The Boston University men’s lacrosse team didn’t wait long to set the tone at their Friday game against College of the Holy Cross. After a scrappy early exchange, sophomore attack Timothy Shannehan carved out the game’s first spark. His low‑to‑low attempt was denied, but with the rebound up for grabs, he reclaimed the ball with authority, launching a shot past the goalie to give BU the first strike of the game.
And that’s exactly what Shannehan has done all year. With a seven‑point performance — one goal and six assists — he powered the Terriers (8–5, 6–2 PL) to clinch a share of the Patriot League regular‑season title in the win over Holy Cross (6–8, 2–6 PL).
“[Shannehan’s] as good as there is,” BU head coach Ryan Polley said. “He’s really stepped up in a complementary role this year, and being our quarterback, he’s getting everybody involved.”
BU opened the first quarter tallying four unanswered goals. Adding two assists after his initial goal, Shannehan tallied three points in this sequence.
Holy Cross finally broke through with 5:02 left in the quarter, when sophomore attack Owen Tunney slipped a no‑look shot past graduate goaltender Michael Allieri. Tunney led the Crusaders with 7 points, 3 goals and 4 assists.
The quarter was highlighted by a behind-the-back goal from senior long-stick defenseman Matt Freeman.
“He’s lucky he made that,” Polley said.
By the end of the first quarter, BU had built a commanding 7-2 lead.
The second quarter saw a seven-minute scoring drought — the longest scoreless stint of the game. But after the Terriers got on the board in the second, courtesy of senior attack Jimmy Kohr, the game returned to back-and-forth action, with the Terriers holding an edge.
BU was called for offside at the end of the half, but killed the penalty off, preventing the Crusaders from drawing momentum.
In the third and fourth quarters, Holy Cross began to close the deficit, drawing the score to 13-9, its smallest deficit of the match. But BU held strong, putting up five consecutive goals to end the game.
“There’s no panic on the team, and not that we expected Holy Cross to come back, but we certainly knew that they’re a good team, and they weren’t going to go away,” Polley said.
With a comfortable lead, Allieri was pulled and replaced with senior goaltender Kevin Barrett.
Twelve different Terriers contributed points, and BU generated its best chances in sequences when the offense strung together quick passes to create space. The depth of the scoring sheet reflected how thoroughly BU controlled the tempo, with midfielders and attack alike stepping into open lanes and keeping Holy Cross on its heels.
“I thought this was one of the more unselfish games we played. Guys were making that extra pass and seeing the feed,” Polley said.
With the win under their belt, BU secured a share of the regular-season Patriot League title alongside Army West Point and Loyola Maryland — marking the third time the Terriers have secured at least a share of the crown, joining their 2022 and 2023 campaigns.
“I know we’re going to share the Patriot League title, but I told the team that’s not nothing,” Polley said. “We should be very proud of that. This is a killer of a league, and everybody can beat you.”
The Terriers are the No. 3 seed and will host sixth‑seeded Lehigh on Tuesday at Nickerson Field for their first game of the playoffs. Game time is set for 6 p.m., and with postseason stakes at play, BU will look to carry its momentum — and its depth — into the Patriot League Tournament.
