BOSTON - The Boston University men's lacrosse team suffered a 16-9 setback to Navy on Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field.

BU (3-2, 0-1 PL) trailed Navy (3-2, 1-0 PL) by just one, 7-6, at halftime, but the Mids scored the first five goals of the second half, including all three third-quarter markers, to put the game out of reach in the Patriot League opener for both squads.

Junior Brenden Kelly led the Terriers with three goals while senior Tommy Bourque (2g, 1a) and graduate student Vince D'Alto (1g, 2a) also notched three points. Graduate students Louis Perfetto and Jake Cates each found the back of the net, as did senior Tommy Jepson. Junior Trey Brown and graduate student Miles Lipton produced one assist apiece.

Defensively, sophomore Connor Kehm had a career day with four caused turnovers and five ground balls. Brown recorded two caused turnovers and collected five ground balls while graduate student Roy Meyer secured four ground ball in addition to forcing a giveaway. Junior Will Barnes made 14 saves and gathered four ground balls. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Navy opened the scoring just 48 seconds into the contest, but BU evened the score at 12:55 when Brown found Jepson in transition.
• The Mids and Terriers continued to trade goals, but Kelly tallied two straight off passes from D'Alto to give BU a 4-3 lead with 2:28 to go in the first.
• Navy equalized seconds later, however, to make it a 4-4 game entering the second quarter.
• Bourque regained the lead for BU with 12:58 left in the second, but Navy scored three straight goals, including a pair of man-up markers, to take a 7-5 lead with 4:15 on the clock.
• Perfetto got BU back within one with 3:33 left in the half, but the Terriers were unable to equalize heading into the break.
• BU won the opening faceoff of the third quarter, but the Mids forced a turnover and Jackson Peters scored in transition to make it 8-6.
• The Mids eventually pushed their lead to six before Bourque and Kelly tallied two in a row to make it a 12-8 score with 10:19 to play.
• That's as close as the Terriers got in the final quarter, however, as Dane Swanson and Xavier Arline each found the back of the net less than a minute apart to regain a six-goal edge.
• Jake Cates made it a 14-9 contest with 6:14 to go, but Navy added two goals in the final minutes to seal the victory.

GAME NOTES

• This was just the Terriers' second regular-season Patriot League loss at home since the start of the 2022 season.
• Kelly has scored seven goals over the past two games.
• Both teams cleared the ball efficiently, as the Terriers were 21-of-23 and Navy was 22-of-23.
• The Terriers forced 10 of the Mids' 15 turnovers.
• Navy went 2-for-4 on man-up chances and killed all five of the Terriers' EMOs.
• Navy was 20-of-29 at the faceoff X.
• Both goaltenders finished with 14 saves.

UP NEXT

• BU will remain at home when the Terriers welcome Bucknell to Nickerson Field on Saturday, March 9.
• Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.