The No. 18/19 Boston University men's lacrosse team will make history on Tuesday when the Terriers host Lehigh in their first-ever Patriot League tournament game. The quarterfinal matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m.
BU (11-3, 5-3 PL) finished third in the Patriot League after earning a 12-11 overtime win over Holy Cross on Friday night. Lehigh, playing a must-win game against Bucknell on Friday, defeated the Bison, 9-6, to clinch the final postseason berth. The Terriers and Mountain Hawks met in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on April 1 with Lehigh escaping with a 10-6 victory.
Monday was a milestone day for BU, as the program secured two major awards and six all-league honors from the Patriot League. Ryan Polley was named the 2017 PL Coach of the Year and senior Christian Carson-Banister was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Carson-Banister and senior Cal Dearth were both unanimous first-team selections, joining senior Dominick Calisto on that squad. Senior Greg Wozniak, junior Jack Wilson and sophomore Brendan Homire were all Second Team All-Patriot League choices.
Dearth has been on fire over the last two games, scoring nine goals in those contests, including Friday's game-winner. He has found the back of the net in every game this season and leads the Terriers with a career-high 32 goals. He has also exceeded his own program record with 47 points entering Tuesday.
Sophomore James Burr has also been an offensive force for the Terriers of late. He has scored eight goals over the last three games since being inserted into the starting attack line, including four on Friday night. He has been efficient as well with his shots, succeeding at a 66.7-percent clip in that three-tilt stretch.
Lehigh, the last team to hold the Terriers to fewer than 10 goals, is 2-2 since its win over BU. The Mountain Hawks are just 2-5 away from home, with the two wins coming at Jacksonville and at Colgate.
Andrew Pettit leads the team with 35 goals and is tied with Tristan Rai for the team lead in points with 46. Pettit was held to just one even-strength goal when the Terriers traveled to Lehigh in April. Rai has added 22 assists, one clear of teammate Matt Raposo. Conor Gaffney has won 60.5 percent of his faceoffs and tallied 88 ground balls. Donny Stires has started the last five games in goal; he owns a 10.59 goals-against average and a .550 save percentage.
If the Terriers win Tuesday, they will face second-seeded Army West Point on Friday night in the second PL semifinal. That game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
