Facing off against Mercer University to open up its inaugural season on Feb. 8, 2014, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team showcased its inexperience in a sloppy 17-6 loss in which it committed nine penalties and lost the turnover battle 21-12.
While a majority of the core players from that matchup returned to the field Saturday night at the Harvard Stadium Bubble, the storyline took a completely different turn, as BU (1-0) exerted its dominance early and often on all ends of the field, winning 18-6.
Ten different players registered points on the night for BU coach Ryan Polley’s side, which outshot Mercer (0-1) 52-29 and earned program-highs in goals scored and margin of victory.
“We got better tonight,” Polley said. “Regardless of the score, we’re really about our process, and the outcome is a byproduct of that. If we would have won by 10 goals or if we won by one goal, it wouldn’t really matter. The thing that matters to me is that our process was great, and we played a great game.”
Inclement weather forced the game, which was scheduled for 1 p.m. at Nickerson Field, to be moved to the enclosed Harvard Bubble nearly eight-and-a-half hours later.
“I’m just so proud of the way we handled today,” he said. “We were so amped up and ready to play and then our field got declared unplayable, which was a big emotional letdown. We had to regroup and start all over again.”
BU’s transformation was evident from the game’s opening whistle as sophomore midfielder Sam Talkow won the initial faceoff and the Terriers then held possession for the game’s first three minutes.
Attempts from Talkow and freshman attack Jack Wilson missed the mark, but the Terriers finally got on the scoreboard 2:27 into the game when sophomore attack Adam Schaal dished the ball across the face of the goal to Wilson, who scored the first of his five goals on the night.
“It was a lot of fun,” Wilson said of his first collegiate start. “We’ve been working with these guys for six months and putting in the work. The coaches all prepared us very well. It was fun to come out. They gave us what we needed, and we just executed.”
The Terriers kept up the pressure as Talkow won the ensuing faceoff, and redshirt sophomore attack Sam Tenney scored on the possession to give BU a 2-0 advantage. Mercer earned the ball for the first time all game at the 11:47 mark when midfielder Justin Evans beat out Talkow on the subsequent faceoff, but the Bears would not hold on to it for long.
After sophomore goalkeeper Christian Carson-Banister blocked a Mercer shot, sophomore defender Greg Wozniak quickly sent the ball up to Schaal, who took advantage of his clear chance on net to extend the Terriers’ advantage to 3-0.
The Bears then took a timeout and came out of the break energized. Attack Chris Baxa, who scored four goals in the teams’ previous meeting, found an opening in the BU defense and cut the deficit to 3-1 with just under 10 minutes left in the opening frame.
Polley’s side responded after sophomore attack Ryan Johnston scooped up a ground ball off his own missed shot and sent it to freshman midfielder Hayden Ruiz, who whipped the ball in from the left side of the crease for his first collegiate goal with 6:50 remaining in the period.
Toward the end of the first quarter, the increased awareness from the BU defensive unit showed after Carson-Banister was hit and fell to the ground, giving the Bears a potential open look at goal. Recognizing this, sophomore defender Madison Palms rushed over to help throw a Mercer attacker off the ball. While Palms was given a one-minute penalty on the play, BU was able to reset its defense and successfully kill the Bears’ man-advantage.
BU would then get the chance to show off its own man-up offense when Baxa received a slashing penalty. Exercising patience, the Terrier attack threw the ball around the crease until sophomore midfielder Cal Dearth launched a shot from distance that flew by goalie Mike Nugent and into the net with 1:57 to go in the frame. Wilson would add one more man-up goal in the quarter to give BU a 6-1 lead through the first 15 minutes of play.
“I’m just really proud of how we competed,” Polley said. “We played a really strong first quarter, and then it just kind of continued to go. We just took it one play at a time, and we kept making plays, which was awesome.”
Polley’s squad turned up the heat to start the second quarter, as Talkow won the opening faceoff and freshman attack Ryan Hilburn scored on BU’s first possession less than a minute into the frame.
