Utes Open ASUN Tournament Friday against Air Force

Friday, May 1

Jacksonville, Fla.

4:00 PM

University of Utah

Air Force

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Utes Open ASUN Tournament Friday against Air Force

4/30/2026 10:30 AM | Lacrosse

Game Notes (PDF)

No. 2-seeded Utah takes on Falcons in semifinals at 4 p.m. MT to start postseason play

SALT LAKE CITY – In a rematch of the final game of the regular season, the second-seeded University of Utah lacrosse program will open postseason play with a heavyweight matchup against the No. 3 Air Force Academy Falcons in the semifinal round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. Utah is 1-1 all time against the Falcons on neutral ground.

Coverage of the ASUN Tournament will be provided by ESPN+.

Opponent: #3 Air Force (6-7, 4-1 ASUN)
Location: Rock Stadium | Jacksonville, Fla.
Date: Friday, May 1
Time: 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. MT
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: UtahUtes.com

UTAH LACROSSE: NEED TO KNOWS
Utah is in its eighth year as a Division I program, holding a 60-46 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 49-26.
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).
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.
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 36-5 against ASUN opponents.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
Since joining the ASUN before the 2022 season, Utah has won five regular season titles and a pair of conference championships.

The Utes have a 6-2 record in the ASUN Tournament, reaching the conference championship game in all four previous tournaments.
Utah won the 2023 ASUN Championship, beating Air Force in the title game, before topping Jacksonville for the league title in 2024. All three teams tied for the regular season conference title this season.
Utah has reached the NCAA Tournament twice in program history.

JOINING THE PROFESSIONAL RANKS
Ryan Stines and Nikko DiPonio became the first Utah Utes to ever be selected in the Premier Lacrosse League College Draft when they heard their names called during April's selection show.

Stines became the first Utah player to hear his name called when he was picked ninth overall with the first pick in the second round by the Utah Archers.
DiPonio was taken by the defending PLL champs, the New York Atlas, with the 24th overall pick.
Stines was the third attackman taken off the board while DiPonio was the fifth defenseman selected.
Utah was one of five programs nationally to have multiple players drafted in 2026, along with Syracuse, Maryland, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

AMONG THE BEST
Stines and DiPonio were among the 11 players selected nationally in the second round of additions to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. This marks the second year in a row that Stines has been named to the Tewaaraton Watch List and the first such honor for DiPonio. Utah has now had at least one team member on the watch list in each of the last three seasons. Utah is the only program in the Atlantic Sun Conference recognized on this season's watch list.

Founded in 2001, the Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse players in the United States. The selection committees are made up of premier collegiate coaches and are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation. "Tewaaraton" is the Mohawk word for lacrosse, and The Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse's Native American Heritage.

BIG MAC ATTACK
Sophomore Luke McNamara has blossomed into one of the nation's most lethal scorers.

McNamara leads the country with 57 goals (4.38 goals per game) so far this season.
The sophomore scores at a prolific rate, finding nylon on 53.3% of his total shots, the highest clip in the nation.
His 3.33 career goals per game (90 scores in 27 games) are the most among all active Division I players.
McNamara become the first Utah Ute to score 50-plus goals in season.

NO SHORTAGE OF FIREPOWER
Entering the last week of the 2026 regular season, Utah has proven to have one of the nation's best offensive attacks.

Utah ranks second in the nation in goals per game (15.92), leads the NCAA in assists per game (9.77) and points per game (25.69) and third in scoring margin (+6.23). Only two other teams, No. 3 Richmond and Jacksonville, have a higher scoring margin.
McNamara (4.38, 1st) and Stines (2.85, 15th) both sit in the top 15 nationally in goals per game, while Zachary White ranks 11th in the country with 2.31 assists per outing.
Stines and McNamara have both eclipsed 60 points this season, each sitting at 62 points through 13 regular season games. Utah is one of four teams nationally with multiple 60-plus point scorers (Bellarmine, Virginia, Lehigh). The duo ranks ninth nationally and second in the conference with 4.77 points per game each.
Utah has also made the most of opponent penalties, as McNamara ranks second nationally with eight man-up goals.
Much of Utah's success can come down to possession time - Utah leads the NCAA in ground balls per game (39.46) and caused turnovers per game (13.00), ranks sixth in clearing percentage (.912) and 26th in faceoff win percentage (.540).

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	241 (1)	--	--
Goals	Ryan Stines	146 (2)	Jordan Hyde	150
Assists	Ryan Stines	95 (2)	Tyler Bradbury	108
Ground Balls	Nikko DiPonio	295 (2)	Cole Brams	363
Caused Turnovers	Nikko DiPonio	107 (1)	--	--
Man-Up Goals	Luke McNamara	16 (1)	--	--
Saves	Colin Lenskold	641 (1)	--	--

NUMBERS TO KNOW

48 – Ryan Stines is riding a 48-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 20 games dating back to March 29 of last season.
2 – Nikko DiPonio leads the ASUN and ranks second nationally with 2.77 caused turnovers per game, and as a team, Utah leads the NCAA with 13.00 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.
2015 – Utah also became the first team since 2015 and just the second since 1985 to shutout a Division I opponent when it blanked Queens, 18-0.
2 – Utah is averaging 15.92 goals per game through 13 games, the second-best mark nationally and the highest in the ASUN.
217 – Ryan Stines became Utah's all-time career points leader against Virginia, scoring once to log his 217th point as a Ute to break the program record.
81 – Utah has outscored its opponents by 81 goals this season, owning a 207-126 scoring margin.
3433 – No goalkeeper in Division I Lacrosse has spent more time in the cage than senior Colin Lenskold. Lenny has played 3,433 minutes in front of net for Utah during his four-year career

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