Setting the Stage
• Opening Draw: After opening its Patriot League ledger last weekend on the road, Navy (3-2, 0-1 Patriot League) returns home on Saturday to play host to Bucknell (5-1, 1-1 Patriot League). Faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy is led by Joe Amplo, who has put together a 46-35 record in his 7 seasons at the helm of the Mids' program, while Bucknell's Frank Fedorjaka has amassed a 160-127 record in 21 years as the program's head coach. Saturday's contest marks the 25th meeting in a series that dates back to 1996 (Navy leads 16-8).
• 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 11:45 am with the Navy Lacrosse Pregame Show. Live stats will also be available on NavySports.com(.)    

Countdown to Faceoff
10 -   Dan Daly (Sr), who is only the 11th goalkeeper in program history to reach 400-career saves, needs 11 more stops to move into a tie with John Connors (427 / 2013-16) for 10th on Navy's all-time career saves list. He stands 11th with 416 saves.
9  -  Navy owns a 9-game winning streak (2016-17-18-19-21-22-23-24-25) against Bucknell which includes wins in each of the last 5 contests played in Annapolis. (2017-19-21-22-24).
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  -  William Goers (So / A) is ranked 7th in the Patriot League in goals per game, averaging 2.60 goals per contest. He has scored multiple goals in 3 of the 5 games this spring.
6  -  Six Navy players have active point-scoring streaks of at least 5-consecutive games. Co-captain Mac Haley (Sr / A) leads the way with points in 20-straight games dating back to last year's opener. In addition to Haley, Jack Flaherty (Sr / M), William Goers (So / A), Nick Golini (Jr / M), Alec Gregorek (So / A) and Jack Ponzio (So / M) have recorded a point in all 5 games this season with Goers and Gregorek scoring a goal in each of the 5.
5  -  Navy is the 5th-oldest (119th year) and 5th-winningest (850-399-14) program in NCAA Div. I men's lacrosse history.
4  -  Four players have reached 100 points during the Joe Amplo era, including Mac Haley who scored his 100th point in the Mids' win over VMI. He stands 28th on Navy's all-time scoring list with 111 points, just 12 points out of the top 20.
3  -  AJ Marsh (Jr / D) stands 3rd on Navy's all-time points scored by a pole (D/LSM) list with 15 (8G, 7A). He is chasing 2nd-place Pat Kiernan (17 / 2011-14) and record holder Matt Rees (19 / 2014-17). He scored his 1st goal of 2026 last weekend at BU.
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. Navy has held Bucknell to single digits in 8 of the last 11 games.
1  -  With 313 faceoff wins to date, Zach Hayashi (Jr / FO) needs 1 more win to take sole possession of 3rd on Navy's all-time faceoff wins list. With his 8 wins against VMI (2-17), he became the 4th player in program history to reach 300-career wins. 

Scouting Bucknell
• In his 21st year as Bucknell's head coach, Frank Fedorjaka has led the Bison to a 5-1 record, including a 1-0 mark in the Patriot League this season. It's Bucknell's best start to a season since 5-1 when the Bison opened the year 5-1. Bucknell heads into Saturday's contest against the Mids with wins over Manhattan (14-8), St. Bonaventure (11-2), Iona (16-8), Hobart (12-10) and Lehigh (12-11). Its lone loss was a 16-12 decision at Robert Morris. The Bison arrive in Annapolis winning a 3-game winning streak.
• As a team, Bucknell stands 4th in the league in scoring (12.83) and is led by Michael Meyer. The senior attackman has produced 24 points on 20 goals and 4 assists. He ranks 34th nationally in points per game (4.00) and 11th in goals per game (3.33). Sean Berrigan (Jr / A) has amassed 18 points on 10 goals and 8 assists, while Luke Brunner (Jr / M) owns 15 points on 10 goals and 5 assists.
• Bucknell's defense has been stingy this season, allowing the opponent just 9.17 goals per game, the 15th-best mark in the country and 3rd-fewest in the league. The Bison have held 3 of their 6 opponents to single digits this season.
• Netminder Jaz Zanelli (Sr) has started 5 of the 6 games this spring for the Bison. He owns an 8.72 goals-against average and a 40.0 save percentage. Luke Renaud (Sr), meanwhile, has played in 5 of the 6 contests and made the start in Bucknell's win over Lehigh last weekend. He recorded 10 saves against the Mountain Hawks, while allowing 11 goals. On the year, he owns a 9.78 goals-against average and a 50.0 save percentage. 
• Bucknell has done a good job of taking care of the ball. the Bison are averaging 13.67 turnovers per game, the 11th-fewest nationally and the 2nd-fewest in the league.
• Bucknell is ranked 2nd in the Patriot League in faceoff winning percentage (60.3). Colin McLoy (Jr) and Zach Hepworth (So) have shared the faceoff duties this season with McLoy winning 59 of the 97 (60.8) draws he has taken, while Hepworth has won 30 of the 51 (58.8) faceoffs he has taken.

