Utah Lacrosse Secures Comeback Win At Bellarmine, 14-13

Saturday, March 16

Louisville, KY

10:00 AM

University of Utah

3-3

Bellarmine

4-4`

UTAH

Bellarmine

Utah Lacrosse Secures Comeback Win At Bellarmine, 14-13

3/16/2024 1:08 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After trailing by as many as seven in the game, Utah Lacrosse rallied from behind to win 14-13 in the final seconds at Bellarmine, starting ASUN play 1-0. Utah is now 3-3 overall.

The Utes were down seven in the second quarter, making it a five-point game at halftime before starting its scoring run in the third quarter. Trailing 12-7 with 6:38 to go in the third, Utah began chipping away.

True freshman Cade Faulkner's goal late in the third would spark a 6-0 run into the fourth with Utah taking a 13-12 lead with 3:52 to go. The Knights tied things up with less than two minutes to play, but with 1:18 remaining, Bryce Horton would cause a turnover in front of Utah's goal with Colin Lenskold grabbing the ball, giving Utah possession with just a minute to play.

After the Utes missed on a shot with 12 seconds on the clock, it would be sophomore Ryan Stines that gained possession of the ball as time ticked away. After a quick dodge to the outside, Stines buried it into the back of the net for the game winner with just 2.8 seconds remaining – securing the largest comeback in program history.

GAME LEADERS
Stines and senior MJ McMahon tied for the team-lead in points with Stines scoring five goals while McMahon scored one with a career-high tying four assists. Junior Cody Hart added two goals for two points with senior Jordan Hyde also putting in a goal and an assist for two points.

Redshirt freshman Bryce Madden won a career-high 11 faceoffs, leading the team with a career-best nine ground balls. Sophomore Nikko DiPonio added four ground balls with a caused turnover with senior Joey Boylston taking a team-high two caused turnovers with three ground balls.

In goal, Lenskold came away with key save after key save, finishing with 11 on the day, holding Bellarmine to just four goals in the second half and only one in the fourth quarter.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN
It was a slow start for the Utes and the Knights with neither team scoring until the 10:15 mark when junior Colby Plotts found the back of the net on a transition long pole goal, making it 1-0. It would be Utah's last goal of the quarter though with Bellarmine going on a 4-0 run to take a 4-1 advantage into the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN
The Utes would open scoring once again with McMahon taking the ball one-on-one for a score, cutting the Bellarmine lead to 4-2 with 14:18 on the clock. Unfortunately for the Utes, they would hit another scoring drought with the Knights going on a 5-0 run, leaving Utah trailing by seven with less than five minutes to play in the half.

With 1:59 to go, Stines would score his first goal of the game, starting a small spark that would see sophomore Freddie DiMarzo follow with his first goal of the season on a laser shot, making it 9-4 as both teams headed into halftime.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Hart scored his first goal of the game with 14:17 on the clock in the third, making it a four-point game before Bellarmine scored once again to extend it back to 10-5. The back-and-forth continued as Utah scored two straight with Hyde and Horton finding the back of the net to make it 10-7 at the 12:18 mark.

The Knights answered with two of their own to take a 12-7 lead with 6:38 to go, but the grit down the stretch from the Utes ensured it wouldn't last long. Faulkner scored on a low bounce shot, his first-career goal as a Ute, with 2:36 on the clock, starting the run for the Utes as they headed into the final quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN
The Utes were relentless in the fourth quarter, scoring six goals while holding the Knights to just one, starting with Stines from deep to make it 12-9 with 12:18 left in the game. Hart would follow with his second goal of the game with Stines scoring his third just seconds later to cut the Bellarmine lead to one.

With 6:19 on the clock, Stines buried his fourth into the cage to tie the game. After trading shots, Utah would regain possession with under five minutes to play with senior Carson Moyer being left wide open on the crease, scoring low to the ground to give Utah its first lead of the game.

As both teams headed into the final two minutes, Bellarmine tied the score 13-13 with 1:45 to go. The Knights won the face-off, but Horton was there to cause the turnover in front of Utah's goal with Utah holding the ball with 1:11 on the clock.

Utah missed a shot with 12 seconds to go, but Stines would hold the ball with less than five seconds in the game, making a move in front of the goal to get past his defender, drilling it home for the game winner.

UP NEXT
Utah will return home for two home games in four days, starting with Air Force on Wednesday, March 20. The game will be Utah's first at Ute Field, starting at 12 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Networks.

The game against Air Force is Utah's Faculty & Staff Appreciation game with single-game tickets available here.