The Boston University men’s lacrosse team opened its season with a come-from-behind win, defeating Providence College on the road in double overtime Saturday afternoon.
The Terriers (1-0), trailed by three goals entering the final quarter, rallied back behind the play of junior midfielder Hayden Ruiz to force an overtime. In the second overtime period, Ruiz set up sophomore attackman Brendan Homire for the game-winning goal.
BU head coach Ryan Polley noticed that his team played with some nerves in the season opener, but he admired how they responded to a daunting deficit.
“We had some first game jitters, didn’t quite play as well in the clearing game,” Polley said. “We weren’t in a great rhythm. I give our guys a lot of credit for digging deep and not panicking down four goals late in the third quarter.”
The Friars (0-1) started fast, taking the lead two minutes into the first quarter, with freshman Ryan Nawrocki scoring the first goal of the season on an assist from defenseman James Barclay.
BU knotted it up when junior attackman Jack Wilson scored BU’s first goal of the season with seven minutes left in the quarter, set up by junior attackman Ryan Hilburn.
Sophomore Nick Hatzipetrakos then pushed Providence into the lead in the final minute of the opening quarter with a goal.
The Friars’ carried this momentum into the second quarter to increase their lead on the Terriers. With the shot clock winding down, attackman Brendan Kearns found the back of the net five minutes into the period to bring the score to 3-1.
The Terriers came back toward the end of the period, starting with a goal from senior midfielder Cal Dearth. Less than a minute later, Homire paved the way for freshman midfielder John MacLean to bring the Terriers to a tie with the Friars entering halftime.
Providence dominated the third quarter, scoring four consecutive goals. Senior Ryan Schaffer kicked off the Friars’ scoring streak with a goal assisted by Kearns.
Kearns, who scored 22 goals last season, then scored two goals of his own just 11 seconds apart with help from Hatzipetrakos and senior Keenan Assaraf. Hatzipetrakos scored his second goal of the day soon after to put the Terriers in a four-goal hole.
BU closed out the quarter on a man-up opportunity, and Hilburn was able to capitalize and cut the lead to three going into the final frame.
While the third quarter belonged to the Friars, the Terriers took over the final quarter to tie up the game once again. Ruiz scored the first of three Terrier goals in the fourth and his first of the season off an assist by Hilburn. With three minutes left in the quarter, Ruiz and Homire rescued the Terriers with a goal each to bring the score to 7-7, sending a wild contest into overtime.
Ruiz’s game-tying goal capped a dramatic fourth quarter in which the Terriers played their best lacrosse of the day. After seeing his team look lost at times in the first three periods, Polley admired his team for finding a way to win.
“Providence played great defense, it was hard to get runs going,” Polley said. “A lot of the things that we wanted to do, we weren’t able to do, give Providence credit. But when we needed to make plays we made plays.”
Ruiz was instrumental in facilitating the Terriers comeback, as he was a crucial playmaker on all three of the final goals in regulation that brought BU back.
“Hayden played really well all game and it was nice to see him step up and make key plays in the fourth quarter,” Polley said.
With four minutes left in double-overtime, Homire scored his second goal of the game to give the Terriers a season-opening comeback victory.
Polley was pleased with the way his team responded with their backs against the wall and hopes that the opening win sets a tone for the remainder of the season.
“I think this was a game that could have easily got away from us,” Polley said. “I think we just grinded it out. I’m proud of our effort and our mindset throughout the whole game.”
Jordan Green contributed to the reporting of this article.
