The third-seeded Boston University men's lacrosse team will host sixth-seeded Bucknell in a Patriot League quarterfinal contest on Tuesday night at Nickerson Field. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m.
BACK IN THE POSTSEASON
- The Terriers have made the Patriot League Tournament in each of the last three seasons.
- BU advanced to the conference semifinals in 2017 and 2018.
- This is the second time the Terriers have hosted a postseason game; third-seeded BU defeated No. 6 Lehigh, 10-4, in the 2017 quarterfinals.
IT'S GREAT TO BE HOME
- BU is 7-1 at Nickerson Field this season, including a 4-0 record against Patriot League squads.
- The Terriers average 14.38 goals per game at home.
THIS SCENE IS FAMILIAR
- BU and Bucknell met in last year's quarterfinals, with the sixth-seeded Terriers knocking off the third-seeded and 10th-ranked Bison, 12-11, in a thrilling comeback in Lewisburg, Pa.
- The Terriers trailed, 11-6, with 6:04 left in the third quarter, but BU tallied the final six goals of the game.
- Chris Gray tallied nine points (5g, 4a) and factored on four of the final five goals, including a terrific feed to set up Brendan Homire's game-winner with 6:56 to play.
LAST TIME AGAINST BUCKNELL
- BU erased a three-goal deficit in the third quarter en route to a 13-9 victory over Bucknell on March 16 at Nickerson Field.
- The Terriers trailed the Bison, 8-5, with 10:17 left in the third quarter, but BU scored eight of the final nine goals.
- Senior Michael Laviano notched the game-winning goal with 2.4 seconds remaining in the third stanza.
- Sophomore Chris Gray led the Terriers with six points (2g, 4a) while senior Brendan Homire collected a career-high four goals, including a pair of man-down markers in the final frame.
- Freshman Jake Cates and sophomore Michael Doxie both found the back of the net.
- Redshirt junior Josh Williamson scored his first goal as a Terrier while junior Jared Nugent and senior Thomas Schmidt both recorded one assist.
- Sophomore Sean Christman matched a career high by winning 19 of the 26 faceoffs he took, and he also had eight ground balls.
- The Terriers caused 13 of the Bison's 20 turnovers.Â
- Junior Nicholas Ellerton led the squad with three caused turnovers and also had three ground balls.Â
- Senior Quintin Germain caused two turnovers and added three ground balls while freshman Will Carson forced a giveaway and recorded two ground balls.Â
- Junior Reece Eddy secured six ground balls and had two caused turnovers.
- Junior Joe McSorley made 11 saves, including four in a perfect fourth quarter.Â
- The Terriers were 6-for-6 against Bucknell's man-up offense.
HISTORY WITH THE BISON
- BU is 3-4 all-time against Bucknell, including a 2-1 record at Nickerson Field.
- The Terriers have won two straight games against the Bison.
BEST OF BU AGAINST BUCKNELL
- Chris Gray has torched the Bison for 22 points (10g, 12a) in three games.
- James Burr has tallied eight points (7g, 1a) and five ground balls in five games.
- Brendan Homire has recorded eight points (6g, 2a) against Bucknell, including four goals in this year's regular-season meeting.
SCOUTING THE BISON
- Bucknell defeated Colgate, 10-8, on Friday for its fourth straight win.
- Will Yorke, a Second Team All-Patriot League selection, leads Bucknell in goals (31) and points (42) and is second in assists (11).
- Defenders Bryant Boswell (32 GB, 13 CT) and Conor Shears (23 GB, 23 CT) were also second-team honorees.
- Reed Malas and Tom Smith are tied for the team lead with 12 assists.
- Jarett Witzal leads Bucknell with 93 ground balls and is 151-of-310 (.487) at the faceoff X.
- Christian Klipstein has started all 14 games for Bucknell, posting a 10.36 goals-against average and .544 save percentage.
BU PLACES FOUR ON ALL-PL FIRST TEAM
- Senior James Burr, senior Quintin Germain, sophomore Chris Gray and senior Brendan Homire were all named to the All-Patriot League First Team on Monday, marking the first time four Terriers earned first-team honors in the same season.
- Burr became the first Terrier to score 50 goals in one season and added 14 assists for a career-high 64 points.
- Germain proved himself to be one of the best cover defenders in the conference, most notably holding PL Offensive Player of the Year Pat Spencer to just one assist in the Terriers' win over Loyola.
- Germain grabbed 16 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers this year.
- Gray finished the regular season as the nation's leader in points (99) thanks to 43 goals and 56 assists.
- Homire had a career year in the Terrier midfield, notching 38 points on 18 goals and 20 assists, and also securing 31 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
GRAY NOMINATED FOR TEWAARATON AWARD
- Sophomore Chris Gray was one of 25 men nominated for the 2019 Tewaaraton Award.
- He leads the nation with 99 points (43g, 56a) and is second in the NCAA with 56 assists.
- Gray has notched 55 points in the last eight games, including 10 points on April 20.
- He has not been held to fewer than five points in each of the last 14 games and has collected at least four points in all 15 tilts.
- Gray broke his own single-season point (71) and assist (41) records.
- He is the program's all-time leader in assists with 96, and he also has 74 goals for 170 career points.
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
- Sophomore Chris Gray needs just one goal or assist to become the first Patriot League player to record 100 points in one season.
- Gray currently holds the single-season conference record, surpassing Colgate's Peter Baum (97 points).
- That mark had stood since 2012.
BURR IN MIDST OF BRILLIANT SEASON
- Senior James Burr is third in the country with a program-record 50 goals.
- He is also third in the Patriot League and 16th in the nation with 64 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 15 games this season.
- Burr has found the back of the net in 32 straight games, the longest active streak in the country, and is the program's all-time leader in goals with 147.
- He has also notched a goal in 23 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 163 points between them.
DEFENSE CAUSING HAVOC
- The Terriers average a nation-leading 11.87 caused turnovers per game.
- They have 178 total caused turnovers, which leads the entire country.
- BU has caused 63 turnovers over its last five games and has averaged 12.6 caused turnovers over that span.
- The Terriers also boast a top-20 scoring defense in the nation, at 10.2 goals allowed per game, which ranks fifth in the PL and 19th in the NCAA.
- Junior Reece Eddy is tied for seventh in the country and is third in the Patriot League with 30 caused turnovers.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP
- The Terriers are second the NCAA with 133 assists this season, including 11 helpers in the victory over Holy Cross and 14 assists against Loyola on April 13.
- They are second in the conference and seventh in the nation with an average of 8.87 assists per game.
- Sophomore Chris Gray is responsible for 42.1% of the Terriers' assists.
RIDERS ON THE STORM
- BU is eighth in the country in opponent clearing percentage.
- The Terriers have held opponents to a clear percentage of just .760 this season.
- They will have their hands full in the clearing game on Tuesday as Bucknell ranks seventh in opponent clearing percentage at .753.
- BU went 22-for-29 against Navy, the third-ranked team in that category, on Friday.
WINNING THOSE BATTLES
- BU ranks second in the conference and sixth in the nation with 567 total ground balls this season.
- The Terriers average 37.8 ground balls per game, which also ranks sixth in the nation.
- BU averaged 42.0 ground balls per game in each of its three victories during the month of April.
