Setting the Stage
• Opening Draw: Navy (2-1, 0-0 Patriot League) will face its 2nd ranked opponent of the season when it plays host to #11/10 Penn State (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm. Navy is led by Joe Amplo, who has put together a 45-34 record in his 7 seasons at the helm of the Mids' program, while the Penn State's Jeff Tambroni owns a 132-88 mark in 16 seasons leading the Nittany Lions. Saturday's contest marks the 41st meeting (Navy leads 36-4) between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1919.
• Follow the Action: The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription based) with Joe Miller on the call. Due to the Army-Navy men's (1:30 pm) and women's (11:00 am) basketball doubleheader at West Point, there will be no radio coverage of Saturday's contest. Live stats will also be available on NavySports.com(.)  

Countdown to Faceoff
10    Both Navy and Penn State boast faceoff units that are ranked among the nation's top 10. Navy is ranked #6, winning 65.1 percent of its draws (56-86), while Penn State stands 8th, winning 62.2 percent (56-90).
9    Navy and Penn State have both scored 44 goals through 3 games this season and are ranked 9th nationally in scoring offense (14.67 G/Gm).
8    Mac Haley (Sr / A) has scored a goal in each of the last 8 contests dating back to last year's regular-season game against Lafayette (4-4-25). He has scored 17 goals during that stretch.
7    With his 7-point performance against VMI on Tuesday night, Mac Haley (Sr / A) became the 39th player in program history to reach 100 points for his career. He has amassed 103 points on 54 goals and 49 assists over 47 contests.
6    William Goers (So / A) has appeared in 18 games at Navy where he has posted 6 multiple-assist games and 6 multiple-goal games. He has a pair of multiple-goal games this season, including a 6-goal performance against VMI on Tuesday.
5    Navy is the 5th-oldest (119th year) and 5th-winningest (848-398-14) program in NCAA Div. I men's lacrosse history. Penn State is the 6th oldest program now in its 113th year (594-560-8)
4    With his 8 faceoff wins on Tuesday against VMI, Zach Hayashi (Jr / FO) became the 4th player in program history to reach 300-career wins. He needs just 10 more wins to move into a tie for 3rd alongside William Wallace (313 / 2003-07) on Navy's all-time faceoff wins list.
3    AJ Marsh (Jr / D) stands 3rd on Navy's all-time points scored by a Navy pole (D/LSM) leader board with 14 (7G, 7A). He is chasing 2nd-place Pat Kiernan (17 / 2011-14) and record holder Matt Rees (19 / 2014-17).
2    During the Joe Amplo era, Navy has lost just 2 games when holding its opponent to single digits. The Mids are 30-2 when achieving that feat since 2020. 
1    While this will be the 31st game played between Navy and Penn State in Annapolis, the Mids have only lost once to the Nittany Lions on their home field (30-1 / Feb. 24, 2024, L 13-3). 

About the Series
• Saturday's contest between Navy and Penn State marks the 41st game in a series that dates back to 1919. The two programs had not met  since 2003 when the two were members of the ECAC Lacrosse League, but rekindled the series 2 years ago when Penn State defeated the Mids 13-3 in Annapolis.
• Navy and Penn State are the 5th and 6th-oldest programs, respectively, in terms of how many years they have had varsity programs. This is Navy's 119th year (848-398-14), while Penn State is in its 113th season (594-560-8).
• Navy has dominated the series 36-4 and holds a 30-1 advantage in games played in University Park.
• Navy won each of the first 32 games, including the inaugural meeting which took place in Annapolis in 1919. The Mids claimed that first meeting 13-0.
• After meeting one another regularly in the 40s and 50s, the two programs took a break after the 1961 season and did not play one another again until 1992. They played in 1992 and 1993 and again stepped away from the series until 2002 when the two schools joined the ECAC Lacrosse League. Navy won 3 of the 4 games played against the Nittany Lions as members of the league with Penn State winning the final meeting as conference foes, a 5-4 decision in University Park on April 12, 2003.
• Since resurrecting the series 2024, Penn State has outscored the Mids 26-10, defeating Navy 13-3 in 2024 and 13-7 a year ago.
• This will be the 3rd time Navy's Joe Amplo has played Penn State as a head coach (Navy or Marquette). Meanwhile, Jeff Tambroni will face Navy for the 3rd time as the head coach at Penn State (2011-present / 2-0) and the 5th overall (1-1 at Cornell). Navy defeated Tambroni's Big Red squad 6-5  in the 2004 NCAA Quarterfinals in Ithaca to punch its ticket to the NCAA Semifinals. Cornell, meanwhile, captured an 8-7 overtime victory over the Mids in a neutral site game in Uniondale, N.Y. on Feb. 23, 2008.

Scouting Penn State
• In his 16th season leading the Penn State lacrosse program, head coach Jeff Tambroni has guided the Nittany Lions to a 2-1 record to date. Penn State opened with an 18-14 win over Colgate (14-9), but Villanova bested the Nittany Lions the following week in overtime 14-13. Penn State returned to form last weekend, however, routing 3rd-ranked Princeton on the Tigers' home field 13-7.
• Penn State lost its top-2 scorers from a year ago in Matt Traynor (44-17=61) and Ethan Long (19-18=37). That being said, the Nittany Lions return 4 of their 7 30-point scorers, including All-American and 2025 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Hunter Aquino (So / A). Aquino, who finished 2025 with 37 points on 16 goals and 21 assists, has produced a team-high 13 points on 10 goals and 3 assists this season.
• Meanwhile, Kyle Lehman, who tallied 33 points on 26 goals and 7 assists last season, stands 2nd on the team this year with 9 points on 6 goals and 3 assists. Phoenix, Md. native Jack Iannantuono (Fr / A) has also posted 9 points on 4 goals and a team-best 5 assists.
• Preston Hawkins (Fr) has stepped into a starting role in goal after the graduation of All-American Jack Fracyon. He owns a 10.81 goals-against average and a 44.4 save percentage through 3 games.
• The Nittany Lions' defense has recorded 21 caused turnovers already with Alex Ross (Sr / D) and Lucca DiBartolomeo (So / LSM) leading the way with 6 takeaways apiece.
• The two-headed monster of Colby Baldwin (Jr) and Reid Gills (So) have shared the faceoff duties this season. Baldwin has won 27 of the 46 draws (58.7) he has taken, while Gills is 29 for 44 (65.9) Both have grabbed 16 ground balls.

Program Ties
• Navy's Aydan DiRocco (So / A/M) and Penn State's Ryan DiRocco (Jr / A) are brothers. 
• The elder DiRocco spent the 2024 season as a member of the Army lacrosse program where he played in 3 contests. He started 5 of the 14 games he saw action in a year ago and scored 4 goals and added 4 assists. He's played in both contests this season and has 1 goal.
• Aydan DiRocco appeared in 9 games for the Mids a year ago where he scored 2 goals and had an assists. He has seen action in every game this season. He produced his 1st-career hat trick in the opener against Iona and turned in 2 goals and an assist against VMI.
• Navy's Quinn (Fr / A) and Mike (Fr / M) Anzelone and are cousins to Penn State's Jake Anzelone (Fr / LSM).
• Quinn Anzelone scored his 1st-collegiate goal in the Mids' opener, while Mike is recovering from an injury. Jake Anzelone has not seen action for the Nittany Lions this season.