After three games at Nickerson Field, the No. 16 Boston University men’s lacrosse team will head to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to face Lehigh University in its fifth Patriot League matchup of the season.
This will mark the fourth meeting between the Terriers (9-1, 3-1 Patriot League) and the Mountain Hawks (4-4, 2-3 Patriot League), and BU has yet to beat Lehigh.
BU head coach Ryan Polley knows that the game will be tight until the end, but has confidence in the team to perform well.
“The teams know each other very well and I really think it’s going to be a dog fight, so it would not surprise me at all if it was a one-goal or [an] overtime game,” Polley said. “I think it’s important that we have played well in close games and I expect us, with our seniors and our leadership, to continue to make those plays and be good in those tough situations.”
While the high-powered trio of attackers — senior Cal Dearth and juniors Jack Wilson and Ryan Hilburn — continue to lead the Terriers in points, freshman midfielder John MacLean now has the fourth highest points of the roster after notching two straight hat tricks in the past two games.
The Medfield native was recently named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second time this season.
Another driving force that propelled BU to a 15-7 victory over Lafayette College was its stellar seven-goal second quarter.
Each of these seven goals was scored by different players and showcased the Terriers’ offensive depth.
“I think it’s been one of our signatures as an offense, to just have a lot of different scorers and share the ball and have most of our goals assisted,” Polley said. “It’s been really good for us when we have that many scorers [so] we can’t just concentrate on one or two players. I’m just really proud how unselfish our offense is.”
Lehigh will likely start sophomore Chris Kiernan in the net, who posts a .496 save percentage and 9.55 goals against average.
However, before BU can find the back of the twine, it will have to get through the Mountain Hawks’ tough defense, which ranks second in the league in forced turnovers per game (8.63).
This will pose a test to the Terriers, as turnovers have been an Achilles’ heel for them in the past, but Polley noted the players’ overall improvement on stick work and decision-making.
“Certainly, [Lehigh is] very strong at [forcing turnovers],” Polley said. “But at the same time I think we have a group that understands the importance of valuing and having the ball and giving ourselves the best opportunity to score because we have it and I think we’ll continue to do that this weekend.”
While Lehigh may lack the scoring depth BU possesses, it has a similar trio of top players who have all passed the 20-point mark.
Attacker and midfielder Andrew Pettit averages the most goals per game (3.00) in the Patriot League and leads the team in points (31). Attackers Tristan Rai and senior Matt Raposo have also remained potent threats on the field.
However, BU senior goaltender Christian Carson-Banister has been a force to be reckoned with between the pipes this season and will be essential in shutting down any of the Mountain Hawks’ offensive momentum.
“He’s just been so valuable to us and our defense has played well in front of him, but he’s really played at such a high level,” Polley said. “He’ll be a key to our success down this stretch.”
The Mountain Hawks have only won two of their five league games and will be looking for a needed win this weekend at home.
Polley stressed that in order for BU to get a win, it will take a group effort.
“It’s a whole combination between the faceoff group, the offensive group taking care of the ball so we’re not playing a ton of defense, and then our defense executing at a high level and then Christian making the saves we need him to make,” Polley said.
