Utah Men’s Lacrosse Bounces Back Thanks To Huge Second Half
University of Utah junior Josh Stout (1) during an NCAA Lacrosse game vs. the Furman University Paladins at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (Photo by Jalen Pace | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
February 23, 2020
The University of Utah men’s lacrosse team returned to their winning ways this weekend as they defeated Furman University by a score of 17-9 in Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday afternoon. This was the second home win for the Utes, and they improve their record on the season to two wins and two losses.
The Utes were trailing 6-4 going into halftime. Furman goaltender Alec Van De Bovenkamp was playing extremely well, limiting the chances for Utah goals and frustrating the attack. Van De Bovenkamp had 14 saves in the first half and a total of 22 for the game.
The Utes then came out of the break and outscored Furman 7-2 in the third period, and then continued their second half dominance by winning the fourth period 6 to 1.
Colin Burke led the charge for the Utes, scoring his first goal of the game at the end of the first half to cut the Furman lead down to just two and gave Utah much needed momentum going into the break. Burke would then add three more goals in the second half to give him a total of four on the day and nine total goals on the season. He also added four assists to his team-high total, giving him 12 total so far this year.
Jimmy Perkins added to his goal totals for the year in a big way with three goals of his own, improving his total 13 on the year, which leads the team as well. Mac Costin and MJ McMahon also both added three goals in the big comeback win.
A stat that jumps off the page is the faceoff success that the Utes enjoyed over the Paladins. Utah won 20, compared to just eight for Furman. This means that the Utes were controlling the majority of the plays off the draw, setting them up for offensive attacks.
The mark of 17 goals is the highest total in team history, beating the previous highest total of 16.
It was another great turnout in support of our Utes, with 2,228 individuals coming out to Rice-Eccles Stadium, which has been a tremendous storyline thus far this year whenever the Utes have played in the big stadium.
Next up for the Utes will be the start of a tw0-game road trip, which will start at Jacksonville University on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 p.m.
