The University of Utah men’s lacrosse team took on Jacksonville University this past Friday, March 31. Both teams came into the game defending undefeated conference records. The Utes looked to take sole possession of first place in ASUN conference play, and that is exactly what they were able to do. The Utes took control early, leaving Jacksonville to play from behind for the majority of the game. Despite a valiant comeback effort from Jacksonville, the Utes’ early lead was too much to overcome. Utah would eventually earn a well-deserved win, 18-15.

First Half

Early on in the game, Ryan Stines got the scoring started for the Utes on a beautiful unassisted goal. Jacksonville quickly answered to even things up at one apiece before Utah was able to go on a 3-0 run with unassisted goals by Koa Todd, Carson Moyer and Jordan Hyde. The score sat at 4-1 before Jacksonville closed the gap with a quick answer to the Utah run. With six minutes to go in the first quarter, Utah capitalized three different times on shots from Moyer, Jared Andreala and MJ McMahon. Utah took a commanding 7-2 lead heading into the second quarter with much more to come from the Utes.

Utah looked to continue their dominating offensive performance early in the second quarter. Andreala and Cody Hart both netted unassisted goals to put the Utes up seven. Moments later, Utah added to their lead with a Stines goal assisted by Cole Brams to give the Utes a 10-2 lead. The Utes run continued with a Tyler Schifko goal assisted by Hart and another Stines goal, this time on a pass from Tyler Bradbury. The score sat at 12-2 before Jacksonville stopped the bleeding with two quick scores around the 11-minute mark of the second quarter. Jacksonville and Utah exchanged goals heading into halftime, with Stines’ fourth goal of the day for the Utes. The halftime score was 13-5, Utah on top.

Second Half

Jacksonville held the Utes scoreless in the third quarter and netted three goals of their own, making the score 13-8 at the end of three quarters.

Bradbury got the Utes back on track to start the fourth quarter with a goal assisted by Todd. The two teams then exchanged goals about a minute apart to make the score 15-9. Despite the Utes’ lead, Jacksonville showed no signs of quitting. Two quick goals for the Dolphins cut the lead to 15-11 with just over 13 minutes left in the final quarter. Utah was then able to get hot at the right time, scoring three unanswered goals from Andreala, Josh Rose and Stines. At this point in the contest, Utah held a commanding 18-11 lead with a little over eight minutes to go. Jacksonville ended the game scoring four straight goals to cut the lead to just three for the Utes, but it was too little too late for the Dolphins. Utah finished the game cold but still came away with the huge conference win, 18-15.

What’s Next for the Utes?

Utah takes their four-game winning streak to Township, Pennsylvania,where they will face conference opponent Robert Morris. The game is on Saturday, April 8 at 10 a.m. MST. Utah looks to carry over the momentum from last week to try and stay undefeated in the conference.

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