The Boston University men's lacrosse team will welcome Ohio State to Nickerson Field for the first time on Saturday afternoon. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.

WELCOMING A RANKED FOE

• BU is hosting a ranked opponent for the first time since the Terriers knocked off No. 2 Loyola Maryland, 18-11, on April 13, 2019.
• The Terriers are 2-1 in their last three home games against ranked foes, with the one loss coming by just a goal.

HOME SWEET HOME

• BU has played well in its last 11 games at Nickerson Field, going 9-2 in that span.
• The Terriers were 8-1 at home last year.

THIRD TIME A CHARM?

• Saturday will mark the third straight season that BU will face Ohio State.
• The Terriers traveled to Columbus each of the last two seasons to face the Buckeyes in their indoor facility.
• Ohio State won both those meetings, including a 17-10 contest last year.

RECAPPING LAST YEAR'S GAME

• The Terriers suffered a 17-10 setback at No. 15/16 Ohio State on Feb. 9, 2019, indoors at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
• James Burr ('19) recorded a program-record six goals, including a run of four unanswered in the third quarter to cut an 11-3 deficit to 11-7 with 9:19 to go in the frame.
• The Terriers got as close as 12-8 in that third quarter before the Buckeyes pulled away.
• Brendan Homire ('19) matched a career high with three assists.
• Reece Eddy caused two turnovers and added three ground balls.
• Timmy Ley and Jake Cates each recorded their first collegiate goals, with Cates adding a career-high three caused turnovers.
• Chase Levesque also forced three turnovers in addition to collecting an assist.
• Jack Collins also found the back of the net while junior Jared Nugent notched his first assist as a Terrier.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

• Ohio State opened its season Tuesday night with a 23-9 home win over Detroit Mercy.
• The Buckeyes assisted on 21 of those 23 goals, which is the most in an NCAA game since 2000.
• Jack Myers finished the game with nine points (4g, 5a) while Tre Leclaire tallied six goals and two assists.
• Jackson Reid (4g, 3a) and Grant Mitchell (2g, 3a) totaled seven and five points, respectively.
• With All-American faceoff specialist  Justin Inacio out, Christian Feliziani went 13-of-24 at the X and gathered three ground balls.
• Ryan Terefenko collected a team-high five of the Buckeyes' 41 ground balls.
• Josh Kirson played nearly 36 minutes in the cage and made seven saves while allowing just five goals.

TOUGH START AGAINST PROVIDENCE

• BU fell to Providence, 12-5, in its season opener on Feb. 1 at Nickerson Field.
• The teams were tied, 2-2, after 15 minutes, but the Friars scored all six goals in the second stanza to take an 8-2 halftime lead.
• Freshmen Vince D'Alto, Thomas Niedringhaus and Louis Perfetto each tallied their first collegiate goal while sophomore Timmy Ley and senior Jared Nugent also found the back of the net.
• Ley and Perfetto each had an assist as well, as did junior Tommy Nook.
• Junior Sean Christman went 15-of-21 at the faceoff X with seven ground balls. 
• Senior Reece Eddy caused five turnovers.
• Freshman Collin Loughead tallied six ground balls and added two caused turnovers.
• Senior Joe McSorley made 12 saves.

MCSORLEY EARNS WEEKLY AWARD

• Senior Joe McSorley was named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday.
• McSorley led the Patriot League with a .522 save percentage in the Terriers' season opener against Providence. 
• He stopped 12 shots, caused one turnover and added one ground ball. 
• No other Patriot League goalkeeper saved more than 50% of the shots they faced.
• McSorley is tied for seventh in the nation and first in the conference in saves per game.
• This is the seventh time in McSorley's three years as the Terriers' starter that he has been selected as the PL Goalkeeper of the Week. 
• McSorley was named to the Inside Lacrosse preseason All-Patriot League Team and entered the year leading all returning conference goalkeepers with a .549 save percentage, a number that ranked 12th in the NCAA last season.

REECE WREAKS HAVOC

• Senior Reece Eddy leads the nation with five caused turnovers after his impressive performance on Saturday.
• Eddy also added two ground balls.
• Saturday's strong showing was no surprise,  as no returning Patriot League player caused more turnovers last year than Eddy (34).
• Eddy also totaled 71 ground balls last year.

EDDY NOT THE ONLY ONE CAUSING TROUBLE

• As a team, BU leads the nation with 14 caused turnovers.
• The Terriers led the NCAA with 11.71 caused turnovers per game last year.
• Nine different Terriers forced a giveaway against Providence, with senior Reece Eddy (5) and freshman Collin Loughead (2) leading the way.

CHRISTMAN GREAT AT THE X

• Junior Sean Christman took all 21 faceoffs for the Terriers against Providence, winning 15 of them and gathering seven ground balls in an impressive performance.
• Christman's win percentage of .714 ranks fourth in the nation.
• As a team, BU is third in the country in faceoff percentage.
• This was the second straight successful season opener for Christman, who went 8-for-11 (.727) against the Friars in 2019.

THEY'RE YOUNG GUYS

• BU started four freshmen on Saturday.
• All four rookies contributed, as attackmen Louis Perfetto (1g, 1a) and Vince D'Alto (1g) both joined midfielder Thomas Niedringhaus (1g) in scoring their first collegiate goals.
• Defender Collin Loughead tallied six ground balls and recovered two ground balls.
• Six of the Terriers' 19 freshmen saw time on Saturday and eight newcomers in total made their Terrier debuts.

RIDERS ON THE STORM

• BU held Providence to a 22-of-29 mark on clearing attempts in Saturday's contest.
• That ranks seventh in the country.
• Ohio State is the top riding team in the country after one game, as the Buckeyes held Detroit Mercy to a 61.9% success rate on clears.