Boston University
Holy Cross
No. 19 Terriers to Host Holy Cross, Honor Seniors Friday Night
April 20, 2017 | Men's Lacrosse
| #19 Men's Lacrosse (10-3, 4-3 Patriot League) vs. Holy Cross (4-8, 4-3 Patriot League) | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Friday (April 21) - 7 p.m. |
| Venue | Nickerson Field - Boston, Mass. |
| Watch | Patriot League Network |
| Game Notes | BU |
| Live Stats | GoTerriers.com |
| @BUGameDay | @BUMensLacrosse | |
The 19th-ranked Boston University men's lacrosse team will honor its 17-member senior class on Friday night prior to its regular-season home finale against Holy Cross. Game time at Nickerson Field is set for 7 p.m.
There is plenty on the line Friday for both teams, including a point in the Turnpike Trophy standings. BU leads Holy Cross, 15-1, in the annual competition that occurs across all sports.
In addition, both teams have a chance for home-field advantage in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League tournament. Both teams can clinch the third seed with a win, though the Terriers are also in line for the No. 2 seed with a win and a Loyola Maryland loss at Army West Point. In that scenario, the Terriers will earn a bye into Friday's semifinal round at West Point. If BU wins and Loyola also wins, the Terriers will finish third and host the winner of Friday's Bucknell-Lehigh game.
The Terriers are hoping to exact revenge against the Crusaders after Holy Cross ended the Terriers' playoff hopes in each of the last two years. Holy Cross earned an 11-7 win in Worcester last year and also defeated the Terriers, 12-10, at Nickerson in 2015. BU did defeat the Crusaders, 9-8, in 2014.
BU (10-3, 4-3 PL) clinched its first-ever Patriot League postseason berth with a thrilling 12-11 overtime win over then-No. 19 Loyola. Sophomore James Burr scored the overtime winner, his second goal of the game, just 1:04 into the extra session. Junior Jack Wilson finished with five points (2g, 3a), including the assist on Burr's winner. Senior Cal Dearth also shined, matching his career high with five goals as part of a six-point day.
Senior Henry Lee had a monster game on Saturday to help BU defeat Loyola. The long-stick midfielder once again exerted his influence on the faceoff game, gathering five ground balls. One of those ground balls led to a Dearth goal, as Lee fed Dearth for one of the Wilton, Connecticut, native's career-high two assists. Both helpers came on Dearth goals in transition, including one with 15 seconds left in the third quarter to get the Terriers within one. Lee enters Friday with career highs in goals (2), assists (3), points (5) and ground balls (29) in addition to 13 caused turnovers, just five behind last year's career high of 18.
Another senior that shined on Saturday was Dominick Calisto. Tasked with marking 2016 All-American Pat Spencer, Calisto held the sophomore to just one assist, just the second time all season he had been held to a lone point. Spencer entered the game first in the nation with 3.91 assists per game and second in the NCAA with an average of 6.00 points per game. Calisto finished the game with two ground balls and one caused turnover and he has now held two of the nation's top five in points per game (Spencer, Harvard's Morgan Cheek) to a combined three points (1g, 2a) this season.
Holy Cross is 4-8 overall, with all four wins coming in Patriot League play. The Crusaders enter Friday on a two-game win streak, including a 12-11 home triumph over Colgate this past weekend.
Seniors Sean Kirkpatrick and Kevin Lux each have a team-high 32 points, with Kirkpatrick leading the squad in goals (23) and Lux adding a team-high 18 assists. Jonathan Tesoro has started all 12 games, posting a .453 save percentage and a 10.82 goals-against average. Holy Cross faces off at just 37 percent as a team, with Mike Martens winning 39.8 percent of them (86-of-216).
More information regarding when and where the Terriers will begin the Patriot League tournament will be on GoTerriers.com following the conclusion of Friday's contest.
