Lacrosse to Open ASUN Play against Bellarmine Saturday

Saturday, March 28

Salt Lake City, Utah

12:00 PM

University of Utah

Bellarmine

Lacrosse to Open ASUN Play against Bellarmine Saturday

3/25/2026 1:00 PM | Lacrosse

Game Notes (PDF)Record Book (PDF)

Utes will look to stay unbeaten against the Knights at noon at Ute Field

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah lacrosse team will open Atlantic Sun Conference play on Saturday, March 28, at 12 p.m. when it welcomes the Bellarmine Knights to Ute Field. Admission is free for all fans. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Dane Stewart and Brad Searle on the call.

Utah is unbeaten in 10 games against Bellarmine dating back to the first-ever meeting between the two teams in 2019.

Opponent: Bellarmine (4-7, 0-0 ASUN)
Location: Ute Field | Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: Saturday, March 28
Time: 12 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: UtahUtes.com

RECORDS REWRITTEN
Utah's 32-4 win over Iona last month marked the most dominant game in program history.

Luke McNamara scored 10 goals – the first Ute to ever score in double-digits in a game and the first NCAA men's lacrosse player to do so since 2020 – and added an assist for 11 points, the second most in a game in program history.
Utah's 32 goals tied for the fourth most in a single game in NCAA Division I history and shattered the previous team record of 26.
The Utes became the first team since the 1999 season to score 30-plus goals in a game, and Utah's 49 total points – including a program-record 17 assists – were the most in any game so far this season.
24 different Utes tallied at least a point on the day and 16 scored at least once, with six - McNamara, Karson Sparks, Luke Sheppard, Ryan Stines, Jordan Reed and Sean Siracusa - finding netting multiple times.
Notably, three Utah defenders scored pole goals as Luca Pivetta, Dallin Tanner and Conner Flanagan all slotted shots past the goalie.
Nine Utah Utes – Sheppard, Siracusa, Pivetta, Tanner, Gavin Howard, Luke Haley, Quinn Power, Ian Ludewig and Ben Trask – entered the scoring column for the first time this season, with Sheppard, Siracusa, Power and Ludewig doing so for the first time in their collegiate careers.
Utah won 30-of-39 faceoff tries, the second-best faceoff win percentage in program history (.769), and nabbed 53 ground balls, the third most in a single game. The Utes also allowed the second-fewest goals in a game in program history on 10 total saves.
Tyler Kloeckl won 13 of his 15 faceoffs for the third-best single-game win percentage in program history (.867), one spot ahead of Anthony Dara after he won eight of 10 tries (.800).
Utah was lethal in the transition game, converting on all 21 of its clearance attempts and forcing turnovers on four of Iona's tries.
Utah attempted 61 total shots compared to Iona's 25 attempts and held a 49-14 edge in shots on goal.
McNamara and Nikko DiPonio swept the ASUN weekly awards following the win, with McNamara being recognized as the conference's Offensive Player of the Week and DiPonio being named Defensive Player of the Week.

UTAH LACROSSE: NEED TO KNOWS
Utah is in its eighth year as a Division I program, holding a 57-45 overall record.

Head coach Andrew McMinn is in his fifth season with the Utes and is the all-time wins leader at Utah with a record of 45-26.
The Utes are in their fifth season in the ASUN Conference, coming off four consecutive ASUN regular season titles (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) and two ASUN Championships in the last three seasons (2023, 2024).
Utah is receiving votes in the USILA Coaches Poll.
Nikko DiPonio was named the 2025 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-America Honorable Mention status by USA Lacrosse, USILA and Inside Lacrosse. He was named a USA Lacrosse Preseason All-America Honorable Mention in 2026.
DiPonio was unanimously selected as the Preseason ASUN Defensive Player of the Year while Ryan Stines was unanimously voted the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year last month.
Utah earned the top spot in the preseason ASUN Coaches Poll, the fifth straight year that Utah has been voted at least tied for No. 1 in the preseason ranking in the league.
Per LacrosseReference, Utah returns 98% of its production in goal, 96% from the stripe, 81% on defense and 78% on offense.
In five seasons under Coach McMinn, Utah has set more than 70 program records and has gone 32-4 against ASUN opponents.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah had its four-game win streak snapped in a 16-11 defeat on the road at Virginia.

