BU Men’s Lacrosse Striving for a Season They Can Be Proud Of
Terriers play at Loyola Maryland on Saturday with hope of advancing to the NCAA Tournament
BU men’s lacrosse team celebrating a goal during a 13-5 win at home against Dartmouth February 15. Photo by Bella Jones/BU Athletics
BU Men’s Lacrosse Striving for a Season They Can Be Proud Of
Terriers play at Loyola Maryland on Saturday with hope of advancing to the NCAA Tournament
At 5-4 with just four games remaining in the regular season, the Boston University men’s lacrosse team still has work to do.
After dropping the season’s first game at then-second-ranked Syracuse and starting the year 2-2, the Terriers rattled off three consecutive victories before losing back-to-back games, to Colgate and rival Harvard. But despite inconsistent play thus far, the Terrier players believe their play is trending in the right direction.
“At this point, we have to understand we’re not a finished product,” says Jimmy Kohr (CAS’26). “We can keep improving every day, every week, and hopefully that’ll carry us to where we want to be.”
When the Terriers are firing on all cylinders—in performances like their 23-7 win over Siena February 6 or 15-10 win over the then-20th-ranked Navy on February 28—they are hard to beat.
The Terriers have a specific brand of lacrosse they want to play—fast and physical, whipping the ball around the field and wreaking havoc. “We’re forcing guys wherever they don’t want to be forced,” Kohr says. “We want to make teams have to play up with us instead of us playing down with them.”
That’s also where there’s room for improvement. Players want to strengthen their control of the ball. They have a slogan: “Six is one,” referring to the six-player maximum on the offensive half of the field at any time in order to avoid an offside penalty.
“It takes all six of us to put the ball in the back of the net,” Kohr says. “It’s being unselfish, being one unit, loving each other, and celebrating each other.”
“Weathering the storm” is the term Connor Kehm (Questrom’26) uses to describe their strategy. The Terriers want to do a better job handling adversity. For example, if their opponent makes a run, they want to respond with a run of their own.
The Terriers have the players to do so. Kehm describes Timothy Shannehan (Questrom’28) as the face of BU’s offense. Through nine games, Shannehan has a whopping 26 goals and 21 assists. His 5.2 points per game are the second most in the country.
But it’s not just Shannehan. Whether it’s fellow attackers Kohr, who’s second on the team in goals, with 23, or Peyton Forte (CAS’29), who’s third, with 21, or midfielders Sam Burns (Questrom’26), Tyler Fox (CAS’27), and Andrew Pape (COM’28), the Terriers are threats from anywhere.
“I don’t think there’s a hole for us offensively or defensively,” Kehm says.
Although all BU’s focus is on closing out the regular season strong, its goals extend beyond the regular season finale at Holy Cross April 24. The Terriers have more than just the Patriot League championship in mind—they want to reach the NCAA Tournament championship weekend. The ups and downs—albeit expected—of the season are just part of the journey.
“We really have a ton of talent, and it’s just putting all of those pieces together,” Kohr says.
Plus, this BU team loves playing together, which Kehm says further propels them. “From freshmen through the one fifth-year we have on the team, I think everyone has a genuine friendship,” he says.
At the helm of the program is head coach Ryan Polley. He knows the Terriers are capable of special things.
“The talent of this team is undeniable,” Polley says. “I’m hopeful at the end we can all have a season that we’re very proud of.”
The Boston University men’s lacrosse team will face Loyola Maryland Saturday, April 4, at noon on Nickerson Field. Admission is free for students with a Sports Pass, $5 for members of the BU community, and $10 for general admission. All Patriot League games can be streamed live on ESPN+.