Back injury sidelines midfielder Skalniak
Hurt against Lehigh, Mids’ All-American out indefinitely
Navy men’s lacrosse will be without its most dangerous shooter and one of its top scorers for an undetermined number of games.
Senior midfielder Patrick Skalniak sustained an upper back injury during Saturday’s game against Lehigh and is out indefinitely, coach Joe Amplo said. Amplo terms the injury as “significant” and said there is no timetable for Skalniak’s return.
“Obviously, indefinitely is very vague, but honestly it’s really how his body responds,” Amplo said.
Skalniak absorbed a severe upper body blow during a play that wound up being a major turning point in the game, which Lehigh won 13-10. Skalniak had unleashed a cannon crank shot that Lehigh goalie Nick Pecora somehow stopped.
The ball hit off Pecora’s stick and rebounded back into play. Skalniak reacted quickly and rushed forward to scoop the ground ball, but was met by Lehigh defenseman Colin Fowler.
Replays showed that Fowler delivered a hard hit to the shoulders, head and neck area of Skalniak, who immediately collapsed to the turf. Amplo raced onto the field screaming at officials for not throwing a flag then quickly dropped to his knees to check on Skalniak.
Moments later, an official tossed a yellow flag high in the air and the Navy bench was penalized for misconduct. Lehigh proceeded to score an extra man goal and that began a 9-2 run that proved decisive.
Amplo has already reached out to the supervisor of officials seeking a clarification on why the high hit did not draw a penalty.
“I’m more disappointed they missed a couple calls before that involving the same kid. He was allowed to hit high at least once, if not twice, before that,” Amplo said. “This one player was allowed to get away with playing the way he wanted to play.”
Amplo was particularly disappointed that policing upper body hits was made a point of emphasis going into this season and so far officials have been penalizing players for any
contact from the shoulders up.
“This was a pretty vicious, violent hit that was not even considered a penalty, which is frustrating for me,” Amplo said.
After being treated by team trainers on the sideline for several minutes, Skalniak returned to the game and scored another goal off a sidearm crank shot. He finished the game with two goals and an assist and currently ranks third on the team in scoring with 11 points.
Skalniak was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center after he reported to trainers that he was still in pain in the locker room afterward. “After the game was over, Pat was still in extreme discomfort so we brought him to the hospital for precautionary reasons,” Amplo said. “The hope was it was a stinger or muscle spasms, but the images came back with some other stuff.”
Skalniak was a member of the first midfield along with Max Hewitt and Dane Swanson, who sat out Saturday’s game with an injury. Amplo said the coaching staff will sort out the first midfield during practice this week in advance of Saturday’s game at Colgate.
“We just have to play more of a team offensive game because the ball was in the stick of No. 29 a lot,” he said. “Our other guys have to step up and accept roles within a different look of our offense. There is plenty of depth. That’s what we’ve been building toward — to have the depth to handle something like this.”
Skalniak was named an honorable mention
All-American by both Inside Lacrosse and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association after leading Navy with 48 points on 28 goals and 20 assists in 2022. That was the third-highest point total by a midfielder in program history.
Skalniak, who is a two-time, first team All-Patriot League pick, has amassed 96 career points with 53 goals and 43 assists. He native had a streak of 32 games with at least one point snapped during a 6-5 loss to Manhattan on February 18.
“It’s unfortunate for Pat that he’s not going to be out there for a while. That’s what I feel bad about,” Amplo said.
Skalniak walked out of Anne Arundel Medical Center along with Amplo after undergoing X-rays and will be able to attend classes at the Naval Academy.
“Fortunately, there is no long-term impact and Pat should heal just fine,” Amplo said.