Men’s Lacrosse: BU Puts up 6-1 Record to Start Season

Photo by Holly Gustavsen

By Hannah Connors

No. 18 Boston University Men’s Lacrosse (6-1, 2-1 PL) are showing promise after coming out of their first seven games of the season with an impressive winning record.

The Terriers 2024 season was one for the history books. Having taken down the No. 1 Ranked Army, and making it to the Patriot League Championship, the bar was set high for BU coming into the 2025 season.

BU, however, has lived up to these high expectations set by last season.

In the Terriers’ first game of the season, they took down Siena College 9-7.

BU Goaltender Will Barnes made a total of 12 saves keeping the Terriers in the game offensively.

Freshman attackmen Timothy Shannehan also generated big for BU. Shannehan netted four goals and tallied one assist.

Barnes and Shannehan’s performances in this game earned them, respectively, Patriot League Goaltender of the Week, and Rookie of the Week honors.

BU used this winning momentum to take down Monmouth University 15-6.

Junior Jimmy Kohr came out early for the Terriers scoring just over a minute into the first quarter.

“Coming off our last game we definitely weren’t as pleased as we normally are with our offensive performance,” Kohr said. “Coming out and getting that hot start was definitely for us to let us play our game the rest of the way.”

Kohr netted six goals, contributing to the Terriers’ dominant offensive prose against Monmouth.

BU capitalized on an early 5-0 lead and maintained it throughout all four quarters, securing an easy win for the Terriers.

This set up the Terriers for a close win 8-7 against the Brown University Bears.

Nearly half of Brown’s goals were scored in the fourth quarter, however, BU never trailed in this contest and held off the late-game drive from the Bears.
Freshman Mike Rooney recorded his first collegiate hat trick. Named an Inside Lacrosse Power 100 Freshman before the season started, Rooney has been a driving force for BU, tallying 11 points in the five games he has played as a Terrier.

Ultimately, the game came down to which team had more opportunities. With BU outshooting Brown, 41-25, and having a 33-21 advantage in ground balls, the Terriers were able to slip away with the one-goal win.

After a quick turn-around, the Terriers leveraged their winning energy against Brown to come out on top against Air Force 15-7.

For the first time this season, the Terriers began the game trailing 1-0. BU was able to equalize late in the first quarter when Air Force received a penalty.

Shannehan found Andrew Pape, tying it up for the Terriers. Shannehan used his momentum off the assist to score the second goal of putting BU in the lead which they held the rest of the game.

“I thought that the third quarter was the difference in the game,” coach Ryan Polley said. “Between winning face-offs, winning ground balls, getting the stops we needed to do, and then, you know, playing up-tempo lacrosse.”

After the third quarter, BU was able to generate offense, netting eight goals, and held off Air Force to only four goals in the second half.

Unfortunately, the Terriers’ winning streak ended when they faced Navy.

In the first half, Grad Student James Corcoran was the sole contributor for BU, scoring an unassisted goal halfway through the second quarter.

The second half, however, was a different narrative for the Terriers.

With 3:41 left in the third, behind by ten goals, Shannehan was able to find Rooney on a man-up play. After this BU was able to score 5 consecutive goals.

Although their late-game push was impressive, Navy’s early lead made it practically impossible for BU to slip away with the win, leaving the score at 13-9.

Following this loss, the Terriers bounced back with a commanding 21-12 lead against Bucknell.

“We were focusing on the Navy game being a learning experience,” Polley said. “And I think we certainly did that.”

Nine different Terriers contributed goals, and eight different Terriers tallied assists this game, showing the offensive depth of the team.

In addition, BU put up an impressive 43 wins on ground balls.

“I think that’s when we are at our best when we are sharing the ball and the points are spread out,” Polley said.

BU once again delivered an impressive performance, defeating the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds 13-7.

With Loyola Maryland being within one goal of teams like Johns Hopkins and Maryland, BU had their work cut out for them but was able to come away with the victory.

Senior Will Barnes was outstanding in goal, stopping 11 of the 15 shots he faced.

The Terriers ten man ride, successfully forced the Greyhounds into five failed clears on 26 attempts, contributing to more Terrier offensive time which they could capitalize on.

BU is next slated to take on their toughest opponent so far this season, No. 3 Army, next Saturday, March 22 at 12 p.m. in West Point, New York. This will be their third Patriot League game of the season, and prove where the Terriers stand in the national rankings. Streaming for this game will be available on ESPN+.