Freshman midfielder Sam Talkow was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week Monday, the conference announced. Talkow is now the third consecutive Boston University men’s lacrosse player to win the award, following freshman midfielder Cal Dearth and freshman attack Ryan Johnston.
The Delray Beach, Fla., native has impressed in recent efforts, specifically in his role taking faceoffs for the Terriers (1-7, 1-3 Patriot League). Against Lafayette College on March 15, Talkow won 14-of-22 faceoffs, higher than the 8-for-22 number recorded by the Leopards (1-6, 1-4 Patriot League).
The freshman showed even more progress during the Saturday battle at Bucknell University. He won all 12 of his draws, including nine in the first half alone. Talkow also scored one of just three goals for the Terriers that day in the first period.
Talkow leads BU in not only faceoffs, but also in ground balls with his 54 total on the season. He is also building a reputation around the conference, as the freshman leads the Patriot League in faceoff percentage with .614 and is second in ground balls with 6.75 per game.
“He’s been great, he’s actually been great all year,” said BU coach Ryan Polley. “He’s been a dominant faceoff player. He went 12-for-12 against Bucknell, and what a goal, and against a very strong team he gave us a chance to win. Sam has been terrific all year.”
Offense continues to struggle
Despite winning their first game in their inaugural season less than two weeks ago, the Terriers have still yet to prove that they can field a consistently effective offense.
BU ranks second to last in the Patriot League in goals with 6.50 per game, assists with 4.25 per game, points with 10.75 per game and shots at 31.62 per contest.
Furthermore, the Terriers lead the conference with 19 turnovers a contest and are last in shot percentage with .206.
BU scored in double digits for the first time in its 12-7 win against Lafayette, which puts the program in stark contrast to conference foes such as Loyola University-Maryland and the U.S. Naval Academy, each of which average double digits in goals per game.
In its last effort, BU only collected three goals in a loss to the Bison (5-4, 3-2 Patriot League). That poor offensive showing matches the team’s season-low scoring mark set in a 9-3 loss to Canisius College on Feb. 15.
Against Bucknell, the Terriers showed their most harmful trends, only tallying 28 shots during the game and committed 19 turnovers.
“I think Bucknell is traditionally a very good defensive team, and I think some of the struggles are certainly our turnovers,” Polley said. “I think we need to limit our turnovers a little bit to give ourselves a maximum chance of scoring.
“We give too many possessions away. I think we had an okay offensive game going against a great team and we didn’t finish some shots. It was just one of those days.”
Johnston continues impressive rookie season
After winning Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the games played between March 3 and March 9, Johnston has continued to increase his impact on the field.
Johnston’s most impressive performance this season was during that award-winning week, in which he piled on a school record of five goals in BU’s loss to Colgate University on March 8.
That stellar outing was no fluke for the Elora, Ontario native and his play has continued to be strong. The freshman attack is tied for second in the conference in man-up goals with 0.50 per game.
Within the program itself, Johnston is a leader on offense. He leads the team in goals with nine, man-up goals with four, shots with 35 and shots on goal with 25. He is also third on BU in total points with 11.
Even though the Terriers did not show up for the most part offensively in their recent loss to the Bison, Johnston provided some consolation. The rookie recorded a game-high nine shots, and also had one of BU’s two assists.
“He’s kind of figured it out,” Polley said of Johnston. “We kind of challenge him to move a bit off the ball. He’s worked very hard, been watching film. He’s figuring out where he needs to be, and to our other guys’ credit they’ve done a nice job finding him.
“He had nine shots against Bucknell and had some really good opportunities. Certainly he’s been working at it and been figuring out how to get those scoring opportunities.”
