MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The University of Utah Lacrosse program came away with a gritty win today at Marquette, defeating the Golden Eagles 9-8 on the road. Utah improved to 2-3 to wrap up non-conference play.
Utah's win marked the 100
th career win for head coach
Andrew McMinn and his 24
th with the Utes after becoming the program's all-time wins leader last season.
Marquette entered the game averaging 14.00 goals per game with the Utes holding them to just eight, the fourth-lowest allowed in program history. The Utes also held Marquette to only 18 shots on goal with the Golden Eagles committing 19 turnovers that included eight forced by Utah.
Utah won the ground ball battle 33-31 with the 33 ground balls marking a season-high for the Utes.
GAME LEADERS
The Utes had seven different players score nine goals, led by sophomore
Ryan Stines and senior
MJ McMahon putting two each into the back of the net. The team was also led in points by senior
Tyler Bradbury, who had four points on a season-high four assists, giving him 88 assists in his career.
Senior
Joey Boylston and sophomore
Nikko DiPonio tied for the team lead in ground balls with four each with DiPonio turning in a complete game by adding a team-high two caused turnovers and his first-career goal as a Ute. Junior
Dallin Tanner also turned in a career-high three ground balls and a caused turnover to the Utes' stat sheet.
In goal, sophomore
Colin Lenskold recorded 10 saves with just eight goals allowed for a 55.6-percent save percentage for the day.
FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN
It was a quick start for the Utes, scoring back-to-back goals within 20 seconds of each other from
Carson Moyer and DiPonio, giving Utah a 2-0 lead with 12:53 to go in the first quarter. Utah's defense would hold Marquette scoreless until the 8:46 mark with the Golden Eagles making it a one-point game.
Jordan Hyde went on to punch one in with Bradbury's first assist of the game with 2:27 left in the quarter to make it 3-1 in favor of the Utes. It would be the last point of the quarter with Utah holding Marquette to just four shots in the period.
SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Marquette opened the second quarter by cutting the Utah lead to 3-2, but McMahon would find the back of the net for the first time in the game with 11:28 on the clock to extend the Utes back out by two.
Will Overly made it a three-point game with his second goal of the season, but Marquette would answer with two unanswered goals to make it a one-point game once again.
It would be Stines with the answer for the Utes as he countered with two goals of his own, scoring low and to the corner and then with a jump shot, putting Utah up 7-4 with 3:23 left in the second quarter. Unfortunately, Marquette put on a surge in the final minutes of the half, scoring two quick goals to send the Utes into halftime with just a one-point lead.
THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN
The defensive battle continued into the third quarter with neither team scoring until the 5:04 mark with
Cody Hart shooting a laser into the net on Bradbury's final assist of the game to put Utah up 8-6. Marquette cut things back to one with 3:41 left in the quarter for the final point heading into the fourth.
Lenskold was pivotal for the Utes in the third quarter, coming up with four of his 10 saves during the period with Utah also winning the ground ball game in the quarter, 9-7.
FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN
It was all about focus and grit in the fourth quarter for the Utes with Lenskold producing three more saves with Utah holding Marquette to just four shots on goal.
Marquette started the quarter by tying things up 8-8 with 14:32 to go, the first tie of the game. At the 8:36 mark, Lenskold would record the second of his three saves in the quarter with DiPonio getting the ground ball, giving Utah possession with the clean clear.
The ball would end up in McMahon's stick with McMahon scoring Utah's ninth goal of the game, giving Utah the one-point advantage with 7:22 left to play. As time ticked away, the Golden Eagles got off several shots, including one that would ricochet off the post, but the Utes stayed steady on defense with Lenskold making a game winning save with 31 seconds to go to secure the 9-8 road victory.
UP NEXT
After a week off, Utah will begin ASUN play on the road at Bellarmine on Saturday, March 16. The game will start at 11 a.m. MT.