ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It has been smooth sailing so far for the Navy men’s lacrosse team. The Midshipmen are 2-0 and receiving votes in the national polls.
Joe Amplo, in his fifth season as head coach, is looking for his team to crack those rankings for the first time since 2021. With wins over Mount St. Mary’s and Hofstra they are on their way.
The Mids are led by two-sport athlete Xavier Arline. The senior attackman leads the team with seven goals and nine points. He was also a quarterback for the Navy football team.
Senior defenseman Jackson Bonitz is two-time first-team all-Patriot League, a co-captain and elected by the team captains for Navy’s 36 varsity programs to serve as the 2023-24 captain of the captains.
Next up the Mids get their first road game of the year as they visit Towson on Saturday. Arline thinks it's just another opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.
"No one cares about us. No one wants to speak of us. No one wants to speak of individual guys on our team, our coaching staff, which is good," he said. "I just feel an edge from these guys as an underdog. I think if anything that is going to take us the farthest."
"This year, it might be kind of biased, but I think it’s a special year," added Bonitz. "We just have a lot of great players and people in the right spots, in the right places on our team."
"I think this group has got something to prove," said Amplo. "These guys have an edge to them. They have come into the season with that edge. The first two weeks are a small indication of that but there is still such a long way to go."
A big addition this season comes on the sideline. Former Maryland and Loyola head coach Dave Cottle is in his first year as assistant coach and offensive coordinator. Cottle’s 280 wins as a head coach is 13th-most all-time in Division I.
As for Towson, the Tigers are 1-1 on the year. This will be the first meeting between these two teams since 2015. Opening face-off Saturday is set for noon at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
