After having his senior lacrosse season at Ohio State cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Walpole native and Xaverian alum Lukas Buckley is heading home to play for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse, the team announced via Twitter on May 9.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, senior spring athletes have been forced to make a decision as to whether they want to continue their collegiate careers. After already using his fifth year of eligibility to red-shirt in 2016, the decision to graduate and turn pro was a pretty simple one for Buckley. Getting to come home and play for his hometown Cannons makes the decision even easier.
As a freshman in 2017, Buckley helped lead the Buckeyes to the school's first-ever Final Four and national championship game with 15 goals and six assists for 21 points. In 2018 as a sophomore, Buckley scored seven goals and added five assists for 12 points before starting all 15 games as a junior in 2019, recording five goals and eight assists for 13 points.
Buckley was elected a team captain for his senior season in 2020. After injuring his ankle in Ohio State's second game of the year at Boston University, Buckley returned for the Buckeyes final two games against Hofstra (12-10 win) and Notre Dame (13-11 win). The Walpole native registered a pair of goals and an assist in the two games before the remainder of the season was cancelled.
Playing for the Boston Cannons has always been a dream for Lukas Buckley, as was owning a zoo and attending Johns Hopkins, arguably Ohio State's biggest rival in lacrosse outside of that team up north (Michigan). Luke's mother Carole posted a tweet highlighting these life goals that Lukas had while in elementary school.
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