In its penultimate game of the season and final at Nickerson Field, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team will face Patriot League rival College of the Holy Cross on Friday night.
The Terriers (10-3, 4-3 Patriot League) will also be celebrating Senior Night and competing for the Turnpike Trophy that day.
Over the weekend, each team secured a spot in the Patriot League tournament.
After a thrilling 12-11 overtime victory over Loyola University Maryland last weekend, BU will enter the playoffs for the first time in program history.
“It feels very good [making the playoffs] obviously,” said BU head coach Ryan Polley. “I’m proud of the guys and proud of the way they battled against Loyola and [came] back after the Army game.”
The Crusaders (4-8, 4-3 Patriot League) had similar success against Colgate University with a 12-11 win. Holy Cross’ leading offensive seniors Sean Kirkpatrick and Jon Vogel each notched hat tricks and senior Jack Ortlieb potted the game winner.
With a win over the Crusaders, the Terriers can clinch the No. 2 seed in the tournament if Loyola (7-5, 5-2 Patriot League) falls to the United States Military Academy. In order to do so, BU will have to get through Holy Cross’ formidable offensive line.
Kirkpatrick leads the Crusaders in goals (23) and tied for first in points (32) with senior Kevin Lux. Clearly, the Crusaders’ experience on offense has given them an edge in competition.
However, senior defenseman Dominick Calisto has led the Terriers’ defense and Polley remains confident in his team.
“[Calisto’s] been a really good anthem for us to put on the opponent’s best attackmen,” Polley said. “He’s played against some of the best attackmen in the country and has done a wonderful job against them. As a team defensively, guys have supported [Calisto] on the dodges against him and we just feel really good about our team defense and not just our individual defense.”
Senior long-stick midfielder Henry Lee also had a stellar performance last Saturday with two assists, five ground balls and one caused turnover.
BU’s strong offense, led by senior midfielder Cal Dearth and junior attacker Jack Wilson, who is one point shy of 40, will pose a threat to Holy Cross’ freshman goaltender Jonathan Tesoro.
Tesoro currently posts a .453 save percentage while the Terriers’ senior netminder Christian Carson-Banister remains a steady presence between the pipes.
After 13 games, Carson-Banister sits at the top of the league with .596 save percentage and is second with 8.04 goals against average.
“He’s important every single game so we expect him to continue to play at a high level that he’s been playing at all year,” Polley said of Carson-Banister. “We’re going to try to limit the high percentage shots and keep the shots to the outside that he wants to see.”
Another important role on the team will be junior midfielder and faceoff specialist Joe Stucky. The Potomac, Maryland native was one of the defining factors in the overtime win and will be crucial against the Crusaders.
One of Holy Cross’ strengths is causing turnovers, as it’s averaging 9.08 per game, and BU has had trouble in the past maintaining possession of the ball.
This was a downfall in losses to Bucknell University and Lehigh University, teams that the Crusaders have beaten this season.
“We just talked about making good decisions and being efficient with the ball, not forcing things,” Polley said. “Certainly, we’ve been practicing against early slides and the 10-man ride, so we’re hopeful that our guys will be prepared, just value the ball and not make those bad decisions that sometimes hurt us.”
Despite the outcome of the game, Polley cites that this will be a special game for the seniors.
“I think [Senior Night is] always a special thing. It’s a great time to come and honor them and thank them for all their hard work and what they’ve done to put this program on the map and the foundation that they built.”
