Men’s Lacrosse: BU pummels Navy to remain atop Patriot League

By Joe Eachus

Led by a nine-point outing from senior attackman Timmy Ley, the No. 14 Boston University men’s lacrosse team was firing on all cylinders in their 17-9 win against the United States Naval Academy on Saturday afternoon.

BU (8-1, 5-0 PL) remains undefeated in conference play with the win, while Navy (6-4, 2-2 PL) saw their three-game win streak snapped.

Ley led all players in points, while junior attackman Vince D’Alto had five goals on 14 shots.

“We had a tough week last week, but it was a great atmosphere, and we handled the pressure of playing a great team,” BU head coach Ryan Polley said.

The Terriers got off to a hot start thanks to sophomore Tommy Bourque, who netted two goals within the opening four minutes. Classmate Tommy Jepson notched his first goal of the season during a 6-0 BU first quarter.

Junior attackman Vince D’Alto capped off an eight-goal run with a shot from the outside trickling past Midshipmen goalie Pat Ryan for D’Alto’s first of the game.

The Tewaaraton Watch List nominee’s score would be the last on Ryan, as Navy head coach Joe Amplo would pull the junior goalkeeper from Groton, MA in favor of sophomore Gabe Craven, who saw his first extended action of his collegiate career in the matchup.

The three-headed dragon of D’Alto, Ley, and Louis Perfetto once again dominated the offensive zone, with fifteen points between them.

“We were super balanced,” Polley said of his offense. “We had a couple beautiful goals today, continued to pass them off to get that great shot. Vince and Timmy controlled the whole game, we were winning our matchups.”

Junior face-off man Conor Calderone had an impressive follow-up to his record-setting performance a week ago, winning 19 of 26 draws from the face-off X.

Polley was quick to praise his standout FOGO.

“We turned a weakness into a strength [when we brought Connor in]” Poley said. “He’s been a great teammate from Day 1, and obviously a great face-off guy, and continues to get better in these big games. I thought he was terrific today, and he continues to be one of the best guys in the league and in the country.”

Following the red-hot start, the game evened out, with Navy halting the onslaught from BU with several key stretches in the second and third quarters that brought the Terrier lead down to as little as four.

BU responded well, with an 8-2 run in the second half to seal the contest for the Terrier’s eighth win of the campaign.

The next challenge for Polley’s squad will be a matchup against perennial Ivy League juggernaut No. 8 Yale, who come to Boston for a midweek matchup on Tuesday. Opening draw is scheduled for 4 p.m.