Setting the Stage
• Inside the Game: After knocking off 17th-ranked Boston University last week in Annapolis, Navy (5-6, 2-2 Patriot League) will look to carry that momentum into Friday evening's nationally-televised game against #13 Loyola (6-3, 3-1 Patriot League). Faceoff is set for 7:00 pm at Ridley Athletic Complex. Joe Amplo owns a 23-17 record in his four years at the helm of the Navy program, while the Greyhounds are under the direction of Charley Toomey who is in his 18th year (174-88).
• Follow the Action: Friday's contest will be televised by CBS Sports Network with Brent Stover and Evan Washburn on the call. Additionally, the game will be carried live on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Pete Medhurst and
Joe Miller. Radio coverage begins at 6:45 pm with the Navy Lacrosse Pregame Show. Live stats will also be available on NavySports.com(.)
Navy Quick Hits
• Changing Lineup: An injury-riddled Navy team has used 7 different starting lineups in its 11 games this spring, including a different lineup in 6 of its last 7 contests.
Mac Haley (Fr / A),
Max Hewitt (Jr / M) and
Jackson Bonitz (Jr / D) are the only players to have started all 10 games for the Mids this season. Navy swapped starting keepers (
Pat Ryan,
Dan Daly) and attackmen (
Henry Tolker,
Jon Jarosz) in the first two games before settling into its original lineup for games against Hofstra, Manhattan and High Point. Navy suffered its first major injury of the season against High Point and has seen injuries mount over the last month.
• Poll Busters: Navy owns a 163-208 all-time record against teams ranked in the top 25. Navy earned its first win this season over a ranked team last Friday when it posted a 10-8 victory over #17 Boston University. The Mids are 9-5 against teams who have been ranked #13 at the time of the contest, winning its last matchup by a 10-7 count over #13 Army in the annual Star Game on April 4, 2015.
• Lax Under the Lights: The Loyola contest will mark Navy's third game played under the lights and also its third played on a Friday evening. The Mids will play 3 of their 4 remaining regular-season games under the lights. The Loyola game is set for a 7:00 pm start on CBS Sports Network, while the April 22 game against Army in Annapolis will also be broadcast by CBS Sports Network with a 7:00 pm faceoff. Navy's regular-season finale at Bucknell on April 28 will be played at 7:30 pm. The only game over the next month that is not a night game will be the April 15 home game against Lafayette which is the second game of a men's and women's doubleheader and is slated to begin at 3:30 pm. Navy's home games against Johns Hopkins (3.17) and Boston U. (3.31) were also played under the lights.
• Hewitt Tracking 30: Last year's starting midfield trio was one for the record books, as
Patrick Skalniak (Sr / 28-20=48),
Dane Swanson (Jr / 21-17=38) and
Max Hewitt (Jr / 20-12=32) all finished the season with at least 30 points. It marked the first time in program history that 3 midfielders reached the 30-point milestone in the same season. As Navy's leading scorer (18-8=26) this spring, Hewitt is 4 points away from adding his name to the 30-point midfielder list for a second time. He is looking to become just the eighth midfielder in school history to score 30 points multiple times a career - Torain (2017-18-19), Ryan Wade (2018-19), Graham Gill (2004-05), Jamie Slough (1992-93-94), Brian Keith (1989-90), Glen Miles (1984-86) and Mike Chanenchuk (1977-78-79).
• Haley Eyes Freshman Top-10 Lists: Mac Haley (Fr / A) is on the verge of joining the ranks of some of the best rookies in program history. A starter in all 11 contests this season, he is the team's third-leading scorer with 22 points on 14 goals and 8 assists. Haley needs 8 points to become only the 15th freshman in Navy history to reach 30 points. Meanwhile, he is 9 goals shy of reaching the top 10 in goals by a freshman and 3 assists shy of joining that list, as well.
• Bonitz Named to USILA National Team of the Week: Navy was stellar in all facets of its game against Boston U. a week ago, but
Jackson Bonitz (Jr / D) helped the defense set the tone. The Mids held the Terriers, the nation's 8th-ranked scoring offense (14.75), to single digits for the first time since last year's NCAA Tournament game against Princeton. Meanwhile, Bonitz held Vince D'Alto, the Terriers' leading scorer and the nation's sixth-ranked point producer (5.25) without a goal for just the third time in his career (Ohio State '20, Princeton '22). Additionally, he held D'Alto without a point for 58 minutes before he dealt out an assist on Boston U.'s final goal of the game with 1:16 remaining. For his efforts, Bonitz was named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) National Team of the Week which recognizes the 10 best individual performances from the previous week by players around the country.
Navy vs. Loyola - The Series
• Loyola and Navy are meeting for the 17th time overall and the 11th since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2014.
