Following a tumultuous come-from-behind 8-7 victory over Providence College in double overtime on Feb. 4, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team was looking for smoother sailing in their second bout of the season.
It achieved that, meeting the program’s record for most goals scored in a single game with an 18-8 shellacking over the University of Massachusetts Lowell Saturday afternoon.
Now, it will look for this wave of momentum to cascade into its next tilt during its four-game road swing to begin the season with a trip to the University of Hartford.
The game serves as the season opener for Hartford, as they challenge the Terriers (2-0) to begin their slate of games for the second time in a row. In last season’s February meeting at Nickerson Field, the Hawks topped Boston in an offensive outburst, 16-10.
“We turned the ball over, and they capitalized on that,” said BU head coach Ryan Polley. “They were really opportunistic in transition. The focus all week has been to take care of, possess, and clear the ball and to make sure that we have defensive coverage if we don’t score.”
Four players recorded multiple goals for Hartford, with current co-captain Jaedon Henderson pacing the Hawks with four goals and America East All-Academic Team selection Will Dulin posting a hat trick.
The deciding factor in the contest came down to faceoffs, with the nation’s leader in faceoff win percentage last season, Dylan Protesto, garnering 14 of his 25 faceoff attempts against the Terriers. In his sophomore season, Protesto recorded a resounding 70.8 percent faceoff win percentage while receiving a nod to the USILA/Nike All-America Third Team.
“A big part of our game plan will be to take [Protesto] out of the game as much as possible considering what a great player he is,” Polley said. “[Protesto] was the best in the country last year, so we are going to have our hands full.”
Winning the faceoff battle will prove paramount to the Terriers if they wish to beat Hartford. With senior midfielder Sam Talkow, the nation’s third-leading faceoff winner in 2016, absent from his team’s first two contests with an upper body injury, junior midfielder Joe Stucky has received the majority of the reps at the position.
“[Stucky] was better towards the end of the Providence game just by taking the majority of the draws,” Polley said. “It just comes with experience. He started to get more comfortable [against the Friars]. The more faceoffs you take, the more comfortable you get, and the more you understand the little things about the position, the nerves [start] to go away. This will be a very big test for him and I am hopeful that he is going to be ready.”
One spot that the Terriers do not need to worry about is inside the cage. Goaltender Christian Carson-Banister has begun his final collegiate campaign with a bang. He earned Patriot League Corvias Goalkeeper of the Week honors on Feb. 6 after saving 16 shots in BU’s win over the Friars (1-1) before following that up with 14 saves against UMass Lowell (0-1).
“He has been playing great in practice,” Polley said. “[Assistant coach Stephen Toomy] has been doing a great job with him. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He is making all of the saves that we want him to make.”
Carson-Banister’s save percentage of 69.8 percent is the fourth-highest mark in the country while his saves per game average of 15 ranks third in NCAA Division I.
“It is such a huge team effort,” Carson-Banister said. “My defense is playing great, and they are not giving up quality looks. [My statistics] are really a testament to my defense.”
