Men’s Lacrosse: BU defeats Pace 15-2 in rainy home opener

By: Matt Meusel

Featured image courtesy of Matt Woolverton/BU Athletics.

An aggressive attacking style and lockdown defense propelled the Terriers to a 15-2 victory on Saturday over Division II Pace in BU’s home opener.

BU was originally scheduled to play UMass, but when the game was called off, Pace decided to take on the challenge of a day trip to Boston and play a Division I team.

“When you’re trying to figure out the uncertainty of the year, I’m really happy with how we responded,” said BU head coach Ryan Polley.

Freshman Christian Quadrino scored a team-high four goals in his first game at Nickerson Field and was a problem for Pace all afternoon.

BU jumped out to a quick start and led 3-0 after one quarter thanks to goals from Vince D’Alto, Timmy Ley and Tommy Nook.

Controlling the hustle stats was a big reason BU had a cushion for the majority of the game. Senior Sean Christman won eight out of nine faceoffs in the first half and BU had a 32-14 advantage in ground balls.

The Terriers received great play from all three goaltenders in the win. Junior Matt Garber played the first three quarters and made four saves. Alex Gainey and Max Gomez came on in relief during the final 15 minutes and did not allow one goal to preserve the win.

Polley noted that making plays in the middle of the field and doing a good job of clearing the ball limited opportunities for Pace.

“It was nice to get a bunch of players who practice really hard in that fourth quarter,” said Polley.

One sequence in the third quarter saw flags fly and chirping back and forth between both benches after a few big collisions right along the sideline. Polley said his team was looking out for one another and the referees had the situation under control.

“Typical competitive juices with the boys,” said Polley.

The Terriers will be back in action on Saturday when Patriot League play begins against Army West Point.