The University of Utah lacrosse team fell in their matchup this weekend to Mount St. Mary’s University by a score of 10-11 in overtime. This loss brings the Utes to an overall season record of three wins and three losses. This is the second straight season that a matchup between the Mountaineers and the Utes has been decided by one goal, and both times these games have resulted in Utah losses. 

The Utes jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then added on to that to make it 5-1 early in the second period. Then, Mount St. Mary’s scored five unanswered goals to take the 6-5 halftime lead. 

The Utes found themselves trailing by two early in the fourth period, 9-7, when a goal by Aaron Fjeldsted brought them within one. Later, MJ McMahon tied the game with a goal of his own. The Mountaineers would score again to reclaim the lead, but the tying goal was scored by James Sexton to force overtime, which would eventually lead to the Mount St. Mary’s victory. 

The story of this game for the Utes was inconsistency, as well as their turnover issues. They played a tremendous first period, and then followed it up with a lackluster performance in the second. “At the end of the day we had opportunities to win the game and didn’t execute at the level we need to,” said coach Brian Holman to Utah Athletics. “It comes back to consistency — we had a good first quarter, a horrendous second quarter, and then were pretty much even after that.”

Another issue that ensued for the Utes was their inability to control the game by way of the face-off. They won only four draws on 25 opportunities. They also had a total of 19 turnovers, which is far too many to be able to control the pace of the game. 

The Utes look to finish their three-game road trip on the right foot next weekend when they travel to Long Island to take on the University of Massachusetts on Saturday, March 14. 

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