Luke McNamara led the Utah offensive attack with five points on four goals and an assist while Will Overly set a new career high with four scores. Zachary White's four assists marked a new career best, and Stines' one goal gave him the program points record with 217.
Ryan Sheppard and Nikko DiPonio led the defense with three caused turnovers each, while DiPonio and Colin Lenskold paced the team with eight ground balls apiece. Lenskold also logged a season-high 13 saves.
Though Utah narrowly trailed in shots (40-42), shots on goal (25-29) and ground balls (36-39) and was nearly perfect on clearance opportunities (21-of-22), the Utes fell behind due to time of possession, thanks in part play in the faceoff circle. Utah won just nine of 31 tries at midfield.

NO SHORTAGE OF FIREPOWER
Through the first eight games of the 2026 season, Utah has boasted one of the nation's best offensive attacks.

Utah ranks third nationally in goals per game (15.38), assists per game (9.50) and points per game (24.88) and fourth in scoring margin (+5.88).
Luke McNamara (4.25, 1st) and Ryan Stines (3.00, 9th) both sit in the top-10 nationally in goals per game.
Stines (38) and McNamara (37) have both eclipsed 35 points this season; Utah is one of four teams nationally with multiple 35-plus point scorers and both rank in the top-20 individually (Stines - 4.75, 11th; McNamara - 4.63, 14th).
Much of Utah's success can come down to possession time - Utah leads the NCAA in ground balls per game (39.50), ranks second nationally in clearing percentage (.918) and caused turnovers per game (12.63) and 20th in faceoff win percentage (.551).

RECORD WATCH
This season's Utah team has already left its mark on the record book, with a number of players looking to set career records before season's end.

Stat	Current Player	Total (Rank)	Record Holder	Total
Points	Ryan Stines	217 (1)	--	--
Goals	Ryan Stines	133 (2)	Jordan Hyde	150
Assists	Ryan Stines	84 (2)	Tyler Bradbury	108
Ground Balls	Nikko DiPonio	266 (2)	Cole Brams	363
Caused Turnovers	Nikko DiPonio	94 (2)	Sammy Cambere	97
Man-Up Goals	Luke McNamara	13 (1)	--	--
Saves	Colin Lenskold	595 (1)	--	--

NUMBERS TO KNOW

43 – Ryan Stines is riding a 43-game point streak, scoring at least a point in every game since May 5, 2023. He has also scored a goal in each of his last 15 games dating back to March 29 of last season.
2 – Nikko DiPonio ranks second in the nation with 2.75 caused turnovers per game, and as a team, Utah ranks second in the NCAA with 12.63 per contest.
10 – Luke McNamara became the first NCAA Division I men's lacrosse player to score 10 or more goals in a game since the 2020 season when he net 10 against Iona.
1999 – Utah became the first squad since the turn of the century to eclipse the 30-goal mark when it dropped 32 against Iona. The last team to put up a 30-burger was Johns Hopkins against Saint Joseph's on April 21, 1999.
15 – Utah is averaging 15.38 goals per game through the first eight games of the season, the third-best mark nationally and the highest in the ASUN.
217 – Ryan Stines became Utah's all-time career points leader last time out, scoring once to log his 217th point as a Ute to break the program record.
47 – Utah has outscored its opponents by 47 goals this season, owning a 123-76 scoring margin. Only three other teams (Duke, Richmond and Notre Dame) boast a +47 margin.
4.25 – Luke McNamara is averaging 4.25 goals per game, the highest mark in the nation and the best in the ASUN. For his career, the sophomore is averaging 3.09 goals per outing (67 scores in 22 outings), the best career mark among all NCAA Division I players.

FAN INFORMATION
To help fans prepare for game day and enjoy the best possible experience, Utah Athletics has created this page with information on tickets, a map of available parking on game day, as well as stadium policies.

LOOKING AHEAD
ASUN play continues when Utah travels to face Mercer to open the month of April. The Utes and Bears will face off at 9 a.m. on ESPN+.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow along on social media (X: @UTAHLacrosse | Instagram: @utahlacrosse), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.