Captain Louis Perfetto (Questrom’23) searches for a pass during BU’s overtime victory against Bryant on February 18. Perfetto and his teammates are  looking to defend their Patriot League title.

Men’s Lacrosse

Men’s Lacrosse Looks to Defend Patriot League Title

Experienced Terriers squad opens conference play Saturday against Colgate

As they prepare for their Patriot League home opener March 4, BU’s men’s lacrosse team knows it has a target on its back. In 2022, they went 9-1 against Patriot League opponents en route to winning their first conference championship in program history, a title they are anxious to retain. But with the return of seven graduate students and fourteen seniors, the Terriers aren’t deterred by the target on their back—it motivates them. 

Three games in, the BU men’s lacrosse squad returns to Nickerson Field Saturday for the first time since besting Army West Point 14-10 last May to win the conference title. 

BU advanced to the opening round of their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance last May, but fell to No. 9 Princeton 12-5, concluding the program’s best season to date. 

It was that loss that pushed multiple members of the 2022 Terriers to return to Commonwealth Avenue this season as graduate students, including Terriers Captain Matt Hilburn (MET’23), who felt that there was unfinished business at BU. 

“At the end of last year, we kind of talked about how we thought we could have done more,” Hilburn says. “We all dreamt of that Patriot League championship, and then once we got to the NCAA tournament—that was the dream as a little kid. We decided we had to give this team one more shot and try to get to the national championship.” 

Accompanying Hilburn on leadership this year is fellow grad student Timmy Ley (CGS’20, COM’22, SHA’23)—who is second all-time in goals scored for BU—along with seniors Robert Gallop (Questrom’23), Thomas Niedringhaus (Questrom’23), and Louis Perfetto (Questrom’23). 

For Perfetto, embedding the new members of the roster into such an established squad begins with perfecting the Terriers’ team culture. 

“We’ve taken a huge step culturally,” Perfetto says. “If we can focus on the small details and being accountable off the field, I think it will translate to how we perform on the field. We’re gonna get every other team’s best shot this year with that target on our back from last year.”

The 2023 Terrier roster includes 13 freshmen.

BU entered this season favored to repeat as Patriot League conference champions. Ley was named preseason offensive player of the year alongside preseason defensive player of the year Roy Meyer (Questrom’23) and goalkeeper of the year Matt Garber (MET’24). 

“In order to beat us, teams are going to have to give us their best effort,” says head coach Ryan Polley. “When you get people’s best effort, you just have to be that much better. We won’t get an opportunity to sneak out a win or get teams’ C or B effort. We’re getting everyone’s A effort.” 

Polley, who has helmed the team since its inception as a varsity sport in 2012, signed a multiyear extension last week to continue as head coach. 

“My 10 years here have been fantastic,” Polley says. “To be able to build this program into what it is today and win a Patriot League championship, it’s been a really fulfilling 10 years.”

For Hilburn, playing under Polley for his entire BU career has meant both stability and an opportunity for growth. Hilburn’s older brothers, Ryan (CGS’16, COM’18) and Chris, both played Division I lacrosse, with Chris enduring “a carousel of coaches” in his career. 

“I’ve been blessed to have five years with Polley,” Hilburn says. “Players get to know the coach, coach gets to know the players. You get to continuously build on things that you’ve worked on last year, rather than having to start fresh, meet new faces, trying to get a new identity of the team.” 

The 2023 Season

The Terriers opened the 2023 season ranked No.14, but fell to Vermont 12-15 on February 11, before besting Bryant University 16-15 on February 18 in overtime and No. 20/18 University of Massachusetts 12-6 on February 25. 

Now, all eyes are set on Patriot League rival Colgate University, who the Terriers beat 18-6 on March 5 last year. That game was a rematch of 2021’s Patriot League quarterfinal, when Colgate beat BU 8-11 at Nickerson. Hilburn says Colgate has historically “had BU’s number.” 

“Colgate is always able to pull out tough, gritty wins against us. Maybe they weren’t the more talented group, but they always found a way to make it tough on us,” Hilburn says. “I think that last year we really took it to them because we had a chip on our shoulder with how they knocked us out of the playoffs. This year, I expect them to come back harder and give us their best shot.” 

Perfetto says BU students would be wise to catch the home opener before leaving for spring break. 

“It should be a lot of fun—it’s the first home game of the year for the defending Patriot League champions,” Perfetto says. “I think that’s better than going anywhere else and sitting on the beach in the sun. I’d rather be at Nickerson Field.” 

Elsewhere on the schedule, BU will face No. 18/16 Army West Point to conclude regular season play on the road. Last season, Army was the only Patriot League opponent to beat the Terriers, winning 14-15 at Nickerson Field, before falling to BU in the Patriot League championship game. 

“I am telling all my family and friends that that is the game they’ve got to come to because that’s going to be an experience unlike any other,” Hilburn says. “Army, last game of the season, Friday night under the lights. It has all the ingredients to be the game to watch.” 

With aspirations to repeat as champions of the Patriot League and return to the NCAA tournament, the BU men’s lacrosse team is excited for the road ahead. 

“Our strongest attribute as a team is our family and how close the guys are together,” Perfetto says. “We have bigger goals in mind this year—obviously, we want to win the league again, but we want to take the next step as a program. We really feel like this team, talent- and leadership-wise, is ready to do that.” 

The BU men’s lacrosse team kicks off Patriot League play Saturday, March 4, at 1 pm on Nickerson Field. Admission is free for students with a Sports Pass, $5 for other members of the BU community, and $8 for general admission. All Patriot League games can be streamed live on ESPN+.