Despite seeing their season-opening seven-game winning streak disappear at the hands of Bucknell University last Saturday afternoon, the No. 19 Boston University men’s lacrosse team prevented itself from a two-game slide with a convincing 13-8 runaway victory over crosstown rival Harvard University on Tuesday night.
Now, the Terriers (8-1, 2-1) attention will be shifted to the task of avoiding a Patriot League losing skid as they host Lafayette College on Saturday afternoon to conclude a streak of three consecutive games at Nickerson Field.
After being limited to under eight goals for the first time all season in last Saturday’s 12-6 loss, BU rebounded with a concerted effort for its second straight win in the series against the Crimson (4-3).
Senior midfielder Cal Dearth exploded for a hat trick to accompany his four assists of the night, and he now leads the team in goals with 18. A preseason Tewaaraton Award Watch List selectee, Dearth has lived up to expectations throughout the early stages of the 2017 campaign. Tuesday’s outburst marked his fourth performance with at least four points, and he has showcased his ability to both put the ball in the net (18 goals) and set his teammates up for success (13 assists).
“Cal is just a great player, he’s so unselfish,” said BU head coach Ryan Polley. “He can do so many different things, he can shoot, he can pass, he can dodge. Cal has been our best offensive player this year and has just continued to do a lot of the things that we need.”
Freshman midfielder John MacLean piped in three goals of his own, continuing what has been a dynamite first season for the Medfield native. MacLean has been held without a point in just two of the Terriers’ nine outings of the season while netting multiple goals in wins over the University of Hartford and Colgate University before clinching his first hat trick on Tuesday night.
“As he gets more experience, he gets more comfortable out there,” Polley said. “John has a lot of talent, he’s been on our first line the entire year. He’s made some strides, he’s played well even in games that he hasn’t scored. For John, the biggest thing for him was being a little more accurate in his shot and having confidence in his shot.”
One critical matchup to watch on Saturday will come at the faceoff X. Both the Terriers and the Leopards rank in the top 50 in the nation in faceoff percentage, as BU has emerged victorious from 50.2 percent of its faceoff opportunities while Lafayette has garnered 46.7 percent of its available faceoffs.
Despite losing formidable senior faceoff specialist Sam Talkow to injury, the Terriers have been able to rebound in credit to the emergence of junior midfielder Joe Stucky. The Potomac, Maryland native impressed with his most reliable effort of the season against the Crimson.
Stucky won 18 of his 25 faceoff attempts that night, leading to the Terriers doubling Harvard’s shot total by a margin of 44-22.
“He just hasn’t had a lot of experience over his two years,” Polley said. “As the season’s gone on, he’s taken almost every single faceoff for us. He’s getting better at it, he’s working hard in practice. Against Harvard I think he did a great job, but I also think our wings were really strong as well.”
Saturday’s game against Lafayette presents the Terriers’ offense, which has improved to 23rd in the country with 11.44 goals per game, with another opportunity to display their superiority. The Leopards enter the game with the eighth-worst defense in the nation and the worst unit in the Patriot League, allowing an average of 13.57 goals per game.
Archrival Lehigh University dumped 15 goals on Lafayette as the Leopards lost by eight goals last Saturday. Lafayette has been torched for at least 14 tallies in five of its seven games. The combination of the Terriers’ fast-paced offensive attack and Lafayette’s defensive limitations bodes considerably well for BU.
Sophomore attacker James Burr busted out of a scoring drought of just a single goal in three games by matching a career-high with four goals against Harvard while junior attacker Jack Wilson notched his third hat trick of the season in the loss to Bucknell.
Polley simply said his team has to continue playing with the swagger that it has had in its impressive start.
“Just to keep doing what we’re doing, playing with confidence, and playing loose and sharing the ball,” said Polley. “Our guys have done a great job sharing the ball. We continue to play at our best when we are unselfish.”
