After being held under 10 goals in each of its two previous games, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team’s offense erupted in a 15-7 victory over the University of Vermont on Saturday.
By the game’s end, 12 different BU (3-2, 0-1 Patriot League) players recorded a point, but seven points from freshman attack Jack Wilson led the way. Wilson, who was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second time Monday, bested Vermont (0-4) goalkeeper Jon Kaplan six times and added an assist on sophomore midfielder Allen Winkoff’s goal.
“Obviously, Jack had a career day, and I was just impressed with the different ways he scored,” said BU coach Ryan Polley. “He scored in transition and scored in man up and showed the versatility in his game. He just had a super game.”
The Manlius, New York native arrived in Boston as a highly touted recruit, largely because he was named to the U.S. Lacrosse Academic All-American team his senior year of high school. That accolade, when combined with his physical presence and strong right-handed shot, caused Polley to wonder what type of player Wilson could become.
While Polley said his coaching staff had expectations of some degree, few expected Wilson to put up seven points in just his fifth game of collegiate competition and lead the Terriers with 18 points on the season.
“We were excited to get Jack because of the great senior year he had,” Polley said. “Watching him play his senior year, we thought we had a nice player, but you never know. He’s gotten to campus and worked his tail off, so I wouldn’t say we are all too surprised. But it’s only one game, so he has to build off this.”
As important as Wilson was against the Catamounts, sophomore midfielder Cal Dearth also put together a complete and comprehensive offensive performance. He managed to best Kaplan two times, but more impressively recorded an assist on five of the Terriers’ 15 goals.
Dearth also managed to pick up two ground balls, be a crucial member of the man-up offense and establish himself as arguably the Terriers’ most consistent and diverse offensive threat.
“We challenged Cal after the Providence [College] game to step his game up,” Polley said. “He’s a great player, and we rely on him to do a lot of things. He needed a little more focus and assertiveness, and he was a beast between the lines against Vermont. He was playing at a really high level.”
While the Ridgefield, Connecticut native was a key player against the Catamounts and now has 17 points on the year, the offensive outburst isn’t all that surprising. He led the Terriers in points in 2014, was named the team’s Offensive Player of the Year and was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on two occasions.
Considering Dearth’s established pedigree and penchant for finding the back of the net, Polley said his performance against the Catamounts was one that showed progression and maturity.
“He’s just better than what he did last year,” he said. “He had a great rookie campaign, but has taken his game to a whole other level in terms of dodging, stick-work and leadership. We’ve seen a real growth in maturity and ability to make big plays.”
With Wilson and Dearth contributing in grandiose fashion, BU now has many offensive threats and different ways to attack its opponent. Dearth can use his athleticism and lacrosse awareness to set others up, Wilson can utilize his shot and ability to generate scoring opportunities and others can chip in in their own ways.
“It is great to see so many players contributing,” Polley said. “It makes us very difficult to defend if we are getting productivity out of our two midfield lines and attack. If we can score through so many other areas, then other teams can’t really focus in one player to shut down. It makes us really dangerous.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
