LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Men's Lacrosse absorbed most of a five-goal deficit in large thanks to the offensive outburst by Conor Hufnagel and scoring prowess of Pratt Reynolds.

The Saints (0-1) could not quite complete the long comeback though as it dropped a hard-fought 9-7 season opener to (RV) Boston University on Saturday at Hickey Field.  

Both teams showcased their physicality and hard-nosed defense throughout, but each struggled to find its shots in the early goings of the game.

The Terriers took just a 1-0 lead into the second quarter and Siena was held scoreless at the break. 

BU's Timothy Shannehan got the Terriers the charge it needed, by scoring a natural hat trick in the second quarter and added his fourth goal to essentially seal it with 21 seconds remaining in the game. 

Saints graduate student goalkeeper Andrew Arcuri made 14 saves and had a .609 save percentage to give Siena a chance to work its way back into it. 

Senior defense Mark Cummins became the first Saint to break through at the 12:05 mark of the third quarter off a feed from sophomore Joe Valenza.

One minute and 16 seconds later, Hufnagel scored on an assist from Reynolds to cut it to 5-2. 

After a goal by BU's Jimmy Kohr unassisted, Hufnagel came right back with his second goal with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter.

After a strike from the Terrier's Ben Morris, Siena bite back with four of the next five goals with two apiece from Hufnagel and Reynolds to make it an 8-7 advantage with 4:54 left in the game. 

BU, who entered receiving votes in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, held slight edges in several key categories including shots (43-38), shots on goal (23-19) and ground balls (32-30). 

Senior attack Brenden Kelly (career-high 43 goals, six assists in 2024) was held scoreless on four shots and one shot on goal by the Saints' defense. 

Second Team All-Patriot Leaguer Will Barnes made 12 saves for the Terriers. 

Making his Saints debut, face off specialist Logan Banek had a standout day as well for Siena by winning 12 of 19 face offs to go along with six ground balls. 

Siena returns to action on Saturday, February 15 when its hosts Hofstra (2-0 at 2 p.m.