The Utah men’s lacrosse team took on Lindenwood University on Wednesday, April 12. The Utes came away with a huge win, 22-8. Jordan Hyde led the Utes with six goals on the day, while MJ McMahon tallied four assists. Connor Hollison put on a goalkeeping clinic for the Utes, making seven saves and only allowing five goals. The defense stepped up as well, propelling Utah to their sixth straight win. Utah still sits alone at the top of the ASUN conference standings with just three regular-season games left to play.

First Half

To begin the game, Lindenwood scored a quick goal just 30 seconds into the first quarter. Luckily, that would be their one and only goal of the quarter as Utah took control. Moments after Lindenwood scored, Jared Andreala got the scoring started for Utah on a feed from Josh Rose. Just a minute after the first goal, Andreala found the back of the net once again, this time on an assist from McMahon. Both teams would go scoreless for the next five minutes before Ryan Stines found a cutting Tyler Bradbury for his first goal of the afternoon. Hyde and Stines both scored late in the first to give Utah a 5-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

Lindenwood stopped their scoring drought with two goals to start quarter number two, cutting Utah’s lead to just 5-3. Peter Hagan, however, scored a man-up goal around the 13-minute mark to begin a six-goal run for Utah. The next five goals in the game came from the Utes. Hyde scored three of the five, while Colby Plotts and Samuel Cambere both were able to score as well. Utah held an 11-3 lead prior to Lindenwood scoring just their fourth goal of the half. Heading into halftime, Utah held a comfortable 11-4 lead with plenty of game left to be played.

Second Half

The third quarter was fairly quiet for both teams, with Lindenwood scoring only once and the Utes three times. Cambere was able to score his second goal of the day early on in the third, while Koa Todd and Hyde both grabbed goals of their own around the nine-minute mark of the quarter. Both teams were held scoreless in the last eight minutes of the third, giving Utah a 14-5 lead going into the final quarter of play.

In the first minute and a half of the fourth, Utah was able to score three quick goals, matching their entire goal total from the previous quarter. Cody Hart scored twice while Hyde netted one on a nice feed from McMahon. Shortly after, Andreala scored his third goal of the day with a little under 12 minutes to play, giving Utah an 18-5 lead. With around nine minutes to play, Lindenwood scored for the first time since the middle of the third quarter, but it was much too late to mount a comeback. Utah put in some fresh faces late in the fourth and was still able to control the offensive side of the ball. Drew Wasserman and Luke Haley both got into the action, scoring their first goals of the season, while Justus Peterson and Luc Charbonnier also scored for the Utes. Lindenwood netted two late goals to end the fourth quarter, giving Utah a well-deserved 22-8 win.

What’s Next for the Utes?

Utah will have just two days off before taking on Mercer this Saturday at Ute Field. The game is set to start at 11 a.m. MST. Utah will look to add a seventh consecutive win to their resume as the season winds down. The Utes are playing their best lacrosse at the right time and have a lot of potential coming down the stretch of the season.

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