The Boston University men’s lacrosse team played a battle of a game against non-conference opponent Harvard University on Tuesday night.
The Crimson (6-5) came away with the 9-8 win. The result was unusual for the Terriers (6-5, 3-3 Patriot League) and their nationally ranked offense.
“I thought it was a great game between two really good teams that really went after it,” said BU coach Ryan Polley. “I thought both goalies played great, and it was a battle to the last possession.”
Despite scoring two goals in the opening minutes of the game, BU faced many trials and tribulations throughout the match against Harvard, one of them being the Crimson’s suffocating defense.
With their three-front, three-back formation, the Crimson blocked numerous shots during BU possessions throughout the game. Harvard goalkeeper Bryan Moore made a total of 18 saves after four quarters, with several coming within the very last minutes of the match.
BU’s offense still broke through, however, with sophomore attack Adam Schaal scoring a hat trick, including his 20th goal of the 2015 season. Freshman attacks Ryan Hilburn and Jack Wilson also combined for three goals. Freshman midfielder Greg Farris opened the scoring just under a minute into the game, his sixth of the year.
Aiding BU’s offense was faceoff specialist sophomore Sam Talkow, who dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 16 out of 21 contests. He even scored a goal of his own, coming midway through the second quarter.
While both teams had a few man-up opportunities throughout the game, neither team was able to capitalize, especially rare for two strong offensive teams.
The Terriers had a chance to tie the game up within the last few minutes of the contest. With under one minute left on the clock and his team down by one goal, The Terriers managed to get two shots off in the game’s waning seconds, but none of them made their way into the net, giving the Crimson a hard-found 9-8 victory.
The Terriers played an overall highly competitive game with the Crimson, with both teams creating back-to-back scoring opportunities throughout the four quarters. No team was ever leading by more than two goals.
“Both teams have good offenses, so I don’t think any lead was safe,” Polley said. “The defense made the stops, and the goalies played great. The game was back-and-forth, and I thought both teams played really well.”
Another aspect of the game that hindered the Terriers was the turnovers that occurred while in the offensive zone. While BU cut down its turnovers from its past two contests, the Terriers still gave away possession 15 times.
Despite the loss, Polley said he was pleased with BU’s ability to hang on to the ball.
“From our side, our turnovers were down,” he said. “They just made one more play than us in the last five minutes.”
Ranya currently covers field hockey and women’s hockey for the Daily Free Press. As a Biology major at BU, she spends much of her time buried in her Chemistry textbook with the occasional trip to the piano practice room to rehearse her favorite piece, Debussy’s "Claire de Lune." She is an avid ice hockey fan and a proud supporter of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
