The University of Utah lacrosse squad (4-6) played their final road game of the season and were able to come away with a win. Both Utah and Cleveland State (2-7) are both joining the Atlantic Sun Conference, so the game was a small glimpse into what the future may hold. Utah came away with an 11-9 victory, thanks to a late 3-0 run.

Utah started the first quarter off strong, with Ryan Rogers scoring the first goal of the match. Jason Sullivan answered right back for the Vikings, but brothers Josh and Jonathan Rose both scored soon after for the Utes. Nick Polydoras slipped in the last goal of the first quarter for the Vikings with just three seconds left.

Utah held the lead until 5:47 left in the second quarter, when Chase Baker scored for the Vikings and put them up 5-4. However, Utah wouldn’t allow themselves to go into the locker room trailing and scored two quick goals before halftime to put themselves up 6-5.

Heading into the third quarter, scoring was very back and forth between the two teams, with them trading goals back and forth for almost the entire quarter. Zion Dechesere made a great save with 1:56 left and found Jonathan Rose for a breakaway goal. Carson Moyer soon scored after Rose — the first time in the third quarter that either team was able to score two consecutive goals.

The fourth quarter was relatively uneventful compared to the previous periods. Drew Wasserman got things started for Utah with an unassisted goal at the 10:28 mark. It took a while until Cleveland State responded, but Brendan Sigurdson found the back of the net at the 5:29 mark on a man-up goal.

For the first time, the clock was actually on Utah’s side. The Utes fended off multiple attempts from the Vikings and held on for the 11-9 victory. Utah is now 2-2 against future ASUN opponents and the team has won three of its last five games.

A huge difference-maker in the match was Dechesere, who recorded a season-high 15 saves. Dechesere was able to stop Cleveland State’s late game push and allowed Utah to hold on to the lead.

Tyler Bradbury was once again unable to score, only taking two shots. However, Bradbury was able to tally two assists, pushing his season total up to 23.

Moyer and Jonathan Rose led the Utes in scoring, recording two goals each. MJ McMahon was the only Ute to record both an assist and a goal, with one each. Jordan Hyde also added on a goal, scoring at least one in six straight games.

Utah’s next game will be a home match against Robert Morris University from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The game will start at 11 a.m. MDT on Saturday, May 1. This will be their final match of the regular season.

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