After coming off a 10-8 loss to the U.S. Naval Academy last Friday, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team looked to regain momentum against Yale University on Tuesday at Reese Stadium in New Haven, Connecticut. However, their offensive efforts fell short in a 17-14 loss, sending the Terriers (7-3, 4-1 Patriot League) on a two-game skid.
Although the Terriers lost the game, head coach Ryan Polley was proud of the team’s effort throughout all four quarters.
“I think we could be better in a few places, we didn’t do great in the clearing game, we didn’t face off particularly well, we weren’t good off the ground,” Polley said. “But, I’m proud of my team, how they played and how they hung in there.”
The Bulldogs (4-4) were dominant from the start. Junior midfielder Nicholas Ramsey won the first faceoff of the game, and senior midfielder Thomas Bragg scored the first goal of the game less than two minutes later.
The Terriers answered with a goal from senior attack Thomas Niedringhaus. Yale pulled ahead once again with a goal from sophomore midfielder Max Krevsky, followed by Bragg’s second of the game.
Halfway through the first quarter, graduate student attack Timmy Ley scored his first of two goals in the contest to knot the score at three. These goals made him the first Terrier to ever reach 200 career points.
BU remained dominant for a stretch, firing off seven-straight shots, none of which connected.
Despite keeping it competitive in the first quarter, the Terriers couldn’t keep up with Yale’s dominant offense, which scored seven goals in the second quarter. Junior midfielder Jack Monfort scored a goal just 50 seconds after Yale won the opening faceoff.
After Yale scored their fourth goal of the quarter, BU senior attack Vince D’Alto was able to hit the back of the net. D’Alto, one of three BU players to be selected as Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-Americans, netted six total goals for the second time this season.
Yale responded by scoring three goals in the span of just 17 seconds — two from Lyons and one from sophomore attack Leo Johnson — giving the Bulldogs a 10-4 lead going into the half.
The Terriers scored four goals in the third quarter but still trailed 13-8.
Yale dominated faceoffs the entire afternoon, winning all nine in the fourth quarter and ended the day with a 22-10 advantage .
“Trying to pick up a ground ball would be a good start,” Polley said. “We need [to] challenge some guys on the wing and we need some better wing play.”
BU scored six goals in the final quarter and two in the last minute, but still fell short by three.
Polley also said the team will focus on successfully clearing the ball going into practice this week.
The Terriers are now entering the final three games of the regular season. The next game will be played against the University of Loyola Maryland at Nickerson Field on Saturday, April 15 at 12 p.m.
“We’re playing three of the top teams in the Patriot League, and we still control our own destiny,” Polley said. “If we can win out, we’ll win the league and host, so we got to get back to what we do.”
