Men’s Lacrosse: BU Downs Bryant, Stays Undefeated

By: Marisa Ingemi

Five wins, no losses.

That’s the reality of Boston University lacrosse after a 12-9 victory over Bryant on Tuesday night in their home opener. The Terriers jumped out to a 6-2 lead and never looked back, as a six goal fourth quarter led BU to a 5-0 start to the season.

“I think it was a typical Tuesday night game,” said head coach Ryan Polley after the game. “Facing a tough team, knew they wouldn’t go away. We started off strong 4-0 and got some plays in transition and finish a few that I thought was really key.”

Senior Cal Dearth, on the night he was named to the Tewaaraton watch list, paced the way with four points while junior Jack Wilson extended his point streak to 32 games with a three goal performance of his own. James Burr and Ryan Hillburn each also scored twice.

Christian Carson-Banister made 12 saves in the cage and continued to make timely stops against a solid shooting Bryant roster.

The Terriers went 16-17 on clears, and combined to go 32-35 in their two games this weekend, a far cry from last season.

“Its great because it gives our defense a break and that’s huge because they’re running around and pushing themselves every possession,” said Carson-Banister. “If the offense can possess like they did tonight, it does wonders for our team.”

The Terriers, despite being shutout in the third quarter, were able to limit the Bulldogs on even strength plays and shut down top attacker Tucker James to just three goals.

“They’re bailing us out,” said Wilson of the defense. “Our offense got a little sloppy tonight, but when the defense takes a little of that pressure off, it allows us to take riskier plays, and they’ve bailed us out big time.”

Carson-Banister made seven saves alone in the first quarter, and after that Bryant struggled to get quality looks on cage.

“They’re great shooters,” said Carson-Banister. “Ee knew that coming in our defense did a great job pushing them down the alley, lowering the angle and allowing me to stop them.”

BU did allow four extra man goals in five opportunities, and have now allowed nine man-up goals this season in five contests.

“Its something we’ve struggled with a little bit and they exploited that,” Polley said. “We’re going to walk out of this game and work on it for sure.”

The Terriers continue their three game in seven day stretch on Saturday when they host Air Force for the first time in program history.