• Loyola owns an 11-5 series advantage, winning 11 of the last 13 meetings. Navy's 14-12 win over the Greyhounds in 2021 marked just the second win over Loyola since 1943. The 14-12 victory on April 17, 2021 also marked the first by Navy on Loyola's home field.
• Friday's contest will be the seventh game in the series played in Baltimore with the Greyhounds leading 5-1.
• 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.
Scouting Loyola
• Eighteenth-year Loyola head coach Charley Toomey has guided the Greyhounds to a 6-3 record this spring, including a 3-1 mark in the Patriot League.
• The Greyhounds began the season with two huge wins, roughing up top-ranked Maryland 12-7 in opener followed by a 13-8 win over Johns Hopkins. Since those two victories, Loyola has gone 1-2 in nonconference action. Meanwhile, the Hounds have captured Patriot League wins over Lafayette (15-11), Bucknell (14-13) and Holy Cross (15-8), while their only blemish came at the hands of Army (10-5).
• Loyola is ranked among the nation's top 20 in 5 statistical categories - #13 turnovers per game (15.00), #15 scoring defense (10.56), #16 saves per game (13.67), #16 clearing percentage (89.3) and #17 caused turnovers per game (9.33). On the flip side, the two areas the Greyhounds have struggled with this season have been faceoffs (#61, 42.5) and man-down defense (#69, 47.1).
• Loyola ranks 42nd nationally and 4th in the Patriot League in scoring offense, averaging 11.22 goals per game. Leading the way for the Greyhounds is Matthew Minicus (Fr / A) who owns 29 points on a team-best 23 goals and 6 assists. Davis Lindsey (Jr / A) and Adam Poitras (Sr / M) are separated by just 2 points with Lindsey posting 22 points on 9 goals and a team-high 13 assists, while Poitras has 20 points on 13 goals and 7 assists.
• As previously mentioned, the Greyhounds are ranked 15th nationally and 2nd in the league in scoring defense, giving up 10.56 goals per game. After holding both Maryland and Johns Hopkins to single digits, 6 of Loyola's last 7 opponents have scored in double figures. Luke Staudt (Jr / GK) has started each of the 8 games in which he has played between the pipes. He owns a 1046 goals-against average and a 57.3 save percentage.
• Matt Hughes (Gr / D) leads the team with 15 caused turnovers, while Cam Wyers (Gr / D) has 14 takeaways and Payton Rezanka (Gr / SSDM) has 13. The 3 have combined to play 170 games and have amassed 195 caused turnovers - Hughes 45 gms, 57 CT / Wyers 62, 71 / Rezanka 63, 67.
• Eric Pacheco (Sr / FO) has taken 185 of the 228 draws for Loyola. He owns a 44.3 winning percentage (82-185) and leads the team with 55 ground balls. Chris Cottone (Sr / FO) has taken the remaining 43 draws, winning 34.9 percent.
Program Ties
• Long-time friends Joe Amplo and Charley Toomey share the same sideline as assistant coaches for the US National Team, however, the two will coach from opposite sidelines on Friday evening. The two first met as opposing head coaches on April 3, 2021, when Loyola traveled to Annapolis to play the Mids. Navy and Loyola faced each other three times in 2021, splitting the regular-season contests while Loyola beat Navy in the Patriot League Tournament. The Hounds bested the Mids in last year's contest in Annapolis. This will be the fifth time the two have faced one another as opposing head coaches (Amplo 1-3).
• Amplo and Toomey, along with fellow US National Team assistant coach Seth Tierney, collaborated with head coach John Danowski to raise money and help support their local community's frontline workers during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020. Amplo and Toomey partnered with Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Danowski worked with the Duke University Medical Center in Durham and Tierney connected with Northwell Health on Long Island. The coaches joined forces with local restaurants to provide meals to healthcare workers, while Amplo and Toomey made Easter baskets for the employees to give to their families.
• Toomey served as the Naval Academy Prep School head coach during the 1993 season before joining the Navy coaching staff as an assistant for two years. He served under Bryan Matthews (1994) and Richie Meade (1995).
Navy to Host 2023 NCAA Quarterfinals
• Albany (Saturday, May 20) and Navy (Sunday, May 21) will be the host sites for this year's NCAA Quarterfinal games. Navy has previously hosted the quarterfinal round 6 times - 2007, '08, '09, '12, '15, '18. Navy will also host quarterfinal games in 2025.
• Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., will be the site of the 2023 Division I semifinals and final, in addition to the Divisions II and III national championship games. These championships will represent the seventh time the home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles has hosted the event. The championships also took place there in 2005, '06, '13, '15, '16 and '19. Drexel will serve as the host school.
• Tickets ($25 adults / $20 youth) may be purchased online at NavySports.com(.)
