The Boston University men’s lacrosse team looked to make a statement against longtime rival Boston College when they hosted the Eagles Friday night at Nickerson Field.
Unfortunately the Eagles soared higher, beating the Terriers, 10-3.
“We just had an off day,” said BU coach Chris Remsen. “It was our worst game of the year. I didn’t feel like we were outmatched. We have the talent to compete with anyone who steps on the field against us.”
The normally feisty and hard-working Terriers came out slow against the Eagles, surrendering early goals after being outworked and outhustled.
“We came out a little flat at the beginning,” Remsen said. “We just lost some momentum right away.”
The Eagles jumped out to an early 5-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. The lone goal for the Terriers was scored by freshman midfielder Phil Rich.
But the Terriers stepped up the intensity as they entered the second quarter. The scoring began with 11:41 left in the half when Rich scored his second goal of the game to cut the lead to 5-2. Freshman midfielder Atticus Shelley then scored with 4:16 left on the clock on a low shot to the far post past Eagle senior goaltender Dorsey Hairston, making the score 5-3.
The Shelley goal, however, would be the last for the Terriers on a long and frustrating night. Just a few minutes later, BC freshman Chris Clark scored on a bounce shot to make the score 6-3 entering halftime.
“I told my team that we were still in it,” Remsen said. “We just needed to come out flying and play our own game.”
Both teams came out playing solid defense at the beginning of the third quarter until Clark scored his second goal of the game with 9:26 left in the frame to break the deadlock.
A series of penalties against both teams left many opportunities for power play goals, but the Terriers weren’t able to take advantage of them.
“The game was called tightly,” Remsen said. “I think the rivalry played a little into that.”
With 1:50 left in the third period, the Eagles scored again to break the game wide open, 8-3. The Eagles added two more goals for the 10-3 final.
A collision with 9:03 remaining left Terrier attacker Kevin Zakielarz with a separated shoulder, but he popped it right back in and returned to action later in the game.
All was not lost for the lacrosse team, however. They rebounded on Sunday to beat a talented UMass-Amherst team, 11-10, and improve to 3-1 on the season. The Terriers showed impressive resilience, twice rallying from a four-goal deficit behind the strength of seven goals by Rich and 12 saves by junior goaltender Eddie Bernard.
“Our guys showed a lot of heart,” Remden said. “It would have been easy to fold after our tough loss to Boston College. But this team has a lot of character. Eddie did a great job. I was very proud of the team today.”
“Our freshmen are very talented and confident,” said assistant coach Haig Panossian. “Our seniors are showing excellent leadership. We feel great about the position we are in and the possibilities we have in this upcoming season.”
The team has an opportunity to capitalize on its potential with three games coming up this week against the University of Connecticut, Bridgewater State College and conference-leading Northeastern University.