The Utah men’s lacrosse team continued to battle through arguably their toughest non-conference schedule in program history as they headed to Charleston on Saturday to take on the Virginia Cavaliers. The Utes fought hard, but five unanswered goals from the high-powered Virginia offense would be too much for Utah to overcome as they fell 14-9 in another heartbreaking defeat.
First Half
Utah has had no problem opening up games this season, but that was a different story on Saturday as the Cavalier offense came out firing, finding the back of the net three straight times and jumping out to an early 3-0 lead with 5:22 to go in the first quarter.
A face that Utah fans have started to become familiar with this season has been Cade Faulkner, and that was the case once again today as the sophomore scored two unassisted goals in the first quarter to help cut into the deficit. Unfortunately for Utah, the two Faulkner goals would be the only goals of the quarter as Virginia took a 5-2 lead after 15 minutes of play.
Jonas Hunter, Bryce Madden and Luke McNamara got into the scoring action late in the second quarter as they each scored a goal to keep pace with the Cavaliers offensive attack, cutting the lead back to three, 8-5, with just over a minute remaining in the half. Virginia continued to apply the pressure, however, as a goal with under a minute to go in the second quarter extended their lead to four heading into halftime.
Second Half
The beginning of the third quarter was less than ideal for the Utes as four unanswered goals by the Cavaliers gave them a commanding 13-5 lead with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
An 8-goal deficit to begin the fourth quarter had Utah reeling, but three consecutive goals by Chase Robertson, Zachary White and Faulkner cut the Virginia lead back to five with 6:47 to go in the ballgame. Unfortunately for the Utes, it was too little too late, as a goal by McNamara would be the final goal of this game, with Virginia eventually coming away with a dominant 14-9 win.
A scoreless third quarter was the difference maker in this one as the Cavaliers continued to take advantage of the Utah scoring droughts, putting together multiple runs to continually extend their lead. Heading into ASUN conference play, Utah will have to put the beginning of the season in the rearview mirror and capitalize on a brand new opportunity to salvage their season.
What’s Next for the Utes
The Utes enter conference play next week Saturday as Bellarmine comes to Salt Lake City at 10 a.m. MST. Catch all the action on ESPN+ as Utah looks to snap their losing streak in a highly anticipated ASUN conference clash.
