No. 4/3 Princeton University defeated the No. 13 Boston University men’s lacrosse team by a score of 12-7 in a Saturday afternoon matchup at Sherrerd Field in Princeton, New Jersey.
The Terriers (8-3, 5-0 Patriot League), who lost to No. 5 Yale University on Tuesday, suffered their second loss in a row for the first time this season. Meanwhile, the Tigers (8-2) notched their eighth win of the season.
BU has run through a gauntlet of a schedule of late. Three of the Terriers’ last five opponents, Princeton, Yale University and Harvard University, are ranked in the top 15 nationally. BU’s only three losses of the season have come at the hands of the three powerhouse Ivy League programs.
Despite the loss, head coach Ryan Polley thought the team responded well after their loss to Yale last week. “This was a tough one,” Polley said. “We played two top five teams and I was just really pleased with how we rebounded from Yale.”
The final score was not representative of how closely contested the game was. The Terriers ended up losing by a margin of five points, but for most of the contest kept it within two goals.
Senior goalkeeper Matt Garber helped the Terriers remain in the game with nine saves, six of which came in the first half alone.
The Tigers entered halftime with a 5-3 lead over BU. But, when the teams returned from the break, senior attack Timmy Ley and junior attack Thomas Niedringhaus scored back-to-back goals to tie the game and flip momentum in the Terriers’ favor.
“I think we had some time to regroup at halftime,” said Polley. “I was proud of how we rebounded.”
However, BU’s momentum quickly faded as the Tigers were able to score four unanswered goals between the end of the third quarter and the middle of the fourth period. Princeton tallied on a final goal with five minutes to go in the game to seal the victory. Of the four Tiger goals scored in the fourth quarter, senior attack Chris Brown assisted on three, elevating his total assist count to seven throughout the game.
Two of the Tigers’ fourth-quarter goals came from freshman attack Coulter Mackesy, who led all players with three goals.
Polley cited the Terriers’ failure to clear balls in the fourth quarter as a key factor in the team’s loss. “We just gave them too many possessions,” said Polley. “Our clearing has to get better. It’s been a struggle in the last couple of games.”
Junior attack Vince D’Alto, an offensive stalwart for BU all season long, led the way for the team with two goals in the low-scoring game.
The Terriers will look to snap their two-game losing streak as they travel to face Loyola Maryland on Saturday at 12 p.m.
“We have to flush this, learn from it, get better,” Polley said. “We have to be able to bounce back and just play a great game against Loyola.”
