The Boston University men’s lacrosse team fell to Army West Point 14-8 at Michie Stadium Saturday afternoon.
After a close-fought loss to Army earlier in the season, the Terriers came into Saturday’s game looking to even the series after handily defeating the remainder of their Patriot League opponents in wins against Lafayette University, the College of the Holy Cross and Colgate University.
Despite a two-week layoff and a loss to Lehigh University, Army dropped no further than No. 10 in the country after the first week of play. To make the visitors’ task steeper, BU was without its top goal scorer, junior attackman Timmy Ley.
The Terriers kept the score close for most of the opening frame of play. BU freshman attackman Tommy Bourque scored the first goal, and Army responded on the following faceoff, all in the first minute.
After that, scoring opportunities were sparse. Army possessed the ball almost exclusively for the next several minutes, but BU junior goalkeeper Matt Garber had nine saves in the first quarter and finished with 17 by the end of the fourth.
Eventually, the Army possessions started to pay off. The home team scored again with 4:26 to go in the first, and that was enough to crack the game open. They went on to score three more goals before the start of the second quarter.
Garber continued to stymie the Army offense in the second quarter, letting in only one goal despite facing seven shots on frame.
“Garber was tremendous in the first half,” BU head coach Ryan Polley said Sunday in a post-game interview. “I think Army was playing really well and was kind of dominating the game, and I think we were lucky to only be down 6-1, to be honest.”
Army’s own defense played a terrific game, pressuring Terrier attackmen in 1-on-1 matchups and forcing mistakes. The Terriers gave up 19 turnovers in the game, and in transition, they had some difficulty clearing the ball out of the defensive zone. Army’s junior goalkeeper Wyatt Schupler faced marginal pressure all game.
“The stats had us for only two failed clears, but we failed a couple other clears,” Polley said. “We gave up three goals off the face off, which is really uncharacteristic of us … We gave up another transition goal.”
BU’s offense was able to generate more scoring opportunities in the third quarter, with goals from Bourque, junior attackman Matt Baugher and sophomore attackman Louis Perfetto, but Army’s lead continued to stretch.
Every time the Terriers managed to tally a goal, the home team would respond promptly with a score of its own. Army’s five goals in the third quarter prevented a comeback — reminiscent of their first meeting in March.
The Terriers offense persisted and scored four more goals before the end of the fourth quarter, but the effort wasn’t enough to mount a comeback. Army claimed the victory, sweeping the Terriers in the regular season.
BU’s scoring was led by Bourque with two goals. Sophomore attackman Vince D’Alto and freshman attackman Christian Quadrino both tallied a goal and an assist. Without Ley, the offense relied heavily on underclassmen.
“We’re still playing a ton of freshmen and a ton of sophomores, and this was their first experience in Michie Stadium,” Polley said. “It’s a 60,000-person stadium, and it’s a little intimidating. So, I think we’re definitely going to learn from this and definitely going to get better for it.”
As frustrating as the loss may be for the Terriers, the outcome will have little effect on the Patriot League Tournament standings this late in the season. Loyola University Maryland, Lehigh, Army and BU will fill up the four Patriot League Tournament spots.
The Terriers’ matchup for this coming weekend was canceled due to a temporary shutdown of Holy Cross lacrosse programs following a violation of COVID-19 protocols.
However, Polley said the team will try to book a replacement game in the coming days. Otherwise, the Terriers will take a few days off before turning their attention to the playoffs.
