After securing the opening faceoff in overtime, Boston University Head Coach Ryan Polley called a timeout with one play in mind: Get the ball to BU’s leading scorer, sophomore attack Timothy Shannehan, and get out of the way.

Less than a minute later, Shannehan received the ball behind Bucknell University’s net and went to work. He drove at his defender before deploying a pretty spin move that gave him the space to fire a bounce-shot past Bison goalie Luke Renaud for the game-winning goal in the Terriers’ (6-5, 4-2 Patriot League) 13-12 overtime win over the Bison (7-5, 3-4 PL).

“[Shannehan] being such a great player, we wanted to make sure the ball was in his hands,” Polley said. “He made a great move, that one inside roll was just fantastic. Happy that it went in.”

But instead of celebrating his goal, Shannehan sprinted to the opposite side of the field to join the rest of the Terriers in mobbing the hero of the game, graduate student goalie Michael Allieri. After replacing sophomore goalie Connor Phillips after halftime, Allieri made 11 second-half saves to stifle a Bucknell attack that scored nine first-half goals — including a lunging save with eleven seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. 

“We wouldn’t have won that game without Mike playing at the level he played at,” Polley said. “When we needed it most, he stepped up and played out of this world.”

Allieri appeared in only two games this season prior to the Bucknell game. He played eight minutes in BU’s 23-7 Feb. 6 win over Siena University and made six saves in BU’s 19-11 loss to Loyola University Maryland on April 4 after Phillips was pulled eight minutes into the game. 

Despite the lack of game time, Allieri’s next-man-up mentality prepared him to step up when the Terriers needed him.

“I was just super grateful that Coach Polley had faith in me, so I had faith in myself,” Allieri said. “I’m just grateful that my defense played well and gave me the shots I needed to see.”

Allieri’s second-half shot-stopping did enough to cover for a sloppy offensive day from the Terriers, who committed 20 turnovers — tied for their most in a Patriot League game this season. BU coughed up three consecutive turnovers to start the game, leading to an early 1-0 Bison lead.

“It’s frustrating, and we have to find a way to be better to start the game,” Polley said. “It leads to slow starts and going down one-nothing and not getting into the flow of the game where we feel good about what we’re doing on offense.”

Despite the sloppy play, the Terriers still received major contributions from their attack. Shannehan, who ranks second in Division I in points, led BU with two goals and four assists. Four other Terriers finished with two goals each — including senior attacker Jimmy Kohr, whose first of three points on the day earned him his 100th career point as a Terrier. 

“It’s definitely something that’s cool to say you did, but really a lot of the credit goes to the players I’ve played with,” Kohr said. 

The Terriers’ win snapped BU’s three-game losing streak and kept them one game behind first-place Loyola entering their final two games of the season. BU looks to clinch a playoff spot with a win in one of their remaining two games, and Allieri and the Terriers plan to take it “one game at a time” to finish the season strong. 

“We can’t get too ahead of ourselves,” Allieri said. “The season’s had a lot of ups and downs and we’ve been able to weather it. Getting a win today was huge, so keeping the momentum and just being ourselves is going to be huge.”

The Terriers will welcome Lafayette University to Nickerson Field for BU’s final home game of the season on Saturday. 

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