The Patriot League men’s lacrosse playoffs began May 2 with the Boston University Terriers (11-5, 6-2 Patriot League) beating the Lafayette College Leopards (10-6, 5-3 PL) 12-10 in the semifinal.

This marked the second time the two teams faced off this season. Earlier this spring, the Terriers lost 9-11 on the Leopards’ home turf. 

Leopards’ attacker Billy Irish scored a goal within the first six minutes, following a wide shot attempt from fellow attacker Nicholas Blalock. BU’s Tyler Fox scored the first goal for the Terriers and his tenth of the season.

This back-and-forth kept up throughout the game, as neither team led by more than two goals until the fourth quarter. 

Terriers Lacrosse Head Coach Ryan Polley addressed the differing levels of momentum throughout the game and said he liked the way the team started the third quarter.

“After a little bit of a slow start, I thought we had some nerves,” Polley said. “[The] guys calmed down a little bit, started making some plays, got it to 2-2 at the first quarter, which I thought was big.”

While statistically, the teams were close in shots on goal and turnovers, BU was significantly more efficient — with 34 shot attempts generating 20 shots on goal.

Blalock was a key player for the Leopards, netting five of their 10 goals and maintaining the Leopards’ competitiveness in the second and third quarters.

The Leopards maintained the lead until the start of the second half, when freshman attacker Timothy Shannehan scored just over two minutes into the third quarter, making the score 6-5 BU.

On the defensive side, senior goalkeeper Will Barnes made his presence known by saving 13 shot attempts. This proved to be crucial in the fourth quarter when Barnes saved six shots, assisting the team as they scored five straight goals.

After senior attacker Zach Travaglini tied the game 8-8, junior Jimmy Kohr scored. Then, sophomore Donald Varnerin nailed a shot off a faceoff to get the Terriers to double digits. 

Senior Jimmy O’Connell and freshman Ben Morris scored the final two goals for the Terriers.

Although this run was a huge momentum shifter for the Terriers, Polley said a defensive effort was the “play of the game.”

“The play of the game was [sophomore midfielder] James Lapina, when we’re down to goal and they shoot it,” Polley said. “That thing was going in, and he just snags it out of the net.”

Freshman midfielder Madden Murphy was the unsung hero for the Terriers, winning 8 of his 20 faceoffs. Coach Polley praised the freshman’s mentality and improvement over the season.

”He’s [Madden] really started to surge, given us a little bit of some offense at the X, being able to pop a couple [faceoffs] forward,” Polley said. I just thought he battled.”

The Terriers acquired multiple penalties along the way, racking up five in the fourth quarter alone. Polley said these were “unacceptable.”

“I’m glad we won, and it’s a huge win, but we lost our composure at the end of the game and, frankly, made [it] a lot harder than it needed to be in that moment that there was certainly a hard game,” Polley said. 

With the season coming to an end on Sunday after losing the Patriot League final against Colgate, Coach Polley is looking to strengthen the team’s game plan with the young talent for next season.

“We’ll get home,” Polley said. “We’ll rest, [and] we’ll recover.”