• Opening Draw: Navy (6-4, 2-2 Patriot League) returns home to play host to Holy Cross (5-5, 2-3 Patriot League) on Saturday in a nationally-televised Patriot League contest. Faceoff is slated for 3:06 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and the game is presented by Navy Mutual. Navy is led by Joe Amplo, who has put together a 49-37 record in his 7 seasons at the helm of the Mids' program, while Holy Cross' J.L. Reppert has posted a 15-57 record in 6 seasons as the Crusaders' head coach. The contest marks the 22nd meeting in a series that dates back to 2004.
• Follow the Action: Saturday's contest will be televised by CBS Sports Network with Jack Gordon and Steve Panarelli calling the action. Additionally, the game will be carried live on 1430 WNAV with Joe Miller on the call. Radio coverage begins at 2:45 pm with the Navy Lacrosse Pregame Show. Live stats will also be available on NavySports.com(.)

Countdown to Faceoff
10 -   Alec Gregorek (So / A) has scored multiple goals in all 10 contests this spring ... it equals the longest consecutive multiple-goal scoring streak over a season in program history, a feat Joe Bossi accomplished in 2004 when he rattled off 10 in a row
9  -  Alec Gregorek (So / A) is coming off a 9-point game against Colgate that saw him score a career-high 7 goals and deal out 2 assists ... the 9 points are the most by a Navy player since Dave Little had a 9-point (9 goals) afternoon in a win over Lehigh on March 25, 2017.
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 2004.
7  -  Four Navy players have scored 100 points during the Joe Amplo era, including Mac Haley (Sr / A) who scored his 100th point in Navy's win over VMI (2-17). He stands 19th on Navy's all-time scoring list with 127 points, just 7 points out of the top 15.
6  -  Dating back to last spring, Navy has won 6-consecutive games when leading at the half, including 4 this season. Under Joe Amplo, the Mids are 36-4 when leading at the half.
5  -  Navy's defense has held Holy Cross to 5 or fewer goals in 11 of the 21 games in series history.
4  -  Navy won a dog fight against Holy Cross a year ago in Worcester, Mass. where the Mids needed overtime to secure a 9-8 victory over the Crusaders. Paul Garza (Sr / M) scored a career-high 4 goals in that game for the Mids, including 3 in a row in the 2nd quarter.
3  -  Mac Haley (Sr / A) needs just 2 more points to become just the 3rd Navy player since 2000 to reach the 40-point mark in a season multiple times in a career ... Ian Dingman achieved it all 4 years (40 in 2003, 62 in 2004, 44 in 2006, 42 in 2007) and Jon Birsner did it 3 times (40 in 2004, 42 in 2005, 54 in 2006) .
2  -  During the Joe Amplo era, Navy has lost just 2 games when holding its opponent to 9 or fewer goals. The Mids are 32-2 when achieving that feat since 2020 and 3-0 this season. 
1  -  With a goal and an assist at Johns Hopkins on March 14, AJ Marsh (Jr / D) ranks #1 in program history for points scored by a long pole. He has 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists, including 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points this spring.

Scouting Holy Cross
• Taking over the head coaching duties in the midst of COVID, J.L. Reppert is in his 6th season directing the Holy Cross program. The Crusaders enter the weekend with a 5-5 record, including a 2-3 mark in the Patriot League. The 5 wins are the most by the Crusaders since the 2019 campaign when they were 7-7, while the 2 conference wins are the most since 2019 when they were 4-4. Holy Cross has wins over Hofstra (9-8, 2OT), Merrimack (14-8), Le Moyne (12-5), Colgate (11-10) and Lafayette (11-9). Their losses have been against Providence (15-11), Sacred Heart (15-11), Army (13-5), Lehigh (13-5) and Loyola (10-8).
• Holy Cross is averaging 9.60 goals per game, reaching double digits in 6 of its 10 games to date. The Crusaders have been held to single digits in each of their last 2 games (13-5 at Lehigh, 10-18 vs. Loyola). 
• Seven different Crusaders have reached double-digit scoring this spring, including Owen Tunney (So / A) who has 29 points on 17 goals and 12 assists (all 3 categories are team highs). Andrew Ottomanelli (So / A) has produced 20 points on 13 goals and 7 assists, while Will Messineo (Sr / A/M) has 14 points on 8 goals and 6 assists.
• JR Long (Sr) is in his 2nd season as the Crusaders' starting netminder where he owns a 10.70 goals against average and a 49.0 save percentage. He is averaging 10.20 saves per game.
• Michael Rincon (Sr / D) leads the team in caused turnovers (22), while Julian Jenkins (Sr / D) is right behind with 16 takeaways.
• Shane McDonnell (Fr) has taken the bulk of the faceoffs for Holy Cross, winning 94 of the 154 draws. He leads the Patriot League in winning percentage (61.0) and is 12th nationally. Averaging 4.30 ground balls per game, it appears he is winning roughly 50 percent of his draws to himself. Harry Attell (So) has taken the 2nd-most draws, winning 26 of 48 (54.2). 

Navy-Holy Cross Series
• Saturday's contest marks the 21st meeting between Navy and Holy Cross in a series in which the Mids hold a comfortable 18-3 lead.
• Navy and Holy Cross have played one another 8 times in Worcester, Mass. (2005, '09, '11, '15, '17, '19, '23, 25) and 10 times in Annapolis (2004, '06, '10, '12, '14, '16 '17, '18, '22, '24).
• Meanwhile, Navy and Holy Cross have met on neutral ground 3 times (1007, '08, '13).  
• In 2007, the two programs faced one another at SMU's Ford Stadium where the Mids dealt Holy Cross a 12-2 loss. It was Navy's first trip to Texas since the Mids defeated Johns Hopkins 9-6 on May 8, 1971, at the Houston Astrodome. 
• In 2008, Navy and Holy Cross were part of the Ford Patriot Cup which featured 2 high school games, along with 2 Div. I men's lax games (Rutgers vs. Army). Navy scored a 16-3 win over the Crusaders at Texas Stadium, the former home of the Dallas Cowboys.
• In 2013, Holy Cross earned its first victory over the Midshipmen, securing a 7-5 victory in a game that was played at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. It was just the 2nd Div. I men's lacrosse game played at a Major League Baseball venue.
• The Crusaders defeated the 4th-seeded Mids (11-7) in the 2017 Patriot League Quarterfinals in what was Holy Cross' 2nd appearance in the tournament.
• Navy has scored 8 or more goals in 16 of the 20 contests, while putting up double-figure goals 12 times (8 in 2005 and 2011, 7 in 2015, 7 in 2017 PLT, 5 in 2018, 9 in 2019, 9 in 2025). The Mids' defense has held Holy Cross to 5 or fewer goals in 11 of the 21 games.

Program Ties
• Holy Cross head coach J.L. Reppert is a 1999 graduate of the Naval Academy where he was a 4-year letter winner and captain of the lacrosse team his senior year. 
• He returned to the Academy to serve as an assistant coach under Rick Sowell from 2012-14.