Despite senior goalkeeper Matt Garber’s best efforts, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team (6-1, 3-0 PL) fell to the Harvard University Crimson (5-1) Tuesday night at Harvard’s Jordan Field.
“[Garber] continues to play at such a high level,” head coach Ryan Polley said postgame. “He was important for us as we turned the ball over and gave them extra possessions.”
Coming into the game undefeated, the Terriers were fired up to play their fellow Boston-area rivals. The matchup against the two nationally-ranked teams started off with intensity.
Harvard freshman attacker Sam King scored a goal within the first minute of the game to put Harvard on the board first. King went on to score three more goals on the night.
“I think this game has turned into a good rivalry,” said Polley. “It certainly adds to the excitement, and both teams are having a good season.”
Following back-and-forth play from both teams, turnovers became a detrimental factor for the Terriers early on in the game. BU conceded six turnovers in the first quarter, and struggled to keep the ball on the offensive end.
As play continued, the Terriers struggled to win faceoffs, allowing Harvard to enter halftime with a one-point lead and momentum.
Even with both Terrier junior attacker Vince D’Alto and senior attacker Timmy Ley’s scoring hat-tricks, the Terriers never took a lead in the game.
Come the second half, the Crimson took advantage of unsettled defense and Garber’s aggressiveness coming out on clears, heading into the fourth quarter leading by three points, the biggest deficit the Terriers have seen all season.
“At the end of the day, they just had more possessions in the second half. Whether it was from winning a face-off or us failing to clear, or turn the ball over on offense,” said Polley.
As time on the clock dwindled and the Terriers lost momentum, the Crimson took advantage, scoring three fourth-quarter goals to finish the night with a 13-10 win over the Terriers.
“我们都只是失望,”波莉说。“我们这个rtainly showed we’re capable of playing at that level at times, but when you play a really good team, you have to limit your mistakes.”
The Terriers will continue with conference play, looking to keep their status in first-place in the Patriot League as they prepare to match up against the Lafayette College Leopards (2-6, 0-3 PL) Saturday afternoon on Nickerson Field.
Polley said it was important for his team to “bounce back quickly.”
“We’ll have to balance getting ready for Lafeyette and practicing and certainly recovering from the tough game from tonight,” he added.
Great article…..Terriers will bounce back.
Article perfectly described the game-although not able to attend, Rachel Cherry made me feel as if I were at the game.