In a vote cast by the league's coaches and sports information directors, the Navy men's lacrosse team has been picked to finish third in the 2023 Patriot League Preseason Poll, it was announced by the conference office Wednesday morning. Additionally, Navy's returning All-Americans Patrick Skalniak (Sr / M / Dallas, Texas) and Jackson Bonitz (Jr / D / Shrewsbury, Pa.) were named to the preseason all-league team.     

Breaking Down the Poll
Defending Patriot League Champion Boston University secured 15 of the 18 first-place votes (eligible for only 16 due to not being able to vote for your own team) and amassed 127 points to top the poll for the first time in league history. It's the first time since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2014 that the Greyhounds were not the preseason favorite.

Loyola, who has won at least a share of the regular-season title in 7 of its 9 years as a member of the league, earned 105 points and a first-place vote to finish second in the balloting. Navy accounted for the two remaining first-place votes and posted 92 points to finish third. Army was fourth with 87 points, followed by Lehigh (84), Bucknell (54), Colgate (46), Lafayette (37) 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 8 (2004-05-06-07-08-15-16-18) of the 18 seasons they have been a member of the conference. Meanwhile Navy has compiled an 11-9 record in the Patriot League Tournament to earn 5 conference tournament crowns (2004-05-06-07-09). Navy has amassed a 83-42 (66.4) 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 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Team was also unveiled and headlining the 16-player team were the Patriot League's Preseason Players of the Year which were dominated by Boston U. -  Offense (Vince D'Alto / Boston U. / Sr), Defense (Roy Meyer / Boston U. / Sr), Goalkeeper (Matt Garber / Boston U. / Gr) and Faceoff (Mike Sisselberger / Lehigh / Gr).

The 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Team is comprised of 6 grad students, 4 seniors, 4 juniors and 2 sophomores. Seven of the 9 teams placed players on the preseason team, including Boston U. who was the only team to have more than 2 players recognized. Army, Lehigh, Loyola and Navy had 2 apiece, while Bucknell and Lafayette had one player each.

Patrick Skalniak is a two-time First-Team All-Patriot League midfielder, who garnered 2022 All-America honors from USA Lacrosse Magazine (Third Team), Inside Lacrosse (Honorable Mention) and the USILA (Honorable Mention). He led the Mids last spring with 48 points on a team-best 28 goals and 20 assists. He closed out the season as one of just five midfielders in the program's 115-year history to reach 40 points in a single season with his 48 points tying Ryan Wade (2019) as the third most by a Navy midfielder. Additionally, Skalniak joined forces with Dane Swanson (Jr / St. Mary's City, Md.) and Max Hewitt (Jr / Denver, Colo.) to become the first midfield trio in school history to each reach 30 points.

Skalniak, who enters his senior campaign having produced a point in each of the 29 games Navy has played since his arrival in 2020, has scored a goal in 22 contests and dealt out assists in 23. Voted a co-captain for the 2023 season, he needs 18 points to become the 37th player in program history to reach 100-career points.

Jackson Bonitz is a two-time All-Patriot League defenseman (2022 First Team, 2021 Second Team), who concluded the 2022 campaign by receiving All-America recognition from USA Lacrosse Magazine (Third Team), Inside Lacrosse (Honorable Mention) and the USILA (Honorable Mention). He was the cornerstone to an exceptionally young defensive unit as the lone returning starter among the entire defense (close defense, long-stick midfield, short-stick defensive midfield, goalkeeper). The Mids finished the 2022 season ranked #12 nationally and #2 in the Patriot League in scoring defense, allowing 10.13 goals per game. Navy held 6 of its 15 opponents to single digits, earning victories in each of the six. Navy's defense held three-consecutive opponents to 6 or fewer goals (5 by Mercer, 6 by Hofstra, 6 by Manhattan), marking the first time the Mids have achieved that mark since holding six-straight foes to 5 or fewer goals in 2008. Bonitz led the team with 18 caused turnovers which tied for the 10th most in program history, while his 28-career takeaways is the13th-best mark on the Mids' all-time leader board.

Bonitz also spent the summer gearing up for the U21 World Lacrosse Championship in Limerick, Ireland where he and his Team USA teammates won gold. He helped anchor a defensive unit that held 6 of its 7 opponents to 5 or fewer goals, while he also was active on the offensive end of the field, scoring a pair of goals.

Both players have also earned 2023 Preseason Third-Team All-America honors from both USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse.

