ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Graduate student Matt Garber made a career-high 18 saves but the No. 17/18 Boston University men's lacrosse team dropped a 10-8 decision to Navy on Friday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

BU (7-2, 4-1 PL) and Navy (5-6, 2-2 PL) went back-and-forth for most of the game, with the Terriers within a goal at both halftime and entering the fourth quarter. The Mids opened that frame with a goal to go up two and traded goals with the Terriers until the final minute.

Graduate student Timmy Ley led BU with a hat trick while seniors Louis Perfetto and Thomas Niedringhaus each recorded two goals and one assist to join Ley with three points. Senior Miles Lipton also found the back of the net while junior Tommy Bourque, senior Vince D'Alto, graduate student Matt Hilburn and senior Jason Child recorded one assist apiece.

Senior Roy Meyer led the Terrier defense with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Classmate Patrick Morrison recorded four ground balls in addition to one caused turnover.

Garber was excellent all game to keep BU within striking distance. He only allowed nine goals himself, as Navy's final tally was into an empty net.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• BU opened the scoring when Ley converted a Bourque feed while the Terriers were in transition.
• Navy notched the next two goals to grab a 2-1 lead at 10:15 of the opening quarter.
• Niedringhaus evened the score when he bounced off his defender, turned and ripped home a shot.
• Garber made three saves in the final minutes of the first quarter to keep the teams deadlocked at 2-2.
• Navy scored twice in a span of 35 seconds to take a 4-2 lead.
• The game once again became a defensive battle, with Garber and the Terrier defense keeping the Mids off the board for the final 10:20 of the half.
• Niedringhaus got BU within one when he backed down a defender and scored his second of the day with 1:05 left in the half to create a one-goal game as the teams entered their locker rooms.
• Garber remained sharp to start the second half, including back-to-back  stops on what should have been a Navy goal.
• However, the Mids scored the first two goals of the second half to take a 6-3 lead.
• The Terriers got back within two at 3:59 of the third quarter when Hilburn drew a double team and found a wide-open Perfetto just outside the crease.
• Ley then scored a man-up goal off a Perfetto feed to cut the deficit to 6-5 entering the final 15 minutes.
• Navy scored on a broken play early in the frame to make it 7-5.
• Ley's third goal of the day cut the lead to 7-6. Child blocked a shot, won the race to the ground ball, faked a shot and fed Ley for the finish.
• After Navy regained its two-goal edge, Lipton dodged from X and made a nice move to beat the keeper one-on-one at 6:14.
• Henry Tolker put Navy back up by two with 1:34 to play, but after Meyer forced a turnover following a Navy face-off win, D'Alto connected with Perfetto to once again cut the Mids' lead to just one.
• Navy won the next faceoff, however, and Tolker scored into an empty net with 37 seconds remaining.
• Senior Conor Calderone won the next faceoff, but shots by Lipton and D'Alto were blocked and Navy finally regained possession to run out the remainder of the clock.

• Garber twice made 17 saves prior to Friday, most recently at Army West Point on April 17, 2021.
• Ley's next point will be the 200th of his illustrious career.
• Perfetto has totaled 28 points (14g, 14a) over his last four games.
• This was the first time BU had been held to fewer than 10 goals since the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Princeton.
• BU was 1-of-2 on its man-up chances and held Navy scoreless on its only EMO of the night.
• The game was nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.

• BU will return to action on Tuesday, April 4, when the Terriers travel to Yale.
• Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m.