Navy-Bucknell Series
• Saturday's contest between Navy and Bucknell marks the 25th game in a series that began in 1996. It's the 23rd game since Navy joined the Patriot League in the spring of 2004.
• Navy owns a 16-8 advantage in the series, winning each of the last 9 contests.
• Navy holds a 9-3 advantage in games played in Annapolis, including each of the last 5 (13-7 in 2017 / 14-8 in 2019 / 13-10 in 2021 / 13-6 in 2022 / 13-12 OT in 2024).
• Nine of the 24 games in the series have been decided by a single goal. However, the Mids have won the last 9 games by an average of nearly 4.55 goals. 
• Five of the 9 one-goal contests have entered into extra minutes, including the 13-12 overtime victory by Navy in Annapolis in 2025.
• Navy has reached double digits in the scoring column in each of the last 9 contests, while Bucknell has been held to single digits in 8 of the last 11 games.
• Could 13 be Navy's lucky number? During its 9-game winning streak in the series, Navy has scored exactly 13 goals in 6 of the 9 victories. The Mids have scored at least 13 in 8 of the 9 wins (2023, 12-9).
• This is the earliest the two teams have met since the 2019 campaign when the game was played on March 2 in Annapolis. 

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 109-65 record (62.6) against conference members, which includes a 2-0 mark against Hobart who left the league following the 2004 season.  
• The Mids are 97-53 (64.7) in regular-season action and 12-12 (50.0) in the Patriot League Tournament.
• 41 of the 65 losses (63.1) have been in games played either at the opponent's field (35) 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).

Streaks
• The following players have started at least 15-consecutive games heading into Saturday's contest against Bucknell.

    Gms.    Player    Streak Started
    20    Mac Haley (15 Jr / 5 Sr)    2025
    20    AJ Marsh (15 So / 5 Jr)    2025

• AJ Marsh (Jr / D) and co-captain Mac Haley (Sr / A) started all 15 contests a year ago and have started every game this season. Haley's starting streak would have been longer, but he missed the final 3 games of the 2024 season with a hand injury. Haley has started 47 of the 49 contests in which he's played. 
• Dan Daly (Jr) took over the starting netminder role in the 2024 opener and had started 33-consecutive games until yielding his starting role to newcomer Ethan Train against VMI (2-18). Daly has started 37 of his 42-career appearances, including 35 of the last 36 contests.

• The following players have active point streaks of 5 games or more heading into the Boston U. contest.

Consecutive Games With A ... 
Player    Pt    G    A    Last time w/o a pt.
Mac Haley    20    0    13    Loyola, 4-19-24
Jack Flaherty    5    4    1    at Lafayette, 4-29-25
William Goers    5    5    2    at Lafayette, 4-29-25
Nick Golini    5    0    2    Iona, 2-8-25
Alec Gregorek    5    5    0    Army, 4-12-25
Jack Ponzio    5    2    0    at Lafayette, 4-29-25
Streak does not end if you do not play in a game

• Mac Haley (Sr / A), who is the only Navy player to produce at least 1 point in every game last season, owns a team-best 20-game point-scoring streak. He has amassed 62 points on 31 goals and 31 assists during the streak which dates back to last year's opener against High Point. He had his 9-game goal-scoring streak snapped last week at Boston U.
• Alec Gregorek (So / A), William Goers (So / A), Jack Flaherty (Sr / M), Jack Ponzio (So / M) and Nick Golini (Jr / M) head into the weekend having scored points in each of the last 5 games. Goers and Gregorek have goals in all 5 contests this season with Gregorek scoring at least 2 goals in all 5 games.
• Navy has had at least 1 pole (close defense or LSM) score a goal in each of the last 33 years (1994-present). AJ Marsh (Jr / D) punched in a goal last weekend at Boston U. to keep that streak alive.
• Eight different players have accounted for Navy's 8 extra-man goals this season.