Setting the Stage
• Opening Draw: Navy (3-1, 0-0 Patriot League) opens its conference slate on Saturday when it when it travels to Boston to battle the Terriers (2-2, 0-0 Patriot League). Faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm at Nickerson Field. Navy is led by Joe Amplo, who has put together a 46-34 record in his 7 seasons at the helm of the Mids' program, while BU's Ryan Polley has amassed a 99-76 record in 13 years as the program's only head coach. Saturday's contest marks the 11th meeting in a series that dates back to 2014 (Navy leads 7-3).
• Follow the Action: The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription based) with Jess Todd and Joe Braverman on the call.  The game will also be carried live on 1430 AM WNAV with Joe Miller on the call. Radio coverage begins at 1:45 pm with the Navy Lacrosse Pregame Show. Live stats will also be available on NavySports.com(.)  

Countdown to Faceoff
10  -  Dan Daly (Sr), who became just the 11th goalkeeper in program history to reach 400-career saves last week against #11 Penn State (10svs), needs 26 saves to move into 10th on Navy's all-time career saves list. He stands 11th with 401.
9 -   Mac Haley (Sr / A) owns a team-best 19-game point scoring streak (33G, 29A, 62Pts), including goals in each of the last 9 contests dating back to last year's regular-season game against Lafayette (4-4-25). 
8  -  Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title 8 times (2004-05-06-07-08-15-16-18) since joining the league in 2004.
7  -  With his 7-point performance against VMI last Tuesday, Mac Haley (Sr / A) became the 39th player in program history to reach 100 points for his career. He has amassed 108 points on 58 goals and 50 assists over 48 contests.
6  -  Saturday's contest marks the 6th time Navy has faced Boston U. in its Patriot League opener. The Mids are 3-2 in those contests (2-27-2016, L 10-9 2OT / 2-25-2017, L 8-7 / 2-24-2018, W 10-8 / 3-2-2024, W 16-9 / 3-1-2025, W 13-9) and have won 3 in a row.
5  -  Navy is the 5th-oldest (119th year) and 5th-winningest (850-398-14) program in NCAA Div. I men's lacrosse history.
4  -  With his 8 faceoff wins last week against VMI, Zach Hayashi (Jr / FO) became the 4th player in program history to reach 300-career wins. He needs just 7 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  -  Navy stands #1 in the conference in scoring offense (14.00), #1 in points per game (22.75) and #1 in assists per game (8.75).

Scouting Boston U.
• Thirteenth-year Boston U. head coach Ryan Polley has led the Terriers to a 2-2 record this season with wins over Siena (23-7) and Dartmouth (13-5) and losses to Syracuse (13-6) and Yale (16-11).
• The Terriers, who won the Patriot League title in 2022 and played in the tournament championship a year ago, have been picked to finish 2nd according to the 2026 Patriot League Preseason Poll.
• BU returns 5 of its top 6 scorers last year, including Timothy Shannehan (So / A) who produced 61 points (32G, 29A) as a freshman a year ago. He leads the team this year with 25 points on 13 goals and 12 assists. He is ranked 2nd nationally in points per game (6.25), 15th in goals per game (3.25) and 3rd in assists per game (3.00). Also returning is Jimmy Kohr (Sr / A), who was a 57-point scorer (43G, 14A) a year ago and has produced 10 points (8G, 2A) this season. 
• Newcomer and Calvert Hall College HS product Peyton Forte (Fr / A) has produced 12 points on 11 goals and an assist.
• Rooney, meanwhile, ranks #1 nationally in extra-man goals with 4 to date.
• As a team, Boston U. leads the country in caused turnovers per game (15.50) mostly due to its 10-man ride. The Terriers are also tops in the nation in opponent clear percentage, as their foes are clearing the ball just 65.1 percent of the time.
• Defenseman Logan Styles (Jr) is pacing the team with 9 caused turnovers, Luke Davis (Jr / SSDM) has produced 8 and Murphy McLaughlin (Jr / D) and Connor Kehm (Sr / D) have 7 apiece. Kehm leads the squad in ground balls with 24.
• BU graduated one of the best netminders in the conference in Will Barnes. Replacing him in the lineup is Connor Phillips, who owns a 49.3 save percentage and a 9.87 goals against average. 
• The faceoff duties have been spread amongst 3 players for the Terriers, however, Madden Murphy (So) has taken the bulk and is 31 for 57 (54.4). Mike Ramirez (Fr) is 15 for 31 (48.4) and Daine Kostes (So) is 6 for 19 (31.6).

