BOSTON, Mass. —  The Boston University men's lacrosse team (3-2 / 1-0 Patriot League) used a 6-2 run in the fourth quarter to secure a 15-10 victory over the visiting Mids (3-2 / 0-1 Patriot League) Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field in Boston, Mass. The game marked the Patriot League opener for both programs.

The game featured a trio of four-goal runs, including the Terriers' final run of the game where they scored four goals in under three minutes to take a 13-8 lead and put the game out of reach for the Midshipmen.

"We were out of sync from the very beginning," said seventh-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo. "They simply outplayed us.

"We were able to string together some stops in the third quarter, but then we couldn't score. They were able to score in about every way possible - a man down, a man up and in transition. We got off to a bad start and could never fully recover."

The pace was fast and furious throughout much of the game, including the opening minutes of the contest where Navy took a 2-1 lead on goals by All-American AJ Marsh (Jr / Reisterstown, Md.) and Jack Ponzio (So / M / Ronkonkoma, N.Y.). The Mids solved BU's legendary ride when Joshua Nagy (So / SSDM / Westminster, Md.) threw an outlet pass from the defensive end of the field to Marsh, who scored his first goal of the year on a shot from the top of the offensive box into an empty net. Ponzio, meanwhile, unleashed a low to high shot from 10 yards out.

BU answered by holding the Mids scoreless for nine minutes while putting together a 4-0 run of its own to take a 5-2 lead. 

Navy, though, would get the final score in the opening frame, as Alec Gregorek (So / A / Wading River, N.Y.) picked up the loose ball off his own saved shot and tucked it past BU goalkeeper Connor Phillips (So / GK) for the goal.

The Terriers scored the first-two goals of the second period before Navy's defense shut them down for the final 9:52 of the half. Meanwhile, Jack Flaherty (Sr / M / Massapequa, N.Y.) helped spark a 3-0 Navy run by scoring an extra-man goal at the 4:54 mark. Just a minute later, Flaherty found fellow Long Island native Jack Nichtern (Sr / M / Massapequa Park, N.Y.) cutting up the middle for what was Nichtern's first goal of the season. Flaherty and the Midshipmen closed to within one (7-6)as Mac Haley (Sr / A / Shady Side, Md.) drew the double team and found Flaherty in the middle of the box. Flaherty made a spectacular play, spinning off the defender and targeting a jump shot before the shot clock expired. 

Navy evened the score for the first time since the 10:39 mark (2-2) in the opening quarter when William Goers (Fr / A / Chester, Md.) broke loose from a BU short-stick defensive midfielder and rippled the back of the net from 12 yards out.

After more than 14 minutes without a goal, BU was able to take the lead, this time for good, scoring in transition at the 10:52 mark in the third frame. Navy's defense did a solid job of taming the Terriers' offense, but four-consecutive turnovers spoiled their efforts. Meanwhile, BU scored an extra-man goal with 1:28 left in the quarter to take a 9-7 lead.

The Mids came right back and two minutes into the fourth quarter drew to within one (9-8). Goers found Gregorek for a catch-and-shoot goal from six yards out while also taking a vicious hit on the release.

BU, however, gathered steam with a transition goal by long-stick midfielder Donald Varnerin after the Mids were whistled for over-and-back and sparked a 4-0 run by the Terriers. The two teams would trade goals over the final six minutes, but Navy would never get closer than four.

Gregorek, Flaherty and Ponzio led Navy with 2 goals apiece, while Haley turned in 3 goals. Defensively, Marsh played a spectacular game against sophomore attackman Timothy Shannehan, one of the nation's top scorers. Shannehan, who came into the game ranked second in the country in points per game (6.25), third in assists per game (3.00) and 15th in goals per game (3.25), was held to just a pair of assists, both in the second half. 

Dan Daly (Sr / Wayne, N.J.) played a strong game between the pipes where he made 15 saves, including 5 in the third quarter.

BU was led by Kohr's 4 goals, while Andrew Pape scored 3 and Tyler Fox has 2 goals and 2 assists. But the standout player of the game for the Terriers was Phillips, a first-year starter in goal, who turned aside multiple point-blank range shots by the Mids. He finished the game with 15 saves, including 4 in 3 of the 4 quarters.

Finally, the faceoff game was nearly even with BU winning 15 of the 29 draws. Colin Shadowens (Sr / Severna Park, Md.) was 7 for 14 for the Mids, while Zach Hayashi (Jr / North Potomac, Md.) was 7 for 15.

The Midshipmen return home next Saturday when they play host to Bucknell (5-1 / 1-0 Patriot League). Faceoff is set for 12-Noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

### Go Navy ###