After falling just short to Mount St. Mary’s 16-15 last week, the Utah Utes lacrosse team fell once again to Hartford, 14-12. This extends Utah’s losing streak to six games and drops their overall record to 4-9.
Utah took the early lead with four quick goals. However, Hartford was able to bounce back and tie the game, entering halftime with a score of 6-all. Even then, Utah led 9-7 following the third quarter, but Hartford scored seven goals in the final time frame, which sealed their win.
Jimmy Perkins led the way for the Utes with a career-high six goals. In addition, Josh Stout netted three goals and James Sexton came up with a goal and two assists. Aaron Fjeldsted had three points with three assists while Bo Powell scored one goal and also had one assist. Branden Wilson scored one goal while Jack Zarnik and Jake Cantlon both had assists. Liam Donnelly had 10 saves in goal and Samuel Cambere’s five ground balls was a team high for the afternoon.
Utah started off the scoring with three straight goals to give them a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Stout and Perkins both contributed a goal to this, but Hartford still outscored the Utes 5-2 in the quarter.
“We had just nine turnovers. We had very few failed clears. The pieces that we’ve talked about tightening up we’ve done. What we’re not doing is finding ways to win,” said Coach Brian Holman.
Hartford went on a four-goal run in the fourth quarter, which ultimately sealed the win for them.
Despite allowing Hartford to win in the last part of the game, Holman was pretty optimistic about the way the team was able to respond. “We battled back and got within a goal, so that was good,” said Holman. The Utes aren’t going to dwell in this loss as they’ll get back at it and study film to get better for next week.
“What I told the kids is that we’re going to continue to watch film. We’re going to continue to analyze those situations and we’re going to learn how to win those games,” said Holman.
The Utah lacrosse team will return back to Salt Lake City as they play their last two games of the season, starting against Cleveland State. The matchup will begin at 12 p.m. MST in McCarthey Stadium on Saturday, April 20. This game will be available to view on the Pac-12 Plus Live Stream.