By Marisa Ingemi
BU News Service
The Boston University Terriers’ defense was back in prime form on Saturday afternoon when it defeated the Colgate Red Raiders, 11-6 at Nickerson Field. Cal Dearth scored four goals to lead the Terriers’ offense, while goaltender Christian Carson-Banister made 11 saves.
BU improved to 6-1 on the year with a 2-0 record in the Patriot League for the best start to a season in program history. It was the second season in a row that the Terriers defeated Colgate after topping the Raiders last season for the first win ever against a ranked opponent.
“The team had a great week of preparation and I thought Sam Talkow set the tone at the face-off,” said head coach Ryan Polleu after the game. “That really helped us turn the possession battle one sided. Then our offense did a nice job, and it was great to have Cal [Dearth] back. He hit his stride offensively and did a great job distributing the ball. Our defense was terrific. Starting with Carson-Banister, he made a ton of great saves, I thought Calisto did a great job on [Anthony] Abbadessa. It was an overall team win. It was awesome.”
The game started off with a bang for the Terriers, with long pole defender Henry Lee running the length of the field to score his first collegiate goal and give BU a 1-0 advantage. It was 3-2 BU going into the second quarter, and that’s when Dearth came alive.
“Coach Toomy, coming from Colgate, had a good game plan,” Dearth said after the game. “I’ve worked with the training staff, trying to get better, and I finally felt like I got back on my feet.”
Dearth, who missed two games this season and has been battling injuries, scored two goals in the second quarter while James Burr also buried a tally. Dearth would score two straight again in the third quarter to give BU an 8-5 lead after three quarters of play.
BU scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter as well and eventually took the game 11-6. It was the fewest goals BU had allowed since the second week of the season against UMass Lowell.
Sam Talkow had a dominant day at the faceoff X, going 18-for-21 and not losing a single draw until the start of the third quarter. He was also perfect in the fourth quarter and won many of his faceoffs clean, picking up 14 ground balls on the afternoon.
The Terriers were solid in all aspects of the game, winning the ground ball battle 33-25 and scoring five goals in the second half to just two for Colgate. Christian Carson-Banister made 11 saves between the pipes.
“I saw the ball really well,” Carson-Banister said. “They got a bunch of good looks, they’re good dodgers. I thought our defense stayed in front of the ball and stayed with them. We did a good job on our slides and covers.”
BU hits the road again next week as the Terriers head to Bucknell to face the Bison in more Patriot League action.
