The Boston University men’s lacrosse team fell 15-9 to No. 7 Ohio State University Saturday afternoon, climbing back from a 10-1 deficit at halftime. BU (1-1) senior attack Jack Wilson and junior attack James Burr scored a hat-trick each, but the Terriers’ second-half comeback fell short.
The Buckeyes (2-0) got off to a hot start, scoring the game’s first eight goals, including seven in the first quarter, while the Terriers were held to just three shots on goal in the first quarter.
“I thought after the first quarter, we kind of settled down and competed well with a really strong team,” BU head coach Ryan Polley said. “We were pretty efficient offensively in the second half. Our zone defense, I thought we did pretty well in our zone.”
Wilson put BU on the board at the 9:37 mark in the second quarter, capitalizing on a feed from sophomore midfielder John MacLean during a man-up opportunity. The Terriers held the Buckeyes to just three second-quarter scores, ending the first half with a score of 10-1.
To Polley, the issue was simple: his team needed to compete harder.
“In the beginning of the game, I think we were a little unsure of ourselves,” he said. “Frankly, I just don’t think we understood what it meant to play at that high of a level and play with that intensity and that urgency. Ohio State, to their credit, really took it to us in the beginning of the game.”
BU came out firing in the second half, scoring four goals in a four-minute span, decreasing Ohio State’s lead to 10-5. Burr netted his first two goals of the contest, and Wilson secured his second.
The Buckeyes responded with three goals of their own, including two more from freshman midfielder Jackson Reid, bringing his total on the day to four. With the quarter nearing its end, Burr fired his third goal of the contest to bring the score to 13-6 with one frame remaining.
What changed for the Terriers? Again, it was simple.
“We played harder,” Polley said. “Once we decided that we would play as hard as we could, and have a little bit of compete and urgency, we were fine.”
Entering the final 15 minutes, BU had quite the uphill battle ahead. The quarter began on a promising note, with Wilson securing his hat-trick with a goal just 18 seconds into the quarter on the man-up, narrowing Ohio State’s advantage to six.
The Terriers were unable to maintain the momentum, however, and the two teams traded pairs of goals in the final seven minutes, ending in a 15-9 victory for the Buckeyes.
BU recorded two scores in the final four minutes from junior attack and midfielder Brendan Homire and freshman attack Chris Gray, but ran out of time on its comeback.
Despite the disappointing finish, the Terriers ended the game on an uptick. BU outscored Ohio State 8-5 in the second half. After winning only one faceoff in the first half, midfielder and faceoff specialists senior Joe Stucky and freshman Sean Christman combined to go 10-14 on faceoffs in the second half.
Additionally, Wilson extended his point streak to 45 games, in which he has 74 goals and 46 assists. He has only gone without a point in one game over his career.
“[Ohio State is] an excellent team,” Polley said. “But at the same time, I think we’re better than what we showed in the first quarter for sure. I’m hoping it’s a good lesson for us going forward.”
The Terriers will have the next weekend off before will facing Dartmouth College at Nickerson Field Tuesday night on Feb. 20.
