WEST POINT, N.Y. - Graduate student Jake Cates scored just 23 seconds into overtime to send the No. 20 and fourth-seeded Boston University men's lacrosse team to the Patriot League title game with an 11-10 victory over No. 11 and top-seeded Army West Point on Friday night at Michie Stadium. 

Cates' third goal of the day came on an extra-man opportunity, as he finished a feed from graduate student Louis Perfetto with a right-handed rip from 12 yards out. The Terriers led just once prior to Cates' game-winner in a back-and-forth affair that saw the Terriers tie the game on five different occasions. This is the second time in four days that BU has won in overtime, as the Terriers defeated Colgate on Tuesday in triple overtime to advance to Friday's semifinal round.

Graduate student Roy Meyer scored a clutch goal in the fourth quarter to give BU its first lead of the game with 1:06 to play, just 13 seconds after Perfetto evened the score at 9-9. Will Coletti answered off the ensuing faceoff, however, to tie the game. Junior Matthew Fritz won the next draw and BU called timeout to set up its final possession, which led to a penalty and a chance to start overtime with the ball, leading to Cates' heroics.

Perfetto finished the day with four points on one goal and three assists and now has 90 points (44g, 46a) on the season. Graduate student Vince D'Alto notched a hat trick while senior Tommy Bourque (1g, 2a) and junior Brenden Kelly (1g, 1a) both had multi-point days. Graduate student Thomas Niederinghaus also found the back of the net.

Junior goalkeeper Will Barnes was sensational for the Terriers, making 15 saves against the ninth-ranked offense in the country. Junior Matthew Fritz was fantastic at the X against Coletti, the PL Faceoff Specialist of the Year, going 13-of-20 with six ground balls. 

Not only did Meyer score one of the most important goals of the game, but he also led BU with three caused turnovers and recorded five ground balls. Sophomore Connor Kehm notched four ground balls and added one caused turnover. BU held PL Offensive Player of the Year Evan Plunkett to just one goal.

BU (10-6) will face Lehigh in Sunday's title game; the second-seeded Mountain Hawks defeated third-seeded Navy, 12-8, in Friday's second semifinal.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Barnes was locked in early, making three stops to help keep the game scoreless until the Black Knights cashed in at the tail end of an EMO with 8:37 left in the first quarter.
• The Black Knights added two more goals to take a 3-0 lead.
• Kelly got BU on the board with 2:50 left in the opening frame of a feed from Perfetto.
• D'Alto then made it 3-2 just 31 seconds into the second quarter. BU rode the ball back and Kelly found a wide-open D'Alto, who ran down the left alley, faked Sean Byrne (16 saves) and fired a shot past him.
• Cates then tied the score at 12:38 with a righty rip.
• Both goalkeepers continued to play well, with Army eventually finding a way past Barnes at 4:35 and again with 54 seconds remaining in the half.
• BU opened the third quarter with goals from Cates and D'Alto to even the score at 5-5, but two Army goals in a span of 1:14 restored the Black Knights' two-goal edge.
• Kelly nearly scored a highlight-reel goal as he batted the ball from mid-air into the back of the net, but after review the goal was wiped away for a crease violation.
• Niedringhaus did bring BU within one with 2:28 left in the third quarter, which is where the score stood entering the final 15 minutes.
• D'Alto equalized with 6:48 to play when he backed down his defender and used him as a screen to fire a shot past Byrne.
• Jackson Eicher regained the lead for Army, 8-7, with 5:32 on the clock, but Bourque answered at 3:09 to tie the game once again.
• Plunkett gave Army a 9-8 lead exactly a minute later, but BU won the ensuing faceoff and scored off a terrific individual effort by Perfetto.
• That began a frantic sequence in which the teams traded goals off faceoffs. First, Meyer picked up a loose ball and was face-to-face with Byrne. The All-American LSM made no mistake for his first goal of the year.
• Coletti won the next faceoff, however, and scored immediately to tie the game again, but Fritz secured the final faceoff victory of the night to eventually set up his team's game-winning possession.

GAME NOTES

• BU has handed Army West Point two of its three losses this season, as the Terriers defeated then-No. 1 Army, 14-9, on March 22 at Nickerson Field.
• This is the Terriers' fourth straight win over the Black Knights dating back to the 2022 Patriot League title game.
• Both of the Terriers' Patriot League semifinal victories have come in overtime, as BU bested Lehigh in OT, 13-12, in 2022.
• Perfetto has scored a goal in 16 straight games while Kelly's goal streak reached 15 games on Friday with his 40th goal of the year.
• BU is the only school in the country to boast three players (D'Alto, Kelly, Perfetto) with 40 or more goals.
• Perfetto is just the fifth Patriot League player to record 90+ points in a single season, a feat that has only been accomplished six times in conference history.
• D'Alto ended the day with 71 points (41g, 30a), reaching 70+ points for the second time in his illustrious career.

UP NEXT

• BU will face Lehigh in the Patriot League title game on Sunday at 12 p.m.
• That game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.