Men’s Lacrosse Stays Home for Saturday Contest with Navy

By: Liam O’Brien

After traveling to Columbus to face Ohio State the previous weekend, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team must have felt as though they were facing Brighton High School rather than Dartmouth College on Tuesday night.

The Terriers (2-1) picked the Big Green apart all night. Senior attack Jack Wilson put two goals on the board in the first seven minutes of the game, setting the tone for a 10-4 win as spring hovered in the 65-degree air.

The victory provides a boost for BU as they begin Patriot League play on Saturday afternoon against Navy at Nickerson Field.

The Midshipmen (1-2) were selected third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, but the sailing has not been smooth for the team so far this season.

Navy was uprooted in their season opener by one of college lacrosse’s up-and-coming programs, Jacksonville University, by a score of 12-7 on February 4. That loss put the Mids in a precarious position heading into a showdown with third-ranked Maryland six days later, and the Terrapins picked them apart, 10-4.

The Midshipmen finally hopped into the win column last weekend against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Navy dominated the second quarter, scoring a quartet of goals to take a 4-2 lead into halftime. UMBC scored twice at the beginning of the second half to knot up the score at four goals apiece, but the cream of the Midshipmen crop rose to the top.

2017 Honorable Mention All-American midfielder Greyson Torian, who attended the same high school as Victor Oladipo and Markelle Fultz, scored twice in the final 5:33 of the third quarter, sandwiching senior attack Jack Ray’s third goal of the season to hand his team a decisive 7-4 lead.

Torian will be the focal point for the Terriers defense on Saturday. The junior is a do-it–yourself offensive weapon who scored 30 of his first 40 collegiate goals without an assist, one coming in a man-up scenario in an 8-7 loss to BU in 2017. This season, Torian has scored three goals to accompany three assists through a trio of games.

The other Mid with six points on the season is emerging freshman attack Christian Daniel. A native of Owings, Maryland, just 23 miles from Annapolis, Daniel certainly made the right decision in enrolling at Navy after scoring 47 goals as a high school senior at Northern High School.

The Midshipmen have utilized the three-time High School All-American well, as he has piled up two goals and four assists in short order.