BOSTON - The Boston University men's lacrosse team scored nine goals in the second half en route to a 12-10 season-opening win over Merrimack on Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field.

Trailing by two at halftime, the Terriers scored the first three goals of the third quarter to take a 6-5 lead and never trailed again in what became a back-and-forth second half. Merrimack had a chance to tie the game with a 1:34 to play, but junior Patrick Morrison forced a turnover and scooped up the loose ball with a minute remaining to preserve the victory.

Junior Vince D'Alto led the Terriers offensively with five points thanks to three goals and two assists. He also gathered a team-high eight ground balls. Senior Timmy Ley, who missed the final four games of the 2021 campaign due to injury, also had a hat trick and added an assist for a four-point day while junior Louis Perfetto tallied two goals and two assists, including the game-winning strike with 6:06 to play to give BU an 11-9 lead. Senior Jake Cates, who played just two games last year, tallied two goals and one assist in his return to the lineup. Sophomore Christian Quadrino added a goal and an assist while junior Anthony Forziati also found the back of the net.

Defensively, junior Roy Meyer led BU with three caused turnovers and added five ground balls. Senior Jett Dziama was terrific in his debut in the defensive midfield, gathering five ground balls as helped junior Conor Calderone have an excellent day at the faceoff X. Calderone, making his Terrier debut, was 15-for-23 at the X with four ground balls. Morrison finished the game with two caused turnovers and three ground balls while junior Donnie Howard recorded four ground balls and one caused turnover.

Senior Matt Garber was great in the cage for BU, making 12 stops to earn the win. Garber also had two caused turnovers and two ground balls, including an incredible effort on the 10-man ride to jump in front of a Merrimack attacker and intercept a pass at the restraining line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Perfetto and Ley scored in a span of 2:01 to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead just 5:06 into the contest.
• The Warriors responded with a two strikes within a minute of one another to tie the game at 2-2 with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter.
• Both goalies combined for 11 saves to keep the game at 2-2 after 15 minutes.
• With BU on an EMO early in the second quarter, D'Alto found Ley with a nice feed for a man-up marker.
• The Warriors then finished the half with three consecutive goals to take a 5-3 lead into the third quarter.
• BU responded with three straight goals of its own, beginning with Quadrino at 13:43.
• Quadrino then assisted on Cates' first goal of the day to tie the score with 10:10 to play in the quarter.
• Just 43 seconds later, Forziati gave the Terriers the lead with a great individual effort.
• After Merrimack tied the game again, Ley fed D'Alto for a goal and D'Alto returned the favor to Ley to regain the lead.
• D'Alto answered a Merrimack strike with his second strike of the half to give the Terriers a 9-7 lead, but Jack Rooney scored with just seven seconds remaining in the frame to make it a 9-8 game.
• The Warriors evened the scored with 13:10 to play, but D'Alto completed his hat trick with 11:02 left to retake the lead.
• Perfetto then put the Terriers ahead for good when he beat a defender and then fired a shot into the upper right corner.
• The Warriors once again made it a one-goal game with 3:47 remaining when goalkeeper Henry Vogt (23 saves) beat the 10-man ride with a shot from just beyond midfield, but the Terrier defense stood strong to prevent the tying goal.
• After Morrison's takeaway, Garber drew a slashing penalty on Tommy Rooney and created an extra-man chance for BU.
• The Terriers ran the clock down to the final three seconds before Cates scored into the vacant cage to create the 12-10 final.

GAME NOTES

• The Terriers have won seven of their last eight season openers, including each of the last two against Merrimack.
• Ley extended his goal streak to 23 games with his three-goal effort.
• He has notched 57 goals during this stretch, which began on March 19, 2019.
• Perfetto has secured a point in all 18 games of his collegiate career and now has 56 total points as a Terrier.
• Dating back to last season, Meyer has recorded at least three caused turnovers in each of his last five games.
• Dziama set a new career high with five ground balls while Calderone matched a career best with four ground balls.
• BU went 2-for-3 on extra-man opportunities while Merrimack was 1-for-3.
• The Terriers won 43 ground balls to just 21 for the Warriors.
• BU went 22-for-23 in the clearing game and forced five failed Merrimack clears.

UP NEXT

• BU will host No. 20 Bryant on Saturday, Feb. 19, at Nickerson Field.
• Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m.