Top-seeded and host Army lost to No. 4 Bucknell during the regular season, but beat second-seeded Navy. Bucknell was in position to grab the top seed, but was knocked off by Colgate in the final game of the regular season. Colgate, meanwhile, fell to both Army and Navy.

"It's an interesting situation. I'm sure every team believes it can win this thing. Based on how things have gone so far this season, there is no clear-cut favorite," Navy head coach Richie Meade said.

Navy is normally in that position. The Midshipmen have captured the tournament title every year since joining the Patriot League in 2004. Colgate is the only other school to have hosted the tourney, doing so in 2006 after upsetting Navy during the regular season.

"We have been in this position before and it's no big deal. You still have to win two games," Meade said when asked about playing the tournament on the road.

Navy has only lost three Patriot League regular season games in five years. Army was the latest conference foe to put a dent in Navy's aura of invincibility, winning the annual service academy rivalry, 9-6, on April 12. However, the Midshipmen still have not been beaten in the tournament and thus have gained the league's automatic berth each of the last four seasons.

"We're coming in with a two-game losing streak and a lot of questions about our offense. I'm sure everybody smells blood. Nobody is feeling bad about Navy," Meade said.

Navy has averaged a mere four goals over the last three games, last two of which were losses to Army and Johns Hopkins. The Mids' famously stingy defense has been vulnerable the past two games, allowing nine goals to the Black Knights and 12 to the Blue Jays.

Meade has held longer-than-usual meetings with the offense this week in hopes of getting the unit untracked. Senior attackman Nick Mirabito and sophomore midfielder Patrick Moran were first team All-Patriot League picks while sophomore attackman Tim Paul and sophomore midfielder Basil Daratsos were second team selections so the scoring potential is there.

"As a coach, you analyze whether the team is generating good scoring opportunities and getting good shots," said Meade, who has taken over as offensive coordinator this season. "Having broken down the Army and Hopkins tapes very carefully, I think the answer to those questions is that we are getting chances, we're just not finishing them."

Part of the problem, Meade said, is that Navy has fallen behind in the last two games. As a result, the offense is pressing a bit in an effort to catch up. The Midshipmen also have not scored many extra man or unsettled goals during the aforementioned three-game stretch.

In an attempt to spark the defense, Meade is making a goalie change - replacing Tommy Phelan with Matt Coughlin. Phelan has started the last five games and compiled a .562 save percentage and 7.16 goals-against average. Coughlin, who started the initial eight games of the season, posted a .586 save percentage and 4.68 goals-against average before suffering an injury.

"Matt has rehabbed and returned to form. I just feel we need a little boost at that position and hopefully he can provide it," Meade said.

Colgate is led by junior attackman Brandon Corp, who was a repeat selection as Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year. Corp has scored 30 goals and dished off 11 assists. However, he was held to just one goal during the regular season meeting with Navy by Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Jordy DiNola. Navy's defense dominated during that 8-3 victory, holding Colgate scoreless for nearly 50 minutes.

Junior attackman Kevin Colleluori and sophomore midfielder Ian Murphy have scored 27 and 20 goals, respectively, for the Red Raiders. Senior attackman Matt Lalli has totaled 14 goals and 15 assists.

There has been speculation that Navy needs to win at least one game in the Patriot League Tournament in order to assure a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Meade prefers the more definitive route of winning the tourney and earning an automatic bid.

"I don't want to put our fate into the hands of the selection committee," he said. "We can control our own destiny right now. What we need to do is go up to West Point and defend our championship."