Men’s Lacrosse: BU Drops One in Lehigh

By: Marisa Ingemi

For the second time this season, Boston University was held to six goals by a Patriot League foe. The Terriers struggled to put up goals on the road against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and were taken down in a 10-6 defeat.

BU went up 2-0 to open the contest but the Mountain Hawks struck quickly to tie it up. From there, the Terriers struggled to find offense. Cal Dearth scored twice, while Jack Wilson added a tally along with Hayden Ruiz and John MacLean.

Christian Carson-Banister made 12 saves while allowing ten goals to the Hawks. The Lehigh goal scorers included Anthony Petit, Cody Triolo, Matt Raposo, Erik DiGirolamo, and a hat trick for Tristian Rai. Backup goalie Donny Stires made 13 saves.

The Terriers led in most categories, including ground balls and faceoffs, but turned the ball over 22 times, regressing to last season’s issues. BU also struggled with the pressure of Lehigh’s zone defense, similar to how they struggled in their loss to Bucknell. Led by Craig Chick, the Lehigh defense forced BU to the outside and after the first couple of goals, including a man up tally, the Terriers couldn’t get down low.

A tough stretch is upcoming for BU, with Patriot League contests against Loyola and Army. Now at 3-2 in conference play, the Terriers drop to just half a game ahead of 3-3 Lehigh. Only Army remains undefeated in the Patriot League.

Earlier this week, it was announced BU debuted in the RPI ranks at ninth in the nation, one of the factors in determining post season berths. A loss to Lehigh could affect it negatively, and it makes the upcoming games all the more important.