Box Score
Polley Postgame Interview
BOSTON - Five different Terriers tallied two goals to help the Boston University men's lacrosse team get the program's first win at Nickerson Field, a 13-9 triumph over Canisius on Saturday afternoon.
BU improved to 2-0 thanks to a terrific second-half performance. The Terriers outscored Canisius (0-1) 9-3 in the final 30 minutes, including a 5-0 margin in the third quarter to erase a 6-5 halftime deficit. This is the first time in program history that BU has won two straight games and the Terriers have now avenged losses to both Canisius and Mercer.
Freshmen Jack Wilson (2g, 2a) and Ryan Hilburn (1g, 3a) continued their strong rookie seasons with four points each while sophomores Cal Dearth and Adam Schaal each had two goals and an assist to their credit. Freshman Greg Farris made his collegiate debut and chipped in two helpers as well. Sophomore Craig Zebrowski found the back of the net for the second straight game and redshirt sophomore Sam Tenney tallied twice for the second time in as many games.
Sophomore Greg Wozniak had another outstanding game, buoyed by a brilliant second-half performance. He totaled a career-high seven ground balls, caused a career-high four turnovers and scored his first collegiate goal. He was a big part of the faceoff game on Saturday, helping Sam Talkow to a 14-of-26 performance at the X. Talkow went up against Tim Edwards, who was eighth in the nation last year in faceoff percentage. Talkow also had seven ground balls and scored twice in the second half.
Christian Carson-Banister made 13 saves to improve to 2-0 on the young season. He also collected two ground balls and stopped six shots in the second half. BU turned the ball over just 10 times on Saturday, improving from 20 turnovers last week against Mercer. The Terriers also won 32 ground balls against Canisius.
Canisius opened the scoring 59 seconds into the proceedings but Wilson, Schaal and Tenney responded with three straight markers to give the Terriers a 3-1 lead through the first 8:30. However, the Golden Griffins answered with three straight goals of their own to enter the second quarter with a 4-3 lead.
It was a low-scoring quarter that saw both goalkeepers combine to make eight saves, though the Terriers outshot the Griffs, 13-5. Seven of those 13 shots were on target, with Dearth providing the Terriers' only marker of the quarter. Talkow was a perfect 4-of-4 at the faceoff X after going 2-of-8 in the opening 15 minutes.
It was all Terriers in the third quarter, as five different players found the back of the net during that 15-minute span. Dearth, Tenney, Schaal, Hilburn and Talkow each scored, with Hilburn and Talkow's goals coming 11 seconds apart in the waning minutes of the quarter. BU won the ground-ball battle, 10-6, and had 18 total shots in the third quarter to just four for Canisius.
The Griffs attempted to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring twice to cut the BU lead to just one at 9-8. However, the Terriers responded immediately with two straight goals, beginning with Wozniak winning a battle for a ground ball after a faceoff and going through the Griffs' defense before firing home his first goal. Talkow won the ensuing faceoff and raced into the Canisius zone before scoring his second goal of the game.
BU turned in one of its finest defensive possessions of the year following Talkow's goal. The Terriers killed a penalty for one minute and then kept Canisius off the board for nearly three more minutes before the Griffs finally turned it over. BU then successfully cleared before Hilburn found Zebrowski for a goal with 4:22 to play. Each team traded late goals, with Wilson completing the scoring in the final minute.
The Terriers will begin Patriot League play on Saturday, Feb. 21, when BU travels to Lehigh. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
