Men’s Lacrosse: Terriers start season off strong against Merrimack

By Joe Eachus

The Boston University men’s lacrosse team opened up their season on a high note, riding a second-half comeback to a 12-10 win over Merrimack College.

The Terriers (1-0, 0-0 PL) earned a win on home turf for the first time since March 2021 (a 13-9 victory over Lafayette), while the Warriors fell to 0-2 on the season.

“That was a hard-fought battle. I was really proud of my team and how we responded,” BU head coach Ryan Polley said postgame.

BU was led by the attack trio of Vince D’Alto, Louis Perfetto, and Timmy Ley, who combined for eight goals and 13 points. For the Warriors, midfielder Jack Rooney led the team with three goals.

The Terriers also were dominant statistically, outshooting Merrimack 55-33, winning 43 ground balls, and causing 21 turnovers.

Though BU started off on a roll, scoring two goals in just over five minutes to start the game, Merrimack quickly recovered and went into the locker room at halftime with a 5-3 lead.

BU returned from the break with new momentum, going on a 3-0 run as they didn’t allow Merrimack to regain a lead for the rest of the game.

With Merrimack trailing by two and BU goalkeeper Matt Garber far out of the net, goalkeeper Henry Vogt launched a full-field heave towards the Terriers’ empty net and scored with three minutes left on the clock.

However, that would be the last goal for the Warriors, as defenseman Patrick Morrison caused a key turnover and drew a penalty late which effectively sealed the win for BU.

“Pat’s been incredible, really has taken that next step,” Polley said. “We challenged him after the fall and said ‘we want you to be the guy on defense and quarterback this thing,’ and Pat really has stepped up and does everything really well.”

Another player of note was junior face-off man Conor Calderone, transferring from Maryland for this season, who won 65.2% of his face-offs in the game.

“I thought [Calderone] was excellent,” Polley said of Calderone.

Calderone was 46.4 percent on face-offs during his career in College Park.

The Terriers resume action next Saturday on Nickerson Field against the Bryant Bulldogs, where they will look to start 2-0 for the second consecutive season. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.