Down but never out, resilient in the face of adversity and unwilling to give up when things went south.
Chose whatever sports cliché you’d like, and odds are it was on full display in the No. 20 Boston University men’s lacrosse team’s 10-8 non-conference win over Canisius College Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, New York.
Sophomore attack Jack Wilson and junior goalkeeper Christian Carson-Banister continued to shine, respectively recording their second straight hat trick and posting 10 saves. The star, however, was freshman midfielder Brendan Homire, whose own hat trick in the fourth quarter clawed BU (5-1, 1-0 Patriot League) back from defeat and made its lone spring break road trip worthwhile.
“He’s been a big reason we’re 5-1, our primary initiator on offense, a great feeder and we needed him to score,” BU head coach Ryan Polley said. “He stepped up and had some huge goals, and all three of his were pretty different … He’s been a little snakebitten shooting, so I was happy to see him breakout and that was the difference in the game.”
Homire now has 15 points in his rookie campaign, but much work was done before his versatility could be the difference. Much like BU’s 13-10 victory away to High Point University Feb. 16, the Terriers jumped out to a commanding lead with abundant confidence and energy.
Sophomore attack Ryan Hilburn, in a game that marked his return from injury, scored a goal 2:24 in, giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead. Junior attack Adam Schaal added another with 8:53 left in the first quarter, and Wilson scored twice to give BU a 4-1 scoreline early in the second stanza.
“We just executed and played pretty well in the beginning,” Polley said. “We had great energy and the guys were ready to go, and we took advantage of two man-up goals and took advantage of a transition situation.”
From that point onwards, though, the Golden Griffins (0-1) used the energy of their home opener to rattle off six unanswered goals. With a 7-4 deficit in hand, Polley noted the game “could have gotten away from us,” but his team battled back.
BU went on a 6-1 run of its own to close out the contest, with Polley noting how important freshman midfielder Tristan Ruh’s tally was. The freshman’s first strike of his collegiate career came with 10 seconds left in the third quarter, igniting a Terrier comeback and opening the door for Homire’s sterling showing.
“Canisius went up three, and I thought Tristan Ruh’s goal was probably the play of the game,” Polley said. “Tristan is a third-line middle for us, and we just wanted a little spark … I’m not sure if he doesn’t make that play that we win the game, so a ton of credit to Tristan for being ready and producing when his number got called.”
When the final whistle sounded, BU had secured its second road win of the season and Polley said he was overall pleased with his team’s performance. The third-year coach noted the continued return of junior midfielder Cal Dearth (three assists), his team’s ability to limit turnovers and the team’s aptitude to go 15-of-16 in the clearing game, an area that has longed plagued the Terriers.
Looking ahead, arguably the biggest game of the season is next on the docket, as Colgate University visits Nickerson Field Saturday afternoon for a Patriot League clash. In last year’s version, BU defeated the Raiders (2-2, 1-1 Patriot League), marking its first ever win over a ranked opponent.
Polley said that’ll give Colgate, who won the 2015 conference tournament, something to rally around in what’s “such a big game.” Nonetheless, the focus turns to how the Terriers prepare for what’s sure to be another “dogfight.”
With midterm exams in the rearview mirror and a pause in classes, Polley said his team can practice in the middle of the day, put in more film work than usual, give reserve players more repetitions and let regular contributors fine-tune areas of their game. After all, the chance for another statement win is near.
“We have to have a great week of practice, get better and really focus on what we were deficient in against Canisius,” Polley said. “Nothing really changes. It’s a great week of practice, get ready to go on Saturday, play one play at a time and continue to have our playmakers make plays.”
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.
