AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The University of Utah lacrosse team finished a riveting back-and-forth game against the Air Force Academy Falcons, with a heartbreaking 16-15 loss in overtime at the Falcon Stadium on Saturday April 26 in Air Force Academy, Colo. With this outcome, Utah and Air Force sit on 4-1 ASUN records, sharing the regular season title.
FIRST QUARTER
Well matched on both the offense and defense, the first quarter didn't see a goal until the ninth minute. The Falcons were the first on the board, scoring back-to-back marks. But junior
Will Overly and sophomore
Cade Faulkner were quick to score their own back-to-back goals to even up the game.
Freshman
Sky Rold marked his fourth goal of the season to put the Utes into the lead with just over a minute left, but Air Force would hit the net to tie the game back up at three before the end of the quarter.
Junior
Bryce Madden won four of his six attempted face-offs, while junior
Tyler Kloeckl won his only attempt, both Utes successfully keeping the possession with Utah.
SECOND QUARTER
With three lead changes in the second fifteen, both teams were on their game. Junior
Zachary White was the first to score in the second quarter, marking the first of his three goals in the first minute and a half. This put the Utes up by one, but the Falcons quickly responded with three goals of their own, tying it up and then taking the lead.
Sophomore
Cade Faulkner scored his 23
rd goal of the season, trying to close the two-point deficit for the Utes. White followed two minutes later with his second and then third marks of the game, earning back-to-back goals to put Utah ahead 7-6.
THIRD QUARTER
Coming out of halftime, both teams fought hard, rendering the third quarter scoreless until the ninth minute. Freshman
Chase Robertson opened the door for the Utes, scoring the first of his hat trick and increasing the surplus by two. Though the Falcons would earn three marks, goals from junior
Ryan Stines and sophomore
Nathan Chalmers would keep the Utes in front 10-9 going in to the fourth.
FOURTH QUARTER
Stines found the second goal of his hat trick at the start of the fourth, but Air Force followed with a 4-0 run to take the lead. Robertson and Stines both hit the mark to close the deficit and tie the game, but the Falcons scored with 48 seconds left in the quarter to bump ahead.
Utah was able to call a timeout with fifteen seconds on the clock, before returning with the possession. Robertson shot through the pressure of two defenders to score with less than a second on the board, to push the game in to overtime.
OVERTIME
Though Utah won the face-off for the first possession of overtime, four Utah attempts were unsuccessful before the Falcons took possession and scored.
GAME LEADERS
Chase Robertson led the Utah roster in the net, hitting the mark four times for his second hat trick of the season. Two other Utes,
Ryan Stines and
Zachary White tallied three goals, achieving their second and third hat tricks of the season, respectively.
Defensively, eight different players caused a turnover, with sophomore
Luca Pivetta tallying two.
Tyler Kloeckl picked up 10 ground balls to lead the Utes, with junior
Nikko DiPonio grabbing five. In the cage, junior
Colin Lenskold saved 13 of Air Force's attempts.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- With this outcome, the Utes mark their fourth ASUN regular season title.
- Robertson earned a new career-high in goals, marking four.
- Kloeckl and Madden won 21-0f-33 face-offs, earning a winning percentage of 63.6%.
- At seven different points throughout the four quarters, the game was tied.
- Three Utes, Robertson, Stines and White, earned a hat trick. All marking their second or third for the season.
- Utah now sits at a 4-4 all-time record against Air Force.
With the Jacksonville Dolphin's 16-12 win over the Mercer Bears, the Dolphins now sit at a 4-1 ASUN record as well, putting Utah, Air Force and Jacksonville in a three-way tie for the regular season title.
NEXT UP
Utah will travel to Jacksonville, Fla. to compete in the ASUN Conference Tournament. The first game will take place on Friday, May 2.