Defensive Coordinator John Orsen is in his sixth season at Navy and eighth under Joe Amplo. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in the summer of 2024.
In his inaugural season at Navy, his defense stood No. 11 in the nation and No. 3 in the Patriot League, allowing 9.40 goals per game. It was Navy’s best mark since 2016 when it finished the year ranked #2 nationally and allowed just 7.38 goals per game. Equally as impressive was the Mids’ man-down unit which ranked #11 nationally and #2 in the conference, allowing just 3 goals on 14 attempts (78.6). It’s the best average by the Mids since 2002 when they owned an 80.0 mark, allowing just 11 goals on 55 opportunities. Navy also finished inside of the top 20 in caused turnovers (9.00, #18) and opponent clear percentage (79.6, #14).
In year two, the Mids once again finished as the #11 scoring defense in the country and No. 3 in the Patriot League, allowing 10.00 goals per game. Orsen’s defensive unit was anchored by First-Team All-Patriot League selections Nick Franchuk (D) and Spencer Rees (GK), along with second-team members Jackson Bonitz (D) and Tim Griffin (SSDM). Bonitz, a five-star recruit who was ranked the #8 overall player among the nation’s freshmen, became just the third Navy freshman to garner All-Patriot League accolades, joining midfielder Basil Daratsos (2007) and faceoff specialist Brady Dove (2014).
Navy spent a good portion of the 2022 campaign ranked among the nation’s top 10 in scoring defense, closing out the season at #12 with its 10.13 average. Navy held 6 of its opponents to single digits, including three-consecutive opponents who scored 6 or fewer goals (5 by Mercer, 6 by Hofstra, 6 by Manhattan). It was the first time Navy has achieved that mark since holding six-straight foes to 5 or fewer goals in 2008. It was an impressive mark, as Orsen was tasked with building his defense around the sole returning player, All-Patriot League close defenseman Jackson Bonitz. The second-year starter paced the team in caused turnovers with 18, the 10th most in a Navy single season, and went on to earn First-Team All-Patriot League recognition, while also being named an All-American by three different organizations - USILA (honorable mention), Inside Lacrosse (honorable mention), USA Lacrosse Magazine (third team). He is Navy’s first close defenseman to garner USILA All-America honors since Chris Fennell in 2017.
The Mids finished the 2023 campaign ranked #11 in scoring defense, holding its opponents to 10.44 goals per game. Navy has held 58 of its last 116 opponents (50.0) to single digits, including Mount St. Mary’s (7), Queens (5), Manhattan (6), Holy Cross (8), Boston U. (8), Lafayette (6) and Bucknell (9) in 2023. Orsen helped orchestrate a defensive plan that held Boston U., the nation’s eighth-ranked scoring offense (14.75), to single digits for the first time since the 2022 NCAA Tournament game against Princeton. Jackson Bonitz, who garnered All-America honors for a second-consecutive year, earned USILA National Team of the Week honors after holding Vince D’Alto, the Terriers’ leading scorer and the nation’s sixth-ranked scorer (5.25), without a goal for just the third time in his career. He held D’Alto without a point for 58 minutes before he dealt out an assist on Boston U.’s final goal of the game with 1:16 remaining.
Orsen orchestrated the top-ranked scoring defense in 2024, as the Mids stood 24th nationally by holding their foes to10.75 goals per game. Navy held 7 of its opponents to single digits, including eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins who came into the contest averaging 13 goals per game. The Navy defense held the Blue Jays to just three goals over the final 48 minutes of play and scoring droughts of 19 minutes or more twice in the contest.
The cornerpieces to Navy’s defense were senior captains Jackson Bonitz at close defense and Jackson Peters at short stick defensive midfield. Both players garnered First-Team All-Patriot League honors with Bonitz becomming only the second Navy player (Brady Dove, 2014-17) and 15th among any school to earn All-Patriot League honors four times. He is also one of just eight players in program history to earn first-team honors three times.
Both Bonitz and Peters garnered All-America recognition from the USILA, Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse. Bonitz is only the 35th player in the program’s 117-year history to garner USILA All-America honors three times and the first since Chris Fennell, who earned the honor in 2015, ‘16 and ‘17.
Bonitz was awarded the NAAA Sword for Men, which is presented to that man of the graduating class who is considered by the Association’s Athletic Council to have personally excelled in men’s athletics during his years of varsity competition. He was also voted by the team captains from Navy’s other 35 sports to serve as the Captain of the Captains for the 2023-24 academic year.
