The No. 18/16 Boston University men's lacrosse team will host Holy Cross on Saturday at Nickerson Field. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., as part of the Lax-a-Palooza doubleheader. The women's lacrosse team will open the afternoon at noon when they face Army West Point.
In addition to the Lax-a-Palooza festivities, the men's lacrosse team will honor its 10 seniors who will play their last regular-season home game at Nickerson Field. Gabe Anderson, James Burr, Quintin Germain, Grant Gregory, Brendan Homire, Eamon Hunter, Michael Laviano, Drew Lukacs, Sean McGovern and Thomas Schmidt have left a lasting legacy at BU, having helped the Terriers advance to two straight Patriot League semifinals. With a win on Saturday, they can clinch a third consecutive postseason berth for the program and a finish of no lower than fourth in the standings.
IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME
- The Terriers are 6-1 at home this season.
- They have averaged 14.28 goals per game in those seven contests while only allowing an average of 8.85 goals per game at Nickerson Field.
BACK IN THE POLLS
- The Terriers are ranked 16th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and slot in at No. 18 in the USILA coaches poll that came out on Monday.
- This is the first time since the opening week of the 2018 season that BU has been ranked in either poll.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
- BU can clinch a spot in the Patriot League playoffs with a win or a Bucknell loss.
- A win guarantees that BU will finish no lower than fourth.
- BU will need help, but the Terriers can still win the regular-season title depending on other results.
LAST TIME AGAINST HOLY CROSS
- BU earned a convincing 9-4 win at Holy Cross in the last game of the 2018 regular season to clinch a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
- The Terriers led 7-1 at halftime and held a 9-1 lead halfway through the third quarter.
- Junior Joe McSorley made 10 saves and gathered four ground balls en route to being named Turnpike Trophy MVP.
- Thomas Schmidt beat the 10-man ride with a 55-yard shot as part of his two-goal night.
- Chris Gray notched three goals and two assists while James Burr tallied two goals.
- Michael Doxie recorded a goal and an assist.
- Sean Christman added an assist as well.
- Chase Levesque collected three ground balls and caused one turnover.
BEST OF BU AGAINST THE CRUSADERS
- James Burr has scored seven goals, added one assist, collected three ground balls and forced one turnover in three games against Holy Cross.
- Chris Gray secured five points (3g, 2a) in last year's win while Brendan Homire has notched two goals ad one assist.
- Chase Levesque has collected four ground balls and caused two turnovers.
- Thomas Schmidt (2g) and Michael Doxie (1g, 1a) both had multi-point efforts in last year's victory over the Crusaders.
HEAR ABOUT HOLY CROSS
- The Crusaders enter this weekend having won four straight games, including an 11-5 triumph over Colgate on Saturday.
- Holy Cross has not allowed more than 10 goals since March 2 at Loyola.
- Junior Dan O'Connell ranks fourth in the nation in faceoff percentage (.676).
- O'Connell averages 9.7 ground balls per game, which is fourth in the NCAA.
- Junior Sean Mullaney leads the Crusaders in goals (25) and points (35).
- Freshman Will Spangenberg has recorded a team-high 12 assists and is one of six Crusaders with at least 20 points.
- Senior Matt Farrell is fifth in the country with 28 caused turnovers, and his 2.55 caused turnovers per game rank third in the NCAA.
- Junior Jonathan Tesoro is eighth in the country in goals-against average (9.19) and also boasts a .517 save percentage.
TRIO OF TERRIERS EARN WEEKLY AWARDS
- Senior James Burr (Offensive Player), junior Joe McSorley (Goalkeeper) and senior Quintin Germain (Defensive Player) all earned weekly awards from the Patriot League on Monday.
- Burr scored five goals and added a career-high four assists to complete a career-best nine-point afternoon.
- McSorley made 14 saves, gathered five ground balls and caused one turnover in Saturday's win.
- He was particularly great in the second half as he made nine saves and allowed just two goals over the final 30 minutes.
- Germain had one ground ball and one caused turnover, but more importantly he held Pat Spencer to just one assist, marking only the third time in over 60 games that Spencer managed just one point.
GRAY IS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
- Sophomore Chris Gray leads the nation with 84 points (35g, 49a).
- Those 49 assists rank second in the NCAA.
- Gray has notched 40 points in the last six games, including his third nine-point (3g, 6a) effort of 2019 against Lafayette on March 23.
- He has not been held to fewer than five points in each of the last 12 games and has collected at least four points in all 13 tilts.
- Gray broke his own single-season point record of 71 thanks to a six-point day at Army on April 6.
- He broke his own single-season assist record with his 41st helper of the year on March 30 at Lehigh.
- Gray is the program's all-time leader in assists with 89, and he also has 62 goals for 155 career points.
BURR BREAKS ANOTHER RECORD
- Senior James Burr became the program's all-time leading point producer on Saturday, surpassing Cal Dearth's mark of 170 points and finishing the day with 175 points.
- Burr is second in the Patriot League and fifth in the NCAA with 40 goals, and he has added 13 assists for 53 points.
- He has scored at least two goals in all 13 games this season.
- Burr has found the back of the net in 30 straight games, the longest active streak in the country, and is the program's all-time leader in goals with 137.
- He has also notched a goal in 21 straight conference games in a streak that started on April 8, 2017, at Army West Point.
DEFENSE CAUSING HAVOC
- The Terriers average a nation-leading 11.92 caused turnovers per game.
- They have 155 total caused turnovers, which leads the entire country.
- BU has caused 79 turnovers over its last six games, including 14 in the Loyola win, and has averaged 13.17 caused turnovers over its last six fixtures.
- The Terriers also boast a top-20 scoring defense in the nation, at 9.92 goals allowed per game, which ranks fourth in the PL and 18th in the NCAA.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP
- The Terriers are first in the Patriot League and second in the country with 115 assists this season, including 14 helpers in the victory over Loyola.
- They are also second in the conference and fifth in the nation in assists per game at 8.85.
- BU has assisted on 70.1% of their goals this season.
- Sophomore Chris Gray is responsible for 42.6% of the Terriers' assists and has factored on 51.2% of the team's goals.