Dover native and Holy Cross attack-man Will Spangenberg (11) celebrates after scoring the game's opening goal against Boston University on Friday night. Photos by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Having a backyard filled with rich lacrosse talent like the one Boston University and Holy Cross share here in Massachusetts certainly brings about its benefits when it comes time to recruit.
On Friday, BU men’s lacrosse traveled to Worcester to square off against the Crusaders (1-2, 0-2) in a big early-season Patriot League bout. Unsurprisingly, both rosters were stacked with former ISL, MIAA and NEPSAC stars. The Terriers (3-1, 1-1) looked to bounce back following a 12-10 defeat to No. 7 Army on March 6 to open up conference play. Meanwhile, Holy Cross also looked to bounce back after suffering a 12-11 defeat at Colgate on March 6 in their conference opener.
Medfield native and former St. Sebastian’s star Brendan McKenzie (six of 11 face-offs) won the game’s opening draw. On the ensuing possession, Dover native and Phillips Exeter alum Will Spangenberg opened the scoring, taking a feed from Sandwich native Konrad Knaus at the crease and dumping home a righty finish to put Holy Cross ahead, 1-0. Also rostered on Holy Cross from Medfield is Connor DePiero, who went 14 of 15 on face-offs and was named Patriot League Face-off Specialist of the Week, as well as midfielder and St. Sebastian's product Matt DeSisto.
Unfortunately for Holy Cross, the momentum gained from Spangenberg’s early goal was short-lived. The Terriers countered with a 10-man ride, practically making it impossible for Holy Cross to clear the ball. The result? An 11-0 run by BU to go ahead 11-1 at halftime.
Holy Cross cut into the deficit and made it 11-3 early in third quarter thanks to back-to-back goals by Knaus and Dean DiNanno. However, Timmy Ley would score three consecutive goals to but BU ahead by 11 at 14-3. Ley finished the night with seven goals and two assists, setting a new program record for goals scored in a single game for the Terriers. Another notable performance for BU came from Vince D'Alto, who notched a career-high fives goals and four assists.
BU would go on to win by a 16-6 final, but not before Needham's Jason Child registered a shot on goal and a hit pipe late on a late man-up for BU, as well as Westwood native and St. Seb's product Alex Gainey making his Terriers debut in net after transferring in from Johns Hopkins. Gainey played six minutes in the fourth quarter and registered two saves.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
