The Boston University men's lacrosse team will continue Patriot League play on Saturday when the Terriers travel to No. 14/15 Lehigh. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
THREE BIG GAMES ON TAP FOR TERRIERS
- Saturday's game at Lehigh begins a three-game stretch against ranked Patriot League opponents.
- Following their trip to No. 14/15 Lehigh, the Terriers will travel to No. 17/16 Army West Point on April 6.
- BU will then welcome No. 6 Loyola Maryland to Nickerson Field on April 13.
- Lehigh is currently in first place in the conference, followed by Loyola Maryland and Army West Point.
TERRIERS CAN MATCH BEST PL START
- If the Terriers win on Saturday, they will be 3-1 in the Patriot League for the fourth time ever.
- BU also started conference play with a 3-1 record in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
- The Terriers have never been 4-1 in PL play.
HISTORY WITH LEHIGH
- BU is 1-5 all-time against the Mountain Hawks, with the lone win coming in the 2017 Patriot League quarterfinals at Nickerson Field.
- The Terriers are 0-2 at Lehigh, including a 10-6 loss in 2017.
- Three of the five losses have been by just one goal, including last year's 7-6 defeat at Nickerson Field.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
- BU scored four straight goals to start the third quarter and grab a 6-4 lead, but Lehigh tallied the final three markers of the contest, including the game-winner with 39 seconds remaining in regulation, to earn a 7-6 victory on March 31, 2018, at Nickerson Field.
- Chris Gray notched three points (1g, 2a) and James Burr added a goal and an assist.
- Thomas Schmidt also found the back of the net.
- Kevin Snyder went 8-for-12 at the faceoff X against Conor Gaffney (8-for-17 on the day).
- Chase Levesque caused five turnovers and gathered six ground balls.
- Joe McSorley made 10 saves for the Terriers while James Spence made 13 saves for Lehigh.
BEST OF BU AGAINST LEHIGH
- James Burr leads the Terriers in goals (5), assists (4) and points (9) against Lehigh, and is also tied for third on the team with four ground balls.
- Brendan Homire has notched three assists and five ground balls against the Mountain Hawks.
- Michael Laviano (2g, 1a) and Chris Gray (1g, 2a) each have three points against Lehigh.
- Chase Levesque leads BU with nine ground balls and six caused turnovers against Lehigh.
- Thomas Schmidt and Drew Lukacs have both found the back of the net against Lehigh, with Lukacs adding one ground ball and one caused turnover.
- Quintin Germain has forced four turnovers and gathered one ground ball against Lehigh.
LOOKING AT LEHIGH
- The Mountain Hawks enter the weekend on a five-game win streak that continued with a 15-8 win at Navy on Saturday.
- Two of the three Lehigh losses have been to top-15 opponents.
- Lucas Spence leads the Mountain Hawks in assists (14) and points (31), and he is second in goals behind Alexander Tumminello's 18 markers this season.
- Conor Gaffney ranks third in the NCAA and first in the Patriot League in faceoff percentage (.689), and he also leads the team with 75 ground balls.
- Craig Chick is second in the PL and sixth in the nation with 20 caused turnovers.
- James Spence is the reigning PL Goalkeeper of the Week after his 17-save performance at Navy; he is third in the conference with a .573 save percentage and second in the PL with a 8.40 goals-against average.
GRAY IS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
- No other Division I player has more points than sophomore Chris Gray, who has 65 points thanks to 26 goals and 39 assists.
- Those 39 assists ranks second in the NCAA.
- Gray has notched 21 points in the last three games,including his third nine-point (3g, 6a) effort of the season against Lafayette.
- He has not been held to fewer than five points in each of the last nine games and has collected at least four points in all 10 tilts.
INSIDE BURR'S BRILLIANT SEASON
- Senior James Burr is second in the Patriot League with 29 goals and he has added nine assists for 38 points in eight games.Â
- He has notched at least two goals in all 10 contests.
- Burr has found the back of the net in 27 straight games, the longest active streak in the country, and is the program's all-time leader in goals with 126.
- He has also notched a goal in 18 straight conference games in a streak that started on April 8, 2017, at Army West Point.
- Burr is now second on the program's leaderboard with 160 career points, just 10 points shy of matching Cal Dearth's record of 170.
- Burr was selected by the Boston Cannons in the 2019 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft on March 9.
- In addition to his on-field excellence, Burr is a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award.
MAKING THEIR MAN-UP CHANCES COUNT
- The Terriers are second in the country and first in the Patriot League in man-up offense, converting on 54.8% of their opportunities this season.
- They have gone 2-for-3 in each of its last two tilts.
- BU has scored a man-up goal in each of the last eight games in which it has earned an EMO.
DEFENSE CAUSING HAVOC
- The Terriers are first in the Patriot League and fourth in the country with an average of 11.5 caused turnovers per game.
- They have 115 total caused turnovers, second only behind Jacksonville (116).
- BU has caused 39 turnovers over its last two games and has averaged 13.3 caused turnovers over its last six fixtures.
- The Terriers also boast a top-15 scoring defense in the nation, allowing just 9.50 goals per game.
- That mark ranks third in the conference and 13th in the NCAA.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP
- BU leads the Patriot League and is third in the country with 74 assists this season.
- The Terriers are also first in the conference and 10th in the nation in assists per game at 8.22.
- They have assisted on 69.8% of their goals this season.
HOMIRE HAVING A CAREER YEAR
- Senior Brendan Homire is in the midst of a career year, which was highlighted by a career-best four goals and six points in the 17-9 win over Lafayette on Saturday.
- It was Homire's eighth three-point effort in the last nine games.
- His four goals matched a career high he set in a 13-9 win over Bucknell on March 16.
- Homire has tallied a career-high 15 goals and 14 assists for a career-best 29 points this year, in addition to gathering 23 ground balls and causing eight turnovers.
CHRISTMAN HAS HUGE DAY AT THE X
- Sophomore Sean Christman won a career-high 23 of the 26 faceoffs he took in the 17-9 win over Lafayette.
- He also matched Sam Talkow's program record with 18 ground balls.
- In addition, Christman scored his first career goal.
- He enters the weekend ranked third in the Patriot League and 11th in the NCAA with a .622 faceoff percentage.
- BU ranks third as a team with a faceoff percentage of .585.Â