Bonitz closed out his career ranked #2 on Navy’s all-time caused turnovers leader board with 79, just five behind record holder Matt Rees (84 / 2014-17). Bonitz is one of only three players in school history to reach 70-career caused turnovers. Bonitz joins Matt Rees as the only two players in school history to rank among the program’s single-season top-20 caused turnovers list three times. Bonitz tied for third (29, 2024), ninth (22, 2023) and 12th (18, 2022).
Orsen arrived in Annapolis in the summer of 2019 after spending the previous five years as defensive coordinator under the legendary Bill Tierney at Denver. Orsen helped groom arguably the best faceoff specialist in the history of the game in four-time First-Team All-American Trevor Baptiste. Baptiste is just the sixth player in USILA history to garner First-Team All-America recognition in all four collegiate seasons. Additionally, Orsen helped develop four-time All-American defenseman Christian Burgdorf, who went on to be drafted by the Atlanta Blaze in the 2017 MLL Collegiate Draft.
In his first season as the Pioneers’ DC and faceoff coach, Denver was ranked 12th in the nation in scoring defense (8.47) and second in scoring margin (+5.26). In six postseason games in 2015, the Pioneers’ defense held their opponents to less than 10 goals four times, including limiting Maryland to just five scores in the National Championship game.
Under Orsen’s watch, faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste set the NCAA record for faceoff wins by a freshman and recorded the fourth-most faceoff wins in NCAA history (310). Baptiste was named a USILA First Team All-American in the duo’s first year together.
Following the 2015 National Championship, Orsen’s second campaign saw the Pioneers win their third-straight BIG EAST regular-season title en route to earning the program’s highest national seed in the NCAA Tournament. That season, Denver’s defense was 21st in scoring average (9.13), eighth in man-down defense (0.706) and seventh in ground balls per game (32.44).
In 2017, Denver got back to Championship Weekend for the second time in Orsen’s tenure. The Pioneers’ faceoff crew led the country once again, while the Denver defense finished 13th in scoring defense (8.76). DU was second in scoring margin (+4.71) and 19th in ground balls per game (30.18).
In 2018, Orsen’s defense finished third in the country in scoring defense at 7.88 goals per game, including a stretch of 27 goals allowed in five BIG EAST regular-season games, the first time in Denver’s program history that the Pioneers held five-consecutive opponents to six goals or less. The 27 goals allowed in a five-game stretch was also the lowest in the program’s history since 1970.
In 2019, Denver was ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense and was anchored by Matt Neufeldt who finished sixth in the country in caused turnovers per game. In the first year without Trevor Baptiste, Orsen coached freshman Brett Boos to the 26th-best faceoff percentage in the country at 58 percent.
Orsen and Amplo’s relationship dates back to 2003 when Orsen was a freshman at Hofstra and Amplo was an assistant coach for the Pride under then head coach John Danowski. Orsen transitioned from attack to defense while at Hofstra, earning a spot on the USILA All-America Honorable Mention squad in his final collegiate campaign. In that 2006 season, Orsen and the Pride reached the NCAA Quarterfinals after a 14-8 win over Providence in the first round. Orsen captained his club in both his junior and senior seasons, leading the team to a 17-2 mark in 2006 and earning First-Team All-CAA honors.
Professionally, Orsen was picked in the fourth round in the MLL Draft by the Long Island Lizards. Later in his MLL career, Orsen played for and won the league championship with the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2012. Orsen was also selected by the New York Titans of the NLL for the indoor season. In addition, Orsen suited up for Team USA in 2011 at the FIL World Indoor Championships in Prague, and played for the Colorado Mammoth from 2011-13.
Orsen went on to served as a member of Marquette’s inaugural coaching staff, helping officially start the Golden Eagles’ program in 2013. The Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., native was hired in May of 2011 to assist Amplo in starting the program. In their first campaign, Orsen coached the Golden Eagles’ defense to a No. 18 national mark in ground ball margin.
In 2014, Marquette went 4-2 in the BIG EAST, earning a conference tournament semifinal appearance. Orsen’s defense played a key role in the Golden Eagles’ four BIG EAST wins, including holding Georgetown to one goal in the final 23:36 of regulation, giving the offense the opportunity to turn a 9-3 second half deficit into an 11-10 victory.
Orsen and his wife, Leigh Ann, reside in Annapolis and are the parents of daughters, Emma and Lucy.
