Seniors celebrated, contribute offense in BU’s win

It was cold and rainy at Nickerson Field Sunday afternoon, but that did not dampen the spirits of the Boston University lacrosse team or the festive day it had planned. The Terriers celebrated Senior Day with an 11-6 win over Canisius College through the rain, getting key contributions from the team’s graduating players.

“It was a good team win,” said senior attack Hannah Frey. “Everyone came and stepped up for the seniors today and it feels good to get the win.”

Before the game started, attacks Frey, Catie Tilton and Molly Swain, midfielder Annie Stookesberry, defender Brittany Carlin and undergraduate assistant coach Mandy Rogers were all honored on the field. Each of them took part in their last regular-season home games as a Terrier on Sunday.

Once the ceremony ended, however, the seniors stepped up to the task of taking down Canisius. Once BU took a 3-2 lead, Tilton and Frey each tallied goals to expand a lead the Terriers did not surrender.

“It is always something great when the seniors score on Senior Day,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw. “I think that sometimes they set each other up for it. It also just shows the experience that when we need a goal, they know how to score it.”

Tilton continued to add her name to the score sheet when she fed junior attack Danielle Etrasco to give the Terriers a four-goal lead.

Frey and Tilton increased their scoring totals in the final minutes of the game, with Frey scoring her second goal of the game with 1:41 remaining and Tilton assisting on a goal from Stookesberry in the final four seconds.

While Etrasco and freshman attack Mallory Collins have been the consistent pieces to BU’s offense, seniors like Frey, Tilton, Swain and Stookesberry have been key parts of the team’s secondary scoring.

Swain, Frey and Stookesberry are fourth, fifth and sixth on the team in goals with 22, 21 and 16 goals, respectively. While Tilton only has four goals on the season, she is third on the team in points and leads the team with her 35 assists.

“One of the best qualities of our attack this year is that we have a lot of scorers,” Frey said. “If Danielle and Mallory are on faceguards we know that there are other people who can step up.”

Also among the players honored before the game was Carlin, who will not be returning to the team after this season despite being a junior. Carlin has started all 15 games for the Terriers this season, recording 16 ground balls, 12 draw controls and a team-leading 39 fouls as one of the team’s top defenders. The Summit, N.J., native tallied a ground ball and a caused turnover on Sunday.

The final person honored was Rodgers, who joined the team’s coaching staff after she suffered a career-ending injury in 2011. Rodgers was a midfielder and totaled 58 ground balls and 73 draw controls in her three seasons before joining the coaching staff this season.

While this win was the final regular-season game at Nickerson Field, the Terriers clinched the opportunity to host the America East tournament after a win against Stony Brook University last week. The tournament gives the seniors at least one more chance at playing on their home turf, something Robertshaw noted may have helped their nerves.

“As soon as we won that game against Stony Brook you could see the seniors getting excited to know that this wasn’t the last time they would be playing here on Nickerson,” Robertshaw said. “They have one, another week to play at least, and we are going to be at home.”