Despite a change in starters for the men’s lacrosse team on March 22, the Bison were able to defeat Patriot League newcomer Boston University in a 7-3 victory, pushing the team’s record to 5-4 overall (3-2 PL). Goalie Sam Grinberg ’15 spearheaded a successful defensive effort, while the offensive unit was led by David Dickson ’15, Quinn Collison ’17, and Brock Ghelfi ’16 who were able to rack up three points each.

The beginning of the game was rocky, as the Bison found themselves trailing the Terriers early in the second quarter. But the team was able to shift the momentum for the majority of the game when the Orange and Blue outscored their opponents 5-0 for the final 43 minutes.

An extremely strong defensive group worked extensively to keep the Terriers at three points, led by Ben Kellar ’15, Mike Schiappa ’17, and Evan Bernstein ’17. Kellar, with four caused turnovers and three ground balls, led the effort with great success.

“We really concentrated on making Boston take contested outside shots after their three goals. We trusted that Sam would be able to make the easy saves, and he was able to bail us out and stand tall between the pipes all game,” Kellar said.

Grinberg had another outstanding performance in net with 13 saves. He was able to deny a strong Boston offense many opportunities by stopping eight shots in the second half. His efforts were supported by Schiappa’s six ground balls, Berstein’s two caused turnovers, and long-stick defensive midfielder Alex Spring’s ’16 caused three turnovers and six ground balls.

Despite losing 12 of the 14 face-offs over the course of the game, the Bison were able to exploit a three minute violation when the Terrier’s face-off player was penalized for an illegal stick. Collison scored his first two career goals during the EMO opportunity to boost the Orange and Blue lead to 6-3 in the early second quarter. Even play ensued by both teams throughout the third and fourth quarters, but Dickson was able to capitalize with a little over a minute left in the match to push the score to 7-3.

The Bison seniors, prohibited from playing in the match for disciplinary reasons, will return tomorrow for the squad’s tough match-up at Army.

“We are going to have to play a really strong game defensively and be ready to play in what could be a close low-scoring game and at the same time, take advantage of any scoring opportunities,” Grinberg said.