More on the Mids
Fourth-year head coach Joe Amplo leads a Navy squad that returns 9 of his 10 starters off a team that finished the 2022 season with a 9-6 record and a 5-3 mark in Patriot League action. The Midshipmen return the bulk of their offense, as 5 of their top 6 scorers return including First-Team All-Patriot League midfielder Patrick Skalniak who turned in 48 points on 28 goals and 20 assists. Also returning to the offensive lineup are starting midfielders Dane Swanson (Jr / 21G-17A=38P) and Max Hewitt (Jr / 20-12=32), along with attackmen Henry Tolker (So / 23-11=34) and Jon Jarosz (Jr / 13-1=14). Navy will also reap the benefits of having attackman Xavier Arline back on the team this spring. Arline, who plays quarterback for the Midshipmen football team and started the final 4 games of the 2022 season, was a five-star lacrosse recruit who played in 6 games for the lacrosse team a year ago and helped lead the Midshipmen to the star against Army with a 2-goal, 2-assist performance. Additionally, look for rookie Mac Haley to have an early impact at attack for the Mids. Navy will, however, need to fill the void left by Nick Cole, a four-year starting attackman who turned in 38 points on 17 goals and 21 assists a year ago.

After fielding one of the youngest defensive units in the country a year ago, Navy returns starters in goal (Pat Ryan / Sr), at close defense (Jackson Bonitz / Jr, Kyle Fairbanks / Sr, Nick LiCalzi / Jr) and at long-stick midfielder (Zach Snider / Sr). Navy lost short-stick defensive midfielders Augie Fratt and Ryan Chase to graduation, however Henry Rentz (Sr) and Jack Norton (So) saw extensive time at the position last spring. Bobby Kittelberger (So), who suffered a season-ending knee injury after the opener a year ago, will provide depth at the long-stick midfielder along with newcomer Sean Gallagher (Fr). AJ Hernandez (Fr) is also a fresh face who could factor into the lineup at close defense, while Jackson Peters (Jr) and Gavin Gregorek-Ali (So) are expected to contribute as short-stick defensive middies.

Nate Hammond (Sr) who took 186 of Navy's 364 draws a year ago, winning 49.5 percent, while Anthony Ghobriel (So) returns healthy after missing all of fall ball and the first 2 months of the spring season a year ago. Ghobriel is expected to replace Jacob Jarosz (53-110, 48.2) who served as Hammond's complement.

Navy will play a 15-game regular-season schedule for the first time in program history and will feature 8 home games. The home schedule includes nonconference games against Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 4 / 12:00 pm), Queens (Feb. 5 / 12:00 pm), Manhattan (Feb. 18 / 12:00 pm) and Johns Hopkins (March 17 / 7:00 pm), along with Patriot League contests against Lehigh (March 4 / 12:00 pm), Boston U. (March 31 / 7:30 pm), Lafayette (April 15 / 3:30 pm) and Army (April 22 / 7:00 pm).

The Patriot League Tournament is set to begin on Tuesday, May 2 with the quarterfinals, while the semifinals will be played on May 5 (4:00 / 7:00 pm) and the championship on May 7 (12:00 pm).

All home men's lacrosse games are tentatively scheduled to either be streamed on ESPN+ or televised by CBS Sports Network with radio coverage on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV. Please check the schedule on NavySports.com for more information on multimedia coverage for Navy's entire 2023 schedule.

Season Opener Fast Approaching
Navy will open its 116th year of varsity lacrosse the weekend of Feb. 4 when it plays host to Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 4 / 12:00 pm) and Queens University (Feb. 5 / 12:00 pm). Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and will also be carried on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Pete Medhurst and/or 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 (Army will be $15/$10), 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 $10 charge to park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for all games.

2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1. Boston U., 127 points (15 first-place votes)
2. Loyola, 105 (1)
3. Navy, 92 (2)
4. Army, 87
5. Lehigh, 84
6. Bucknell, 54
7. Colgate, 46
8. Lafayette, 37
9. Holy Cross, 16

2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Team
A - Vince D'Alto, Boston U. (Sr)
A - Timmy Ley, Boston U. (Gr)
A - Connor Davis, Bucknell (So)
A - Peter Lehman, Lafayette (Jr)
M - Jake Morin, Army (Jr)
M - Jack Cates, Boston U. (Gr)
M - Scott Cole, Lehigh (Jr)
M - Patrick Skalniak, Navy (Sr)
D - AJ Pilate, Army (So)
D - Patrick Morrison, Boston U. (Sr)
D - Cam Wyers, Loyola (Gr)
D - Jackson Bonitz, Navy (Jr)
GK - Matt Garber, Boston U. (Gr)
FO - Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh (Gr)
LSM - Roy Meyer, Boston U. (Sr)
SSM - Payton Rezanka, Loyola (Gr)

Preseason Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year:  Vince D'Alto, Boston U. (Sr, A)
Preseason Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year:  Roy Meyer, Boston U. (Sr, LSM)
Preseason Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year:  Matt Garber, Boston U. (Gr)
Preseason Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year:  Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh (Gr)

### Go Navy ###