EASTON, Pa. - Senior Jimmy O'Connell matched his career high with four goals, but the No. 15 Boston University men's lacrosse team fell to Lafayette, 11-9, on Saturday afternoon at Fisher Stadium.

BU (8-4, 4-2 PL) trailed Lafayette (8-4, 4-3 PL) by as many as five in the second half but despite a couple comeback attempts was unable to get any closer than two. Junior Jimmy Kohr scored two goals while senior Brenden Kelly and freshman Timothy Shannehan each tallied one goal and one assist. Sophomore Donald Varnerin scored his second goal in as many games while classmate Tyler Fox and freshman Ben Morris both chipped in an assist.

Varnerin was terrific all over the field, recording a career-best four caused turnovers and collecting five ground balls in addition to his goal. Junior Connor Kehm gathered four ground balls and forced two giveaways while sophomore Luke Davis notched two ground balls and two caused turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lafayette scored at the 6:41 mark and again 1:04 later to hold a 2-0 lead after the opening 15 minutes.
• Varnerin got BU on the board at 11:40 of the second stanza thanks to a great individual effort. Standing eight yards away from goalkeeper Joe Doherty, he picked off a pass and quickly found the back of the net for his third goal of the season.
• The Leopards responded with a goal in transition to make it 3-1 with 10:04 left in the half before eventually extending the lead to 5-1.
• Kelly converted a slick feed from Shannehan at the right post during an EMO to make it a 5-2 score at halftime.
• The Leopards tallied the first two goals of the third quarter but BU answered with three straight goals to get within two.
• First, Morris found O'Connell at the top of the crease to make it 7-3.
• Kohr then tallied two in a row, with the first coming in transition after a great man-down stand.
• He completed the 3-0 run when he picked up a rebound and quickly found the back of the net.
• RIley Sullivan restored Lafayette's three-goal edge just over a minute later, however, and the Leopards added one more to take a 9-5 edge into the final 15 minutes.
• Neither team broke through until O'Connell scored two straight to get BU within a pair.
• First, O'Connell backed up a Kehm shot that tried to beat the 10-man ride. After catching the shot, O'Connell quickly dove to the front of the cage and scored a fantastic goal.
• He then beat got a 1-on-1 matchup with a defender and fired home a goal to make it 9-7.
• The Leopards made it 10-7 with 3:18 to play.
• Shannehan scored with 1:40 remaining but the Leopards won the ensuing faceoff, drew a penalty and scored into an open cage to make it 11-8.
• A late O'Connell goal brought BU back within two but the Leopards won a last-second faceoff to seal the win.

GAME NOTES

• Shannehan is the first NCAA rookie to reach 50 points this year, having notched 25 goals and 25 assists.
• O'Connell has scored 10 goals in the last three games and ended the day with 49 points (27g, 22a).
• Kohr maintained his team lead in goals with 33.
• Freshman Madden Murphy matched his career highs in faceoff wins (13) and ground balls (5).
• Kehm has notched 11 ground balls and five caused turnovers over the past two games.
• He leads BU in both ground balls (42) and caused turnovers (25).
• BU scored on both its man-up chances.
• Senior Will Barnes made 10 saves.

UP NEXT

• BU will return home on Saturday, April 19, to host Lehigh at Nickerson Field.
• That game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network beginning at 2:30 p.m.