The Boston University men’s lacrosse team faced-off against Lafayette Saturday in a Patriot League matchup, and came out on top 17-9 despite the Leopards’ strong defense.
“I was really happy with the way we bounced back,” said BU head coach Ryan Polley. “We talked about it on Wednesday and Thursday how difficult it can be when you lose such an emotional game like we did on Tuesday night, but we focused on just moving on.”
Lafayette (4-6, 0-4, Patriot League) came out strong with a shot from right-handed wing Connar Dehnert to gain a lead over the Terriers (7-3, 2-1, Patriot League).
A high goal from the top of the crease from Boston University senior attack Brendan Homire put the two teams at a tie score.
“When we can get a third option and teams have to worry about it, I think that’s when we are at our best,” Polley said.
Sophomore attack Chris Gray came out fighting from the faceoff to score his 24th goal of the season for BU. The Leopards drove the ball down the field but could not break past the Terriers’ strong defense to get a shot on net.
A strong low-to-high shot from Leopard midfielder Cole Dutton tied the game 2-2 with 8:40 remaining in the first quarter.
BU senior attack James Burr came back fighting to increase the Terriers lead 3-2 right out of the face off. The midfield went back and forth in possessions on both ends of the field.
Assisted by freshman attack Jack Collins, Homire got a shot off from the top of the crease to increase the Terrier’s lead.
The Leopards worked to get a shot off against BU junior goalkeeper Joe McSorley but could not find the back of the net.
At the end of the first quarter, BU led 4-2 against LU.
Dutton came out strong for the Leopards in the second quarter with a bounce-shot goal two minutes into the frame for the Leopards to decrease the deficit.
Despite a strong low-angle shot from sophomore midfielder Andrew Robbins, Lafayette could not find the goal. Later, a spin move from midfielder Bryan Hess tied the game at 4-4 for the Leopards with nine minutes remaining in the half.
Burr came back fighting from the faceoff to score his 28th goal for the Terriers this season. Within seconds, BU sophomore midfielder Sean Christman found the back of the net again to increase their lead 6-4.
Regardless of many opportunities against the Terrier defense, Lafayette could not capitalize on any of their shots. Using a 10-man ride, BU made transition goals to gain a five-goal lead against the Leopards.
“I thought we had great energy, I thought we rode really well, and I was really impressed,” Polley said. “Chris, Jimmy and Timmy have been great riders for us this year. We were able to create some great transition off of the ride.”
Late in the second quarter, cuts to the middle of the crease from BU kept the Lafayette defense on their toes.
With four seconds remaining in the half, a penalty against Lafayette gave the Terriers a man-up opportunity. The quarter would end without anything else happening.
At the start of the third quarter, Lafayette came out with a new goalkeeper, sophomore Jake Floyd-Jones, to bring some momentum to the field.
BU made more advancements against Lafayette in the third quarter, gaining a 12-5 lead within 10 minutes. The strong 20 mph winds fought against multiple clear attempts from both teams.
Terrier goalkeeper McSorley commented on how the team was able to play in a combination of cold temperatures and windy conditions.
“We’re always playing in temperatures like this, so we just had to throw the ball hard, and they rode pretty good, so we needed to throw those sharp passes,” McSorley said.
On a turn around and fire, Gray scored for the Terriers to increase the lead 14-5 with seconds left remaining in the quarter.
Burr continued his scoring with a strong finish seconds into the fourth quarter for BU, putting them up 15-5.
“Certainly there will be times when taking a long possession or it’s late in the game, and we try to get the last shot, but we are a high-paced offense,” Polley said. “We like to play defense with energy, and we don’t try to change too much.”
With an assist from Dutton, Robbins scored a goal from the top of the crease for Lafayette with just under 11 minutes remaining in regulation.
McSorley made his eighth stop of the day for the Terriers, keeping the point deficit high.
“The defense came out and played great, and then the offense obviously came out and played great with all those calls,” McSorley said. “It was great teamwork.”
Leopard attack Conor Walters threw a strong ball from up high to fight back against the Terriers and decrease their lead 15-8. Despite good ground ball play by the Leopards, BU maintained their lead and came out on top 17-9.
The Terriers will travel to Lehigh University next Saturday for another Patriot League face-off. Polley said the team will know what to expect from the Mountain Hawks (6-3, 4-0 Patriot League).
“We know how hard they are going to play, we have to match their intensity and match their efficiency,” he said, “and we just got to have a great week of practice.”
