Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Boston University
Men's Lax Dominates Second Half in 13-6 Win over No. 16 Boston University
3/19/2016 4:11:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- For the second straight Saturday, Will Sands and the Bison took control in the second half of a key Patriot League game, and as result Bucknell finds itself back in the thick of the conference race after an 0-2 start. This time it was Sands scoring all four of his goals after halftime, and the Bison outscored 16th-ranked Boston University 9-2 over the final 30 minutes in a 13-6 victory over the Terriers at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Now 5-3 overall, Bucknell trailed 4-2 in the second quarter before drawing even at the half on two tracers by Tommy O'Connor. Sands then took over, posting a natural hat trick in the third quarter followed by a goal and an assist in the final three minutes to help the Bison put the game away.
O'Connor also had two assists for a four-point day, and backup attackmen Quinn Collison and Connor O'Hara scored two goals apiece off the bench, with three of those four goals coming in the second half. Sean O'Brien, recently inserted into the starting lineup as an attackman, had two goals and an assist.
Boston University (6-2, 2-1 PL) entered the day in a three-way tie for first place in the Patriot League after posting conference wins over Navy and Colgate. The Terriers received two goals apiece from Jack Wilson and James Burr along with a goal and two assists from Cal Dearth.
Last Saturday the Bison fell behind 7-2 in the second quarter at Holy Cross and were staring down the barrel at an 0-3 start in the Patriot League. Instead, the Bison piled up 13 second-half goals, with Sands tallying seven total, in an 18-12 win over the Crusaders. This time Sands finished with four goals and two assists, and the Bison defense conceded only two goals in the final 41 minutes en route to the team's first win over a ranked opponent in 2016.
Faceoffs and goaltending were major factors in the victory for Bucknell, with freshmen coming up big in both roles. Rookie goalie Christian Klipstein, who was coming off a terrific 23-save performance in a mid-week loss to No. 6/7 Villanova, tallied 14 saves in this one, including five in the fourth quarter to keep Boston University's comeback hopes out of reach.
At the faceoff spot, Bison freshman Jarett Witzal was tasked with facing one of the nation's best in Sam Talkow, a Tewaaraton Trophy candidate who came in ranked fifth in the country in faceoff percentage. Talkow went 20-for-23 in the Terriers' 11-9 win over Bucknell last season, but this time around the Bison held their own, winning 9 of 13 in the second half after Boston University won 8 of 10 in the first half. Witzal won more than half of his attempts (11-21), while Talkow went 11-for-16 with six ground balls before departing early.
Both goalies were hot early in the game -- Christian Carson-Banister finished with 13 stops for Boston University -- and the game was scoreless for seven minutes before Wilson broke the ice for the Terriers. The teams alternated four goals in the first quarter, but then Boston University took the game's first two-goal lead with back-to-back scores from Ryan Hilburn and Wilson.
The Bison tied it, as O'Connor continued his red-hot shooting. He scored on five straight shots against Villanova on Tuesday, and now in a span of 2:05 he picked out the lower left corner and upper left corner with two precise shots from the right wing, knotting the game at 4-all.
In the final five minutes of the half the Bison defense came away with a number of stops, but it was not rewarded due to some clearing woes. Bucknell was just 1-for-6 on second-quarter clears and 16-for-24 in the game. But Klipstein made five saves in the second quarter to keep it deadlocked at intermission.
Bucknell took its first lead of the day when O'Brien fed Sands for a transition goal just 2:10 into the second half. Just over two minutes later, O'Connor made a great diagonal pass to Sands, who scored from a sharp angle to five the Bison a two-goal cushion.
After Dearth answered for the Terriers, a beautiful passing sequence ignited a 4-0 run for Bucknell. Sands nabbed a missed shot behind the cage, then quickly passed out front to O'Connor, who fed a cutting O'Hara for the goal. Sands used an O'Hara screen to score an unassisted goal with 53 seconds on the clock to give the Bison an 8-5 lead after three quarters.
Boston University was flagged for illegal procedure on the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter, and Collison scored man-up off a Sean Doyle feed just 13 seconds into the period. O'Brien followed about three minutes later, and the Bison had a commanding 10-5 lead.
Burr scored at 9:06 for Boston University, and the Terriers had two good looks to get back within three, but Klipstein came up with two of his biggest saves. Collison then finished off a long possession with a close-range goal off another Doyle feed with 5:04 to go. Doyle and Sands finished off the scoring.
Bucknell outshot Boston University 41-38, including 17-5 in the third quarter. The Terriers led 33-28 in ground balls, and both teams had 15 turnovers in a contest with plenty of end-to-end action.
Doyle finished with three points on a goal and two assists, and he jumped into the top-10 on Bucknell's career points list with 138.
The Bison will now play their next two on the road against Patriot League contenders Loyola and Army West Point.
