Setting the Stage
• Opening Draw: The Navy men's lacrosse team (0-0, 0-0 Patriot League) kicks off its 119th year of competition when the Mids play host to Iona (0-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic) on Friday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Faceoff is slated for 4:00 pm. Navy is led by 7th-year head coach Joe Amplo, who guided the Mids to an 8-7 record a year ago, while the Gaels are under the direction of 2nd-year head coach Chad Surman. Friday's contest marks the 2nd game in the series after the Mids posted a 22-9 win over Iona in last year's inaugural meeting.
• Follow the Action: The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription based) and will also be carried live on 1430 AM WNAV with Joe Miller on the call. Radio coverage begins at 3:45 pm with the Navy Lacrosse Pregame Show. Live stats will also be available on NavySports.com(.) 
• Free Admission: Admission to Friday's contest will be free, however there is a $10.50 charge (credit card only) for parking at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Game Day Storylines
• Mids Picked Third: Navy has been picked to finish 3rd in the 2026 Patriot League Preseason 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 3rd-consecutive year. Boston U. was selected to finish 2nd, followed by Navy, Loyola, Lafayette, Lehigh, Colgate, Bucknell and Holy Cross. 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).
• 15 Games and Counting: Heading into the opener, co-captain Mac Haley (Sr / A) owns a 15-game point-scoring streak. He has amassed 43 points on 22 goals and 21 assists during the streak which dates back to last year's opener against High Point. 
• The Race to 100: Starting attackman Mac Haley (Sr) is looking to become the 39th player in program history to reach the 100-point career scoring milestone. Haley heads into his senior campaign with 89 points, having produced 47 goals and 42 assists. Among the list of Navy's 100-point scorers, 17 players have added their names to the list since 2000, including Christian Daniel (122 / 2018-21) in 2021, Max Hewitt (107 / 2021-24) and Henry Tolker (123 / 2022-25) who played all or a part of their career under Joe Amplo. More than 45 years after graduating, Jeff Long (233 / 1974-77) and Mike Buzzell (222 / 1977-80) are the only two players in program history to eclipse 200 points.
• Hayashi Back at Full Strength: After missing 7 games a year ago due to a knee injury, Zach Hayashi (Jr / FO) returns to the faceoff "x" healthy. He enters his 3rd season needing 23 wins to become the 4th player in school history to reach the 300-win milestone and 123 to become just the 2nd player in Navy history to reach 400 wins. 
• Navy's Netminder Among Program's Best: Co-captain Dan Daly (Sr / GK) heads into his 3rd year as the Mids' starting goalkeeper. He is just 3 saves shy of moving past 2004 Kelly Award winner Matt Russell (380 / 2003-06) for 11th on the all-time saves leader board and needs 22 more saves to become the 11th player in school history to reach the 400-save milestone.

Scouting Iona
• Iona announced in August of 2022 it would be fielding a Div. I men's lacrosse team to compete as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference beginning in 2025. The Gaels became the 77th Div. I team to field a varsity program as of this season. In October of 2022, Iona appointed Chad Surman the program's first head coach. Surman amassed a 10-18 record in two seasons (2021, '22) as the head coach at Mercer before moving on to Manhattan College for 4 months before taking over the Iona program.
• The Gaels posted a 2-13 record in their inaugural season, including a 1-7 mark in the MAAC. Iona earned its 1st win via a 13-9 victory over Hampton on Feb. 9, 2025 and also defeated Quinnipiac 12-8 on March 29.
• Iona opened its season this past Monday with a 14-7 loss to Hofstra. Six different players accounted for the Gaels goals, including a pair by Luke Neary (R-Fr / M). Meanwhile, Cullen Lawry (So / A), Jimmy Kennedy (R-So / A), Matthew Dyszkiewicz (So / M) and Jack Martinez (So / A) finished with a goal and an assist.
• Cole Gibstein (Fr) won 15 of the 24 (62.5) draws and paced the team with 7 ground balls.
• Denny Piekutowski (So) returns as the Gaels' netminder where he made 12 saves against 14 goals against.

Navy-Iona Series
• Saturday's contest marks just the 2nd meeting between the two programs after Navy claimed a 22-9 victory over Iona last February in the inaugural meeting played in Annapolis.

Start Me Up
• Navy owns a 99-18-1 record in season openers, including a 83-11-1 mark when opening at home. 
• Seventh-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo is 5-1 in openers.
• Navy has played 19 of its last 25 openers at home. The Mids played their 2004, '05, '06, '17, '18 and '25 openers on the road.
• In what is Navy's 119th season, this marks the 35th-consecutive year Navy has opened its season in the month of February. The 1st time Navy played a game in the month of February was Feb. 29, 1992, when the Mids opened their season at #18 Penn State in a 16-9 losing effort. Had Navy played High Point last week as scheduled (Jan. 31), it would have been the earliest start in program history. Last year's game at High Point played on Feb. 1 remains the earliest start. 

All-Time Record    98-18-1
Current Streak    Won 3
Last Win    Feb. 1, 2025; def. High Point, 14-10
Last Loss    Feb. 5, 2022; lost to Mount St. Mary's, 11-9

Season Openers in the Joe Amplo Era
2-7-2020        Manhattan    W    9-4
2-20-2021        Mount St. Mary's    W    8-5
2-5-2022        Mount St. Mary's    L    9-11
2-4-2023        Mount St. Mary's    W    13-7
2-3-2024        Mount St. Mary's    W    19-6
2-1-2025        at High Point    W    14-10

Welcome Back
• Navy returns 7 of its 10 starters off last year's team.
• Offensively, Navy returns 66.1 percent of its goal scoring, 83.2 percent of its assist production and 72.7 percent of its points. Four of Navy's top 5 scorers return, including co-captain Mac Haley (Sr / A) who paced the Mids with 43 points on 22 goals and 21 assists.
• Navy finished 2025 ranked #30 nationally and #4 in the Patriot League in scoring defense, holding opponents to 10.60 goals per game. The Mids held 6 of their 15 opponents to single digits (Iona, Boston U., Le Moyne, Holy Cross, Lafayette - both gms).
• Navy's returning starters include attackmen Mac Haley (Sr) and William Goers (So), midfielders Jack Flaherty (Sr), Paul Garza (Sr) and Jack Ponzio (So), close defenseman AJ Marsh (Jr) and goalkeeper Dan Daly (Sr).
• Ponzio, a Second-Team All-Patriot League selection in 2025, and Goers provided one of the best freshman tandems in program history a year ago. Ponzio, Navy's second-leading scorer with 31 points on 18 goals and 13 assists, and Goers, who recorded 30 points on 13 goals and 17 assists, became only the the 3rd tandem in program history to reach the 30-point mark as freshmen, joining Paul Basile and Tom Hanzsche in 1986 and Tucker Hull and Sam Jones in 2011.
• While not considered starters on the stat sheet, Navy returns its two main faceoff weapons Zach Hayashi (Jr) and Colin Shadowens (Sr). Hayashi missed 7 games due to injury, but is primed for a solid spring campaign. He set the school record for single-season faceoff wins as a freshman (214) and is looking to become just the 4th player in school history to reach 300 wins. Shadowens, meanwhile, won 54.0 percent of his draws a year ago.
• Key contributors Navy graduated from last year's team include Henry Tolker (A / 18-5=23), Carter Ash (A / 24-6=30) Jack Norton (DM / 13GB, 5CT), Jacob Darrow (D / 28GB, 14CT), Ian McGullam (D / 8GB, 6CT) and Bobby Kittelberger (D / 11GB, 6CT).