Freshman Peyton Forte scored five goals and senior Connor Kehm set personal records with five caused turnovers and 10 ground balls as the No. 19/20 Boston University men’s lacrosse team secured a 13-5 victory over Dartmouth on Sunday at Nickerson Field.
The Terriers, now holding a 2-1 record, maintained strong defensive play throughout the game. They prevented Dartmouth from scoring until late in the third quarter, establishing an 11-0 lead that proved too much for their opponent to overcome. Although Dartmouth managed four consecutive goals in the third quarter, Forte ended their momentum by scoring his fifth goal just before the buzzer.
Sophomore Timothy Shannehan contributed two goals and four assists for a total of six points. Senior Jimmy Kohr had three goals, while senior Sam Burns added one goal and one assist. Junior long-stick midfielder Donald Varnerin scored from his own half of the field, recorded two caused turnovers, and picked up a ground ball. Junior Logan Styles assisted on Varnerin’s goal and tallied three caused turnovers along with two ground balls. Additional assists came from junior Tyler Fox, sophomore Ben Morris, junior Jackson Matthews, and sophomore Andrew Pape.
In goal, sophomore Connor Phillips made 10 saves and played a role in BU’s ride and clear efforts. The Terriers limited Dartmouth to converting only 15 out of 28 clear attempts. Both teams finished with 38 ground balls each, but BU forced a total of 17 turnovers during the game.
BU has not allowed an opponent to score in the first quarter in either of its wins this season and has conceded only two first-half goals across those victories. Forte has scored eight of his nine season goals in the last two games; he shares the team lead for goals with Shannehan, who also leads BU in assists (10) and points (19). Kehm is now at seven caused turnovers for the year.
The Terriers average nearly 15 caused turnovers per game and are collecting an average of 40 ground balls per contest so far this season. They have also restricted opponents to just under a .655 clearing percentage over three games.
Boston University will next play Yale on Saturday, February 21 at noon.
