After emerging as victors from college lacrosse’s opening weekend, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team will get back to action when it hosts the University of Massachusetts Lowell Friday afternoon at Nickerson Field.
More specifically, the Terriers (1-0) came out on the right side of a 9-5 scoreline with Providence College, setting a positive tone for what lies ahead. However, with a second-year River Hawks (0-0) program coming to town, BU head coach Ryan Polley was quick to mention how a win isn’t always enough.
In its third year of NCAA competition, BU has its sights set on making noise in the Patriot League, and Friday’s game serves as another stepping stone toward realizing that goal.
“The guys are at the maturity level now that they understand a good win and when you don’t play a clean game,” Polley said. “I talked to the captains on Tuesday, and there was a sense they weren’t upset, but that we can play better. I was excited to hear that and that we’re growing as a team and realizing we can win without playing a clean game.”
Junior long stick midfielder Greg Wozniak echoed those sentiments, stressing that BU’s end goal is far grander.
“We only won one game, so it doesn’t really mean much,” Wozniak said. “It’s nice to have, but down the stretch, it doesn’t mean as much. It’s under our belt, and in the long run, we’re looking to do more than that.”
In its most recent week of practice, BU focused on clearing the ball better, limiting turnovers and making higher percentage plays when transitioning from offense to defense. Polley acknowledged that trifecta as something that must be addressed if BU wants to “make any noise in the Patriot League.”
That directive is bound to be multi-faceted. Wozniak said BU has to be tougher than its opponents, come out with more energy and focus on the little things that add up across all four quarters. Given their past success and recognitions, junior goaltender Christian Carson-Banister, junior midfielder Cal Dearth, junior faceoff specialist Sam Talkow and sophomore attack Jack Wilson all figure to be a major factor of that.
Looking toward Lowell, BU will encounter a program at a crossroads of sorts. The River Hawks are coming off a season in which they finished 1-13, but Polley and Wozniak both pointed out that past records seldom paint the present-day picture.
BU vs. Providence Highlight Video from GKess Films on Vimeo.
Freshman captain Grant Lardieri should start between the pipes, and the sophomore attack duo of Jon Phillips and Sean Tyrrell returns with a combined 52 points. Those threats, as well as others, add up to create a program that Polley believes is on its way toward major improvements across the board.
“The transformation for us from year one to year two was a pretty big progression, and I expect UMass Lowell to do something very similar,” Polley said. “We were so hungry to show everybody how much we improved that we played some of our best at the beginning of the season, and I anticipate Lowell doing the same things. We certainly can’t look past them.”
Wozniak expects much of the same from BU’s America East foe, knowing all too well the trials and tribulations that can malevolently welcome a team to NCAA competition.
“Going into my sophomore year, we had a chip on our shoulder knowing that we always felt like we were playing with every team,” Wozniak said. “We don’t really look into their record at all, because they’re going to be a good team. They’re young, so they’ll be high energy and want to stick it to us in our third year now.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
