The No. 16 Boston University men's lacrosse team will close out the regular season on Friday when the Terriers travel to Annapolis, Maryland, to face Navy. Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m.
BACK IN THE POSTSEASON
- The Terriers clinched a playoff spot with a 15-11 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.
- BU has now made the Patriot League Tournament in each of the last three seasons.
- The Terriers advanced to the conference semifinals in 2017 and 2018.
WHAT'S AT STAKE AT NAVY?
- BU will finish no lower than third in the standings, and the Terriers are guaranteed to be third and host a quarterfinal game Tuesday with a loss at Navy.
- If the Terriers win and Lehigh loses at Holy Cross, BU will finish second and earn a bye to the semifinals.
- The same holds true if BU and Lehigh win but Loyola loses at Lafayette; if all three teams win, the Terriers will finish third.
- BU can still finish first with a win, a Lehigh loss and a Loyola loss.
BEST PL RECORD ON THE LINE AS WELL
- BU can post its best-ever conference record with a win on Friday.
- The Terriers' previous best Patriot League finish was a 5-3 mark in 2017.
LAST TIME AGAINST NAVY
- The Terriers held an 8-7 lead with 10:25 to play in the fourth quarter, but Navy scored the final three goals of the game, including the winner with 59 seconds on the clock, to earn a 10-8 triumph at Nickerson Field last year.
- James Burr and Chris Gray both notched a goal while Brendan Homire added an assist.
- Gray and Burr combined for seven ground balls.
- Joe McSorley made 12 saves and allowed nine of the 10 goals.
HISTORY WITH THE MIDS
- The Terriers are 2-3 all-time against Navy, including a 1-1 record in Annapolis.
- Both of the Terriers' wins have come on the last shot of the game, including an 8-7 triumph at Navy on Feb. 25, 2017.
- The last three games have all been decided by two goals or fewer.
BEST OF BU AGAINST NAVY
- James Burr has five points (4g, 1a) against Navy, including the double-overtime winner in the 2016 home triumph.
- Brendan Homire (1g, 4a) also has five points.
- Drew Lukacs has collected three ground balls and caused two turnovers against the Mids.
NEWS ABOUT NAVY
- The Mids enter the final day of the regular season tied for fifth with Holy Cross and Bucknell at 3-4.
- Navy clinches a postseason berth with a win.
- If the Mids lose on Friday, they need Bucknell to lose to Colgate.
- Navy has lost five of its last six games, including an 18-9 home loss to then-No. 9 Syracuse on Saturday.
- Ryan Wade leads Navy in assists (26) and points (44) while Christian Daniel has scored a team-high 26 goals.
- Wade, Daniel (35 points) and Greyson Torain (23g, 10a) all have at least 30 points.
- Nick Barry is 120-of-238 (.504) at the faceoff X this season and leads the squad with 52 ground balls.
- Ryan Kern has started all 12 games in the cage for Navy, posting a 12.00 goals-against average and a .525 save percentage.
GRAY, LEVESQUE EARN WEEKLY AWARDS
- Sophomore Chris Gray and junior Chase Levesque each earned weekly awards from the Patriot League on Monday.
- Gray was named Offensive Player of the Week after he matched his own single-game program record with 10 points in the win over Holy Cross.
- He scored a career-high six goals and added four assists.
- Levesque gathered seven ground balls and caused four turnovers on Saturday while also scoring his sixth goal of the season.
GRAY IS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
- Sophomore Chris Gray leads the nation with 94 points (41g, 53a).
- Those 53 assists rank second in the NCAA.
- Gray has notched 50 points in the last seven games, including 10 points on Saturday.
- He has not been held to fewer than five points in each of the last 13 games and has collected at least four points in all 14 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 93, and he also has 72 goals for 165 career points.
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
- Sophomore Chris Gray is six points away from becoming the first Patriot League player to record 100 points in a single season.
- The single-season conference record is 97, achieved by Colgate's Peter Baum in 2012.
BURR IN MIDST OF BRILLIANT SEASON
- Senior James Burr is tied for second in the country with a program-record 46 goals.
- He is also third in the Patriot League and tied for 12th in the nation with 60 points, which is a new career high for Burr.
- He became the program's all-time leading point producer on April 13, surpassing Cal Dearth's mark of 170 points and finishing the day with 175 points.
- He has scored at least two goals in all 13 games this season.
- Burr has found the back of the net in 31 straight games, the longest active streak in the country, and is the program's all-time leader in goals with 143.
- He has also notched a goal in 22 straight conference games in a streak that started on April 8, 2017, at Army West Point.
BURR AND GRAY A DYNAMIC DUO
- No other pair of men's lacrosse players has more points than sophomore Chris Gray and senior James Burr.
- The dynamic duo leads the country with 154 points between them.
- They are also one of just three pairs of teammates with at least 40 goals apiece.
DEFENSE CAUSING HAVOC
- The Terriers average a nation-leading 12.0 caused turnovers per game.
- They have 168 total caused turnovers, which leads the entire country.
- BU has caused 79 turnovers over its last six games, including 27 in the last two games 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 10.0 goals allowed per game, which ranks fourth in the PL and 17th in the NCAA.
- Junior Reece Eddy is tied for sixth in the country and is third in the Patriot League with 29 caused turnovers.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP
- The Terriers lead the NCAA with 126 assists this season, including 11 helpers in the victory over Holy Cross and 14 assists against Loyola on April 13.
- They are first in the conference and seventh in the nation with an average of 9.0 assists per game.
- BU has assisted on 70.4% of its goals this season.
- Sophomore Chris Gray is responsible for 42.0% of the Terriers' assists and has factored on 52.5% of the team's goals.
POLL POSITION
- The Terriers are ranked 16th in both the Inside Lacrosse media poll and the USILA coaches poll.
- BU moved up from No. 18 in the coaches poll last week while remaining at No. 16 in the Inside Lacrosse poll.
RIDERS ON THE STORM
- BU is seventh in the country in opponent clearing percentage.
- The Terriers have held opponents to a clear percentage of just .771 this season.
- They will have their hands full in the clearing game on Friday, as Navy ranks third in opponent clearing percentage at .727.
WINNING THOSE BATTLES
- BU ranks second in the conference and third in the nation with 524 total ground balls this season.
- The Terriers average 37.43 ground balls per game, which ranks sixth in the nation.
- BU has averaged 42.0 ground balls per game in each of its three victories during the month of April.