Seconds later, after BU won possession again off a faceoff violation, Mercer was called for a 30-second illegal procedure penalty, and the Terriers once again made the Bears pay. This time, Hilburn sprinted around the goal and sent the ball back to the top of the crease for Dearth, who scored his second of the night to make it 7-1 in favor of the Terriers with 13:44 left in the quarter.
“We knew the score from last year, so we really turned it up and played a great game,” said Dearth, who ended the night with three goals and two assists.
Talkow almost made it 8-1 after he won the following faceoff and sprinted deep into Mercer territory, but he lost control of the ball right in front of the goal, and Nugent scooped it up and helped clear it from danger. Neither team would break through again until Tenney capped off a long BU possession with his second goal with 3:56 remaining in the half.
The Terriers added to their lead moments later when Mercer was called for a 30-second penalty and Polley’s side executed in the form of another Schaal goal that stretched the lead to 10-1. BU was a perfect 4-for-4 on the man-advantage in the half.
Then sophomore midfielder Craig Zebrowski added his name to the scoresheet after he capitalized on a failed Mercer clearance, marking BU’s eighth unanswered goal. The Terriers almost tied their program-high in goals with 1:10 to go in the half, but Nugent made a foot save off a Hilburn shot to deny the freshman his second goal of the evening and the Terriers went into the break riding an 11-1 lead.
“We have great depth,” Dearth said. “We have some great freshman this year in Jack Wilson and Ryan Hilburn, and our returners are doing great. We’re really clicking on offense, and it’s awesome.”
Mercer captured a bit of momentum midway through the third quarter, as it scored two consecutive goals to cut the deficit to 11-3 with 7:29 left in the frame.
However, BU was fast to respond, as Talkow won the subsequent faceoff, ran untouched through the Bears’ defense and slotted one past Nugent. Talkow, who ended last year ranked 19th in the NCAA in faceoff win percentage, picked up right where he left off, winning 18-of-23 draws on the night.
After the Terrier defense held strong on the following Mercer possession, Ruiz then made it 13-3 in favor of BU when he launched a shot from the left side of the crease that flew past Nugent.
“[Assistant coach Drew Kelleher] does a great job developing our players and getting them in the right spots and scheming some plays,” Polley said. “It was really exciting to see guys step up and make plays and score some good goals … Guys just continued to make plays and make good decisions.”
Polley’s squad further padded its lead after Dearth came from behind to strip midfielder Chance Kushner of the ball for one of his three caused turnovers, and Wilson scored in transition with 3:23 left in the quarter.
“We were great [in transition]. We’re a great team going up and down the field,” Dearth said. “It was great. We have a goal of plus-3 transition goals per game, and we definitely got that tonight.”
Mercer found the back of the net once more on the man-advantage in the quarter’s final minute, and the teams headed into the final 15 minutes of play with BU holding a commanding 14-4 lead.
BU wasted no time to start the fourth frame as Dearth completed his hat trick 18 seconds into the quarter. Mercer would add two goals, but two more tallies from Wilson and a strike from sophomore attack Michael Carbone put the finishing touches on the program’s career day.
“It all comes down to the fact that we all trust each other. We have trust in our sticks,” Wilson said. “We watched a lot of film on their defense. The coaches just prepared us very well, so we just took it one play at a time.”
Even in the lopsided win, the team still showed room for improvement, as it committed 20 turnovers and went just 12-of-17 on clear attempts.
“It [the win] gives us a lot of momentum going into our next game,” Wilson said. “There’s always stuff to work on. There’s always stuff we can improve on. It’s nice to beat Mercer after last year. [We have] a lot of momentum, and we’re excited.”
Jackie is a sports reporter for The Daily Free Press and has previously served as Managing Editor and Associate Sports Editor of the FreeP. At this moment, she's probably watching Shark Tank and thinking of ways to work, "and for that reason, I'm out," into casual conversations. Please send all inquiries in the form of a box combo from Cane's with no coleslaw and extra fries or follow her on Twitter at @jackie_bam