About the Series
• Meeting for the 11th time overall, Navy holds a 7-3 advantage in the series which began in 2014. 
• The two teams did not meet during the 2020 and '21 seasons due to the pandemic. The 2020 season was shut down 2 weeks prior to when the Mids and Terriers were to have met and in 2021, the Patriot League utilized divisions to limit travel because of the pandemic. Navy did not play Boston U., Colgate or Holy Cross.
• Saturday's contest will mark the 6th meeting between the two programs in Boston with Navy winning 3 of the 5 previously-played games (2014, W 13-7 / 2016 L 10-9 2OT / 2018, W 10-8 / 2022, L 17-9 / 2024, W 16-9).
• 5 of the last 8 games between Navy and Boston U. have been decided by 2 or fewer goals. The 2016, '17, '18, '19 and '23 games were decided by a combined 7 goals. Navy won 3 of those 5 contests - 2016, Boston U. 10-9 OT2 / 2017, Boston U. 8-7 / 2018, Navy 10-8 / 2019, Navy 13-12, 2023, Navy 10-8.

Breaking Down Patriot League Openers
• Eight of the 9 Patriot League teams are set to open conference action this weekend. In addition to the Mids facing Boston U., Bucknell travels to Lehigh, Holy Cross is at Army and Loyola makes the trip to Colgate on Saturday. Meanwhile, Lafayette plays an out-of-conference matchup at home against St. John's on Saturday afternoon. 
• Saturday's game against Boston U. marks the 23rd Patriot League opener for the Midshipmen. Navy joined the conference in men's lacrosse in 2004. The Terriers began their program and joined the league in 2014
• Navy owns a 10-12 (45.5) record in Patriot League openers and has won 5 of its last 8.
• This will be just the 16th time in 23 years that Navy has opened conference play on the road, including 1 neutral site contest. The Mids are 6-8 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site openers.  
• This will be the 6th time (2016, 2017, 2018, 2024, 2025) Navy has opened its Patriot League schedule against Boston U. The Mids are 3-2 against the Terriers in the conference opener, winning each of the last 3.
• Navy has never played Army, Colgate, Holy Cross or Loyola in a league opener, while Bucknell has been the most common foe, meeting Navy in 9 of the 22 openers.

Navy Picked Third in PL Preseason Poll
• Navy has been picked to finish 3rd in the 2026 Patriot League Preseason Men's Lacrosse Poll. 
• Army, the 2025 Patriot League Regular-Season Champion, secured 7 of the 9 first-place votes and amassed 63 points to top the poll for a third-consecutive year. 
• Boston U., who played in the Patriot League Championship Game a year ago, earned 56 points and the remaining 2 first-place votes to finish 2nd in the balloting. Just 3 points separated the 3rd (Navy, 40), 4th (Loyola, 39) and 5th-place teams (Lafayette, 37), while just a point separated Lehigh (33) and Colgate (32) for 6th and 7th, respectively. Closing out the poll in 8th and 9th were Bucknell (15) and Holy Cross (9), respectively.
• Navy's AJ Marsh (Jr / D) was named the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and Zach Hayashi (Jr / FO) was named the Patriot League Preseason Faceoff Specialist of the Year. Joining Marsh and Hayashi on the preseason all-league team was Jack Ponzio (So / M).    

2026 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1. Army, 63 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Boston U., 56 (2)
3. Navy, 40
4. Loyola, 39
5. Lafayette, 37
6. Lehigh, 33
7. Colgate, 32
8. Bucknell, 15
9. Holy Cross, 9

Patriot League Success
• Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy has put together a 109-64 record (63.0) against conference members, which includes a 2-0 mark against Hobart who left the league following the 2004 season.  
• The Mids are 97-52 (65.1) in regular-season action and 12-12 (50.0) in the Patriot League Tournament.
• 40 of the 64 losses (62.5) have been in games played either at the opponent's field (34) or at a neutral site (6).
• Navy owns a 56-24 (70.0) Patriot League record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, including a 49-20 (71.0) mark during the regular season.
• The Mids have produced undefeated records in regular-season conference action twice, 7-0 in 2004 and 6-0 in '07.
• Navy won 8-consecutive Patriot League Tournament games and 4-straight Patriot League Tournament titles (2004-07), before dropping the program's first tournament contest in the 2008 semifinals against eventual champion Colgate.  
• Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title 8 times (2004-05-06-07-08-15-16-18) since joining the league in 2004.
• Additionally, the Mids have claimed the league's tournament crown 5 times (2004-05-06-07-09).