark at home including a 2-0 record in Patriot League play. Navy has only 6 players who have faced the Terriers in the past, but no player on the Mids' roster has played BU on its home field.
• 23-Game Scoring Streaks on the Line: Navy's Patrick Skalniak (Jr / M) and Boston U.'s Vince D'Alto both enter Saturday's contest boasting 23-game point-scoring streaks. Skalniak, Navy's leading scorer this season with 36 points on 21 goals and 15 assists, has amassed 70 points on 38 goals and 32 assists during his 23-game streak. D'Alto (Jr / A), BU's leading scorer with 48 points on 27 goals and 21 assists, reached the 100-point milestone last weekend and has 111 points on 64 goals and 47 assists.
• 30-Point Midfielders: Patrick Skalniak (Jr) became the program's 17th different midfielder to reach 30 points in a season when he contributed 6 points (3G, 3A) in the Mids' 11-10 win at Johns Hopkins (3.18). Skalniak stands 10th on the Mids' single-season scoring chart by midfielders with a team-high 36 points (21-15). Only 4 midfielders in school history have registered 40 or more points in a season - 44 by Bob DeSimone (1975), 48 by Ryan Wade (2019), 53 by Glen Miles (1986) and 53 by Brian Keith (1989). Dane Swanson (So), meanwhile, needs just 7 points to join Skalniak on the list.
• Tolker Picks Up League Honor: For the second time this season, Henry Tolker (Fr / A) has been named the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Rookie of the Week. Tolker is the 16th different Navy player to earn rookie of the week honors since the Mids joined the Patriot League in 2004 and joins teammate Jon Jarosz (So / A) and 2014 graduate Tucker Hull as the only Mids to be presented the award multiple times. Tolker paced the Mids with a career-high 4 goals in their 14-8 victory over league foe Holy Cross last Saturday. He scored 3 goals during Navy's 5-1 run in the second quarter, including his first of the day just 41 seconds into the frame that sparked the run. He also played a key role in keeping possessions alive for Navy, picking up a career-high 7 ground balls including 3 that maintained possession and would lead to eventual goals by the Mids.
• Tolker Eyes Freshman Top-10 Lists: Henry Tolker (Fr / A) is on the verge of joining the ranks of some of the best rookies in program history. A starter in 8 of the 9 games this season, he has amassed 23 points on 17 goals and 6 assists. Tolker needs 7 points to become only the 14th freshman in Navy history to reach 30 points. Meanwhile, he is 5 goals shy of reaching the top 10 in goals by a freshman and 4 assists shy of joining that list, as well.

Scouting Boston U.
• Ninth-year Boston U. head coach Ryan Polley has guided the Terriers to a 7-1 record, including a 4-0 mark in the Patriot League this season. The Terriers have been rewarded over the last few weeks, entering the national polls where they stand 14th in both the USILA Coaches Poll, as well as the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
• The Terriers won their first 6 contests before nationally-ranked Harvard dealt BU its first loss (13-10) a week ago.
• BU Is 5-0 at home this season and has outscored its opponents 74-43 at Nickerson Field. The fewest goals the Terriers have scored at home were 12 against Merrimack in the opener and 12 against Bucknell. The fewest they have scored this season overall was 10 in a loss to Harvard in Cambridge.
• BU is ranked among the nation's top 20 in 10 of the 15 statistical categories, including No. 1 in caused turnovers per game (12.62). Roy Meyer (Jr / LSM) stands #2 nationally, averaging 3.12 takeaways per game, while Patrick Morrison (Jr / D) is 19th and averaging 1.75 CT/gm.
• Defensively, the Terriers are holding their opponents to just 9.00 goals per game which stands #3 nationally. They have held 4 of their 8 foes to single digits, however, they have given up double figures to each of their last 3 opponents (have won 2 of the 3).
• Netminder Matt Garber (Sr) owns 102 saves, while yielding 71 goals in his 8 starters. He stands #6 nationally in goals-against average (9.16), #3 in save percentage (59.0) and #16 in saves per game (12.75).
• BU's offense, meanwhile, has been every bit as impressive, averaging 14.75 goals per game (#9), and features two of the most dynamic attackmen in the country. Vince D'Alto (Jr) is #5 in the country in points per game (6.00), #8 in assists per game (2.62) and #11 in goals per game (3.38). D'Alto is coming off a program-record 14-point performance (7G, 7A) in BU's win over Lafayette. He's just the eighth DI men's player to record at least 14 points in a game and only the third in the last 25 years. Additionally, he reached the 100-point milestone for his career (111 / 23 gms) against the Leopards. He has produced a point in all 23 games in which he has played and enters the weekend riding a 21-game goal-scoring streak.
• Meanwhile, Timmy Ley (Sr) is #19 in points per game (4.88), #25 in assists per game (2.00) and  #34 in goals per game (2.88).
• Conor Calderone (Jr) is ranked #8 nationally in faceoff winning percentage. He has won 128 of the 208 draws (61.5) he has taken - which is all but 5 this season. He leads the team with 62 ground balls, averaging the 12th most (7.75) in the country.
• The area in which Boston U. has to fine-tune is turnovers. The Terriers are averaging 19.12 turnovers per contest and rank #64 nationally.

Navy vs. Boston U. - The Series
• Meeting for the seventh time overall and the first since 2019, Navy holds a 4-2 advantage in the series.
• The 2020 season was shut down 2 weeks prior to when Navy and the Terriers were to have met. Last year, the Patriot League utilized divisions to limit travel because of COVID. Navy did not play Boston U., Colgate or Holy Cross.
• Saturday's contest will mark the fourth meeting between the two programs in Boston with Navy winning 2 of the 3 previously played contests (2014, W 13-7 / 2016, L 10-9 OT2 / 2018, W, 10-8).
• 3 of the last 4 games between Navy and Boston U. have been decided by a goal, while the last 4 meetings have been decided by a combined 5 goals. The teams have split those 4 contests - 2016, Boston U. 10-9 OT2 / 2017, Boston U. 8-7 / 2018, Navy 10-8 / 2019, Navy 13-12.