Tenth-ranked Loyola (6-3) would love to host the Patriot League championship weekend for the third time in its five seasons since joining the conference. But the Greyhounds find themselves part of a four-team cluster at the top of the league.

There is little wiggle room, as teams jockey for the league tournament’s top seed — and the role as host of the Patriot League tournament final four. The conference likely will send only the league champion to the NCAA tournament as an automatic qualifier.

Tied for first place with 5-1 league records are Navy, Lehigh and Bucknell. The Greyhounds, who are pursuing their fourth Patriot League crown, are 4-1.

“Everybody has something they do really well,” said Loyola coach Charley Toomey, citing Navy’s possession game and defense, Bucknell’s inside offensive game and command of tempo and Lehigh’s zone defense and excellent extra-man unit.

Loyola feels good with junior attackman and Tewaaraton Award threat Pat Spencer running the offense. But the Greyhounds’ transition game, shooting consistency and defensive intensity have eluded them at times in recent weeks, and Toomey is still bugged by the lack of emotion they played with in their last home game, a 12-11 stumble against Bucknell on March 24. Loyola did rebound with an inspired 11-7 win at Colgate last Saturday.

“It sounds trite, but I think it comes down to us caring enough to play with emotion — making good things happen,” Toomey said.

Loyola travels to Bethlehem, Pa. on Saturday for its crucial battle at No. 15 Lehigh. Since joining the Patriot League, the Greyhounds are 5-0 against the Mountain Hawks. The Greyhounds close out the conference regular season with home games against Boston University and Army.

Following its confrontation with Loyola, Lehigh hosts Cornell with a chance to boost its at-large bid chances, before finishing Patriot League play at Bucknell, which closes out its league schedule against doormat Lafayette before that huge date with Lehigh.

Navy, having already beaten Bucknell and Lehigh, is in strong position to secure the top seed. But the Midshipmen, who were beaten soundly by Loyola on March 17, probably can’t afford to stumble against Colgate or Army.

The Greyhounds wouldn’t be upset if the tournament ended up at Navy. Besides being a short ride from Baltimore, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is where the Greyhounds won the Patriot League championship in 2016.

Connor Fields Update

So much has gone right for top-ranked Albany so far this season. The Great Danes, the last unbeaten team in Division I with a 10-0 record, rank first in the country in scoring, scoring margin and faceoff percentage, third in scoring defense, second in ground balls and assists per game, and fourth in clearing percentage.

Adversity finally visited the Great Danes. Senior attackman and Tewaaraton Award contender Connor Fields, who owns the school record with 191 career goals, suffered a sprained knee early in a 13-6 rout over UMass-Lowell on March 24.

Fields barely played four days later in a 14-7 victory over Harvard, then sat out last Saturday’s 13-7 win over Stony Brook — the first game Fields has missed in his college career. Albany also held attack mate Justin Reh out of that game.

Coach Scott Marr said there is an outside chance Fields could return tonight at UMBC, but it’s more likely Fields will be back on April 20, when the Great Danes resume America East play against Binghamton after a bye week.

“[Fields] is such a tough kid. He’s not afraid to go to the goal and take the beating,” Marr said. “You don’t want to see [injuries] happen to a great kid in his senior year. It stinks, but Connor will be fine, and we’ll be fine.”