Loyola Maryland's Ridley Athletic Complex confines have not been so friendly to its tenants this season.
In 2015, the Greyhounds (5-5 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League) have lost four games at home. It took opponents three years between 2012 and 2014 to tag the program with three losses at Ridley.
It's a startling number, but coach Charley Toomey said there's no point dwelling on it.
"It's disappointing, but that's really it," he said Thursday. "The players, we're not hanging it on them. Our fans, they come and support us, and we're working. Our kids work hard just like everybody does, but that's the deal. Everybody works hard and everybody wants to win.
"Every team that comes in Ridley, I'm sure they talk about what a tough place it is to play here, but that's on us to make it a tough place to play, and I know that our guys will."
Loyola, which hasn't dropped five games at home since the 1983 squad lost nine times, will try to collect its third win at Ridley when Patriot League rival Navy visits Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
The No. 18 Midshipmen (7-3 overall and 5-1 conference) own a 1½-game lead over a four-team scrum for second place, which includes the Greyhounds. But with road contests against league foes Boston University and Bucknell still on the schedule, Toomey declined to call Saturday's game a must-win scenario.
"Obviously, this is a league where you want to fight to be in the conference tournament," he said. "I'm not so sure the No. 1 seed wins the [automatic qualifier that accompanies capturing the Patriot League tournament] for sure. I think it's a league where you've just got to fight to get in and you've got to play well at the end.
"So, with that being said, I don't know whether or not this determines the first seed or the sixth seed. And a win doesn't necessarily get you into the tournament – although it helps you in a great way. From a mental standpoint, I think it's an important game for Loyola. We need to come out and play well.
"Obviously, it's Senior Day, it's our last home game, and it's a game where you'd hope that the guys come out of that locker room to play with a lot of emotion. I think that's what it's going to take, a game where we're able to put a 60-minute game together and play with emotion. I know Navy has a proud history, but Loyola has a proud history, too. So we've got match their energy and come out and put it all together this Saturday."