The University of Utah lacrosse team suffered an 11-18 defeat to No. 4 Virginia, dropping their record to 3-6 on the season. It was debatably Utah’s toughest matchup of the season and undoubtedly the toughest matchup on paper. Virginia has been ridiculously good this season, moving to 10-3 on the season after their victory over the Utes.

Utah didn’t exactly come out strong at the start, allowing Virginia to score two goals in just over five minutes. But the Utes rallied and quickly scored four unanswered goals to take the lead early in the first quarter. Virginia quickly responded with two of their own, and the first half ended in a 4-4 tie.

Utah allowed Virginia’s Connor Shellenberger to take the lead just 47 seconds into the second quarter, but then the Utes soon found their footing and scored two goals to take a 6-5 lead with 11:57 left in the quarter.

The Cavaliers then quickly proved why they are one of the best teams in the country. They scored a quick six goals in under five minutes and sent Utah to the locker room down 6-11.

Virginia kept that pace entering the second half and rattled off a pair of goals to push the score to a 13-6 lead. But Carson Moyer and Jordan Hyde found the net soon after, both scoring their second goals of the day. Virginia got the last word of the third quarter, pushing their lead up to 14-8.

While Utah was hoping for a comeback in the fourth quarter, Virginia had other plans, scoring four unanswered goals to open the fourth quarter. Utah made a hard push and scored three goals at the end of the fourth, two of them coming from Moyer. But it wasn’t enough for the Utes, and the clock was the team’s worst enemy in the end.

The final score was an 18-11 victory for Virginia. A huge reason for this was the astounding difference in face-off wins, with Virginia winning 26 and Utah only winning seven. 10 of Virginia’s face-off wins came in the second quarter, helping them score six goals to end the quarter.

Tyler Bradbury was unable to help the Utes, and it was the first time this season that he was unable to record a point. Bradbury was unable to find the back of the net on three shots, the third time this season he hasn’t recorded a goal.

Looking on the bright side, Moyer scored a career-high four goals, showing that he may have a larger role in the future of this team. Hyde also added two goals for Utah, pushing his season total up to 14.

Hopes of defeating Virginia were never high, but the Utes’ next matchup will be very different when they go up against Cleveland State (2-6). The two teams have faced each other once, an 8-17 loss for Utah on April 20, 2019. But things have changed, and Utah has high hopes for the game.

It will be the last away game of the season for Utah and will be played at 10:00 a.m. MDT on April 24 at Krenzler Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

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