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Wildcats too much for men’s lacrosse

In its first five games of the season, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team gave up a total of 42 points, an average of just over eight points per game.

Yesterday afternoon’s match against the University of New Hampshire (3-1) saw the Terriers allow half of that in what turned out to be the club’s worst loss of the season — a 21-13 verdict that dropped the club’s record to 3-3.

Terrier junior goalie Brad Dynowicz said the most bothersome aspect was not the loss itself but how the team managed to lose momentum in the two middle quarters. BU had outscored New Hampshire, 9-6, in the first and fourth quarters.

“It was a top-notch offense UNH put out there [but still] pretty basic,” he said. “We took a lot of penalties, more than we’ve had in recent games and a lot of defensive mistakes, myself included. It cost us big time.”

New Hampshire dominated the second and third quarters, 15-4, spoiling the fourth-place Terriers’ hopes for a road victory against the team directly in front in the Pioneer League standings.

“This has happened in three games now,” Dynowicz said. “We’ve owned the first and the fourth, but in the second and third they just rip on us totally.”

“A lot of unsportsmanlike penalties, lazy defense penalties, and mental penalties” were what hurt the team most during those fateful middle quarters, he added. The Terriers were guilty of swinging “our sticks around, not being in control. If we could have done a better job of containing [our composure], we probably would have had the game.”

Dynowicz said the penalties and mental lapses were born out of frustration with the team’s erratic play, which can sometimes be expected with BU considering the team’s relative youth compared to last year, when the Terriers went 8-2.

“We got down on ourselves [because of] the overall results of the game,” he said. “UNH wasn’t really showing any mercy to us. Those mistakes are going to kill you, especially against UNH. That’s why they are the defending league champs. They capitalize on those [types of mistakes].”

BU’s lackadaisical defense and lack of discipline have not kept the team from being competitive in its matches. The only difference was the disparity in goals, which surprised the junior goalie.

“No matter what mistakes we made, we had always managed to hang in,” Dynowicz said. “[The match] was an aberration as far as the score. [Yesterday], I think the frustrations from the entire season just caught up to us.”

Dynowicz was bewildered at his team’s defensive coverage, which he described as “careless and lazy.” However, he did not hesitate to include himself as one of the culprits.

“[New Hampshire] took a lot of outside shots that I saw all the way,” he said. “I saw shots that I probably should have stopped. Funny bounces happen. I was a little lazy. Those were shots I would like to have back, shots I would have stopped on another day. But it wasn’t the case.”

The Terriers travel to Bentley College in Waltham to play the University of Connecticut on Friday. BU’s home field disadvantage this season due to the construction at Nickerson Field has been a source of frustration for the club.

“I think it’s one of the causes of where we’re at right now,” Dynowicz said. “Practicing indoors [in the Armory] is tough to come by [due to scheduling] and we’re having trouble adjusting to open air conditions and seeing [the ball]. As a goalie, the lighting is never similar.

“Last year, we had a great season because we had so much practice outside, under the lights, on turf where we were used to. We had a home field with home games. This year, we have no home games.”

Dynowicz said playing on grass this season as opposed to turf in previous years makes “a huge difference.”

“We’re used to playing on turf under the night lights,” he said. “We’re not used to playing in the daytime on grass.”

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