(Photo Courtesy of Boston U. Athletics)
Last season, the Boston U. Terriers had five losses; four of which came to Ivy League teams as they fell to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (twice). The Terriers also fell to Patriot League foe Army West Point in the season finale before avenging that loss in the league title game a week later.
Boston U. has flipped the script on one of those blemishes from a year ago as they defeated the Harvard Crimson 15-11 on Tuesday night in a Bean City battle. The Terriers will have the chance to get back at both Yale and Army later this season.
Timmy Ley led the Terriers with five goals on Tuesday night while Louis Perfetto had five points off one goal and four assists. Vince D’Alto (1G/2A) and Zach Travaglini (2G/1A) each had three points on the night.
Conor Calderone went 16-for-28 (57%) at the faceoff dot and Matt Garber made 13 saves in cage with a 54.2% save percentage, anchoring a defense that caused 16 of the Crimson’s 23 (69%) turnovers and held them to an 0-4 mark on the man-up.
Boston U. went wire-to-wire for the win and never let Harvard get nip the lead under two for the entirety of the second half. Timmy Ley and Tommy Bourque made it a 2-0 Terrier lead within the six minutes of the contest and the Terriers were able to extend that lead to 6-4 by the break, thanks in part of a Vince D’Alto score in the final seconds of the second frame.
With Boston U. heading 9-6 entering the final stanza and up 13-8 with 6:04 remaining, Harvard was able to put together a late-game spark with a three-goal run that saw Sam King find the back of the cage once before Teddy Malone put in two straight. That spark cut the Boston U. lead to 13-11 with 1:36 remaining.
The Crimson were unable to get any closer, turning the ball over twice, having two shots stooped, and one sail wide during that final minute and change.
A pole goal from distance via Dane DeGoler at the 1:01 mark and a Tommy Bourque score in the final seconds officially sealed the deal and ensure the four-goal win for the Terriers.
Sam King led Harvard with five points off three goals and two assists. Teddy Malone had a hat trick. Christian Barnard made 11 saves in cage with a 42.3% save percentage.
Boston U. moves to play Lafayette on the road on Saturday while Harvard will travel to face Dartmouth.
Syracuse Handled St. Bonaventure
The Syracuse Orange returned to the dome on Tuesday night and earned a 22-6 victory over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
After leading 8-3 at the half, Syracuse stepped on the gas even more and and outscored the Bonnies 14-3 in the final two frames to secure the blowout victory in what was the very first meeting between these two programs.
An 11-0 run from the 11:01 mark in the third through the 12:46 mark in the fourth is where the Orange were really able to pull away and begin to put this contest to bed. Alex Simmons (3G/1A), Joey Spallina (2G/4A), and Owen Hiltz (3G/1A) each found the back of the cage during that massive run.
The three aforementioned offensive weapons combined for 14 points on the night as they led the Orange effort. Johnny Richusa went 10-for-17 (58%) at the faceoff dot and Will Mark made eight saves in the three quarters of action that he saw.
Syracuse moves to play Hobart on Saturday. St. Bonaventure moves to face Marquette on the road on Saturday.
Villanova Throttles Navy
The Villanova Wildcats extended their winning streak to six on Tuesday evening as they took down the Navy Midshipmen 17-6 at home.
While it was Nav’s Jon Jarsoz (3G) who got on the board first, Villanova jumped out to a 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended that advantage to 7-1 with a Patrick Daly score in the second quarter. The Wildcats outscored the Midshipmen 10-5 in the second half to pull away further and ensure the 11-goal victory.
Matt Campbell (2G/6A) led Villanova with eight points on the night while Austin Fraser (3G/2A), Matt Licata (3G/2A), and Patrick Daly (3G/2A) each had identical five-point stat lines.
Will Vitton made 11 saves for Villanova and Justin Coppola went 13-for-19 (68%) at the faceoff dot.
Villanova moves to play Brown next Monday night. Navy faces Holy Cross on the road on Saturday.
Dartmouth Tops Hampton
The Dartmouth Big Green got back in the win column on Tuesday night as they defeated Hampton 18-9 on the road.
Dartmouth jumped out to a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended that advantage to 12-1 by the 7:55 mark of the third quarter. A 6-0 second quarter was a big part of the Big Green being able to pull away and begin to put this contest to bed during the final two frames.
Quinn Moore and Brandon Ventarola each had four goals and one assists for five points on the day. Cameron Brown had a hat trick.
Ellison Burt-Murray (2G/2A) led Hampton with four points while AJ Knox had a hat trick.
Dartmouth welcomes Harvard to town on Saturday for its Ivy League opener. Hampton travels to face Drexel next Monday.
Lacrosse Bucket 