CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Holding the Queens University of Charlotte Royals to just three goals, the University of Utah lacrosse program marked a new program record and tallied 17 points to conquer their fourth ASUN opponent on Saturday, April 19 in Charlotte, N.C.
FIRST QUARTER
Utah came out strong in the first quarter, going on a 6-0 run over the Royals. Freshman
Chase Robertson opened the scoring for the Utes, hitting the net in the first 30 seconds of the match. Junior
Will Overly quickly followed, netting the first of his three scores. Junior
Bryce Madden would mark his only goal of the match to close the quarter, but successfully tallied six face-off wins to Queens' zero.
Senior
Colby Plotts, sophomore
Cade Faulkner and Robertson all went on to add a point for the Utes before the end of the first fifteen.
SECOND QUARTER
Sophomore
Gavin Howard was the first to score in the second quarter, putting Utah up 7-0 with an assist by sophomore
Ben Trask.
The Royals would interrupt Utah's run with a goal, putting themselves on the board with six minutes left of the first half. Less than a minute later, Overly and junior
Zachary White would quickly respond with scores of their own to close out the half, 9-1.
Madden and junior
Tyler Kloeckl won 3-of-5 face-offs and junior
Colin Lenskold tallied four saves to help keep Queens at a deficit.
THIRD QUARTER
Opening the second half, junior
Ryan Stines marked his only point of the game with a goal, assisted by freshman
Luke McNamara. The Royals would find two goals in the third quarter, but successes from McNamara, senior
Luc Charbonnier and Overly kept the Utes ahead 14-3.
Overly's point would close out his first career hat trick, while McNamara found his 23
rd and 24
th scores of the season.
FOURTH QUARTER
Maintaining control of the game, Utah held their opponent scoreless for the final quarter and found the back of the net three times to close out the game. Goals from White, Howard and freshman
Nathan Chalmers would set the Utes' domination in stone, wrapping the game at 17-3.
GAME LEADERS
Eleven different players hit the net for the Utes, with Overly topping the roster with is hat trick. Robertson, White, Howard and McNamara all contributed two goals apiece with six other Utes putting up a goal to push Utah in to a win.
Defensively, junior
Nikko DiPonio led the Utes with six ground balls and two caused turnovers, while also marking an assist. DiPonio was just one of 22 different Utah players to pick up a ground ball, and one of ten to cause a turnover. In the cage, three different Utes found time on the field. Lenskold held the Royals to three goals and saved 13 of their attempts, senior
Conor O'Neill tallied two saves, while senior
Joey Garcia finished off the match for the Utes in the net.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- This match set a new program record for fewest goals allowed, holding their opponent to just three successes.
- With three Utes attempting face-offs, juniors Bryce Madden and Tyler Kloeckl and freshman Quinn Power won 18 of their 24 attempts, marking the second-highest single-game FO win percentage with .750.
- Junior Will Overly marked his first career hat trick.
- Holding the Royals to just three goals, the Utes rendered their opponent scoreless in both the first and fourth quarter
- Sophomore Gavin Howard hit the back of the net twice, tallying both his first and second career goals.
- This is the third straight game with a long-pole goal, this time from senior Colby Plotts.
- Winning by a 14-point advantage, ties for third-largest margin of victory in Utah lacrosse history.
- Utah now sits at a 3-0 all-time record against Queens.
NEXT UP
Utah will wrap the regular season with a final conference match in Denver, Colo. where they'll take on Air Force Academy on Saturday, April 26 at 12 a.m. MT.