BOSTON — With the departure of so many seniors, the focus for the Boston University men’s lacrosse team is on the now.

With four goals, including the game-winner, in BU’s 12-11 overtime victory Saturday over Providence, John MacLean was in the moment, and focused on the potential of the Terriers’ current group.

“I just feel more comfortable with the ball. I understand the offense more,” said MacLean, a sophomore midfielder from Medfield, Mass. “A boost of confidence is what’s helping a lot right now.”

MacLean has always had a tremendous shot. His shooting percentage, however, has been suspect at best.

As MacLean has worked to improve his shot selection, the sophomore has seen results.  MacLean’s game-winner came off an assist from freshman Chris Gray. That shot, along with many others, were symbolic of how his game has changed since his freshman season.

“He’s just evolved into a total player,” BU coach Ryan Polley said. “He obviously shoots the ball a million miles an hour and when he’s on, he can stick it.”

MacLean, a shoot-first midfielder, has always had the ability to score. But he demonstrated patience Saturday, helping to set up plays and ducking underneath defenders to set up his shots. His communication with the rest of the offense around him also helped, especially in overtime.

“I was talking with Chris Gray before that man-up,” MacLean said. “We were saying if the defenseman takes a step off of either of us, we’re going to feed each other. I took my shot and it just happened to go in.”

Before the game-winner, MacLean had also knotted the game at 10 in the fourth quarter when he dodged in from the midfield and scored on the run.

The game remained tied until Providence’s Sean Leahey scored his fifth goal of the game with 1:38 remaining to put the Friars ahead 11-10.

Providence won the ensuing faceoff, but BU came out of a timeout double-teaming to cause a turnover and set up Ryan Hillburn’s game-tying goal with 7.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

MacLean scored multiple ways, which was another sign of his game evolving. His second-quarter goal came at a stationary position, where Jack Wilson found him wide open about 12 yards from the goal.

MacLean played on three high school state championship teams at Medfield, winning his final title as a senior at Nickerson Field. He’s comfortable on BU’s home turf, a good thing since his role has expanded dramatically as a sophomore after he scored 16 goals as a freshman.

He could always score. Now he’s more proactively putting himself in positions to do so.

“He’s evolved into a complete player,” Polley said. “He's in the right spots. He's catching the ball. When he should shoot, he shoots. When he should dodge, he dodges. So he's starting to just understand it a lot more.”

Last season as a freshman, MacLean put more than half of his shots on goal, but his overall shooting of 18.6 percent ranked near the bottom of the team. He shot 4-for-6 Saturday.

“It’s been really important for Johnny to up his shooting percentage,” Polley said. “He had a really similar game against Providence last year. It’s important for him to have that concentration, and he did that today. He shot really efficiently.”

There are plenty of veterans on the Terrier offense, from Hillburn to Wilson, but it is a younger roster than the one that led BU to a breakthrough season in 2017. MacLean, as a sophomore, is one of the leaders. If he can shoot like he did against the Friars, the Terriers won’t skip a beat.