Utes Protect Home Turf, Down Dartmouth 17-10

Saturday, March 7

Salt Lake City, Utah

12:00 PM

University of Utah

4-2

Dartmouth

3-2

Dartmouth

Utah

Photo by: Liv Medivitz/Utah Athletics

3/7/2026 3:46 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Strong all-around game leads to Utah’s third win in a row

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah lacrosse program continued its winning ways on Saturday, using a strong second and third quarter to spur a 17-10 win over the Dartmouth Big Green inside Rice-Eccles Stadium.

After taking a 4-2 lead after the first quarter of play, the Utes (4-2) scored six goals in the second to extend their advantage to 10-6 at the half, then outscored Dartmouth (3-2) 5-2 in the third quarter to build up an insurmountable lead, thanks in part to an 8-2 scoring run during that stretch. Utah held a 48-27 shot advantage and a staggering 31-14 edge in shots on goal.

Utah's defense was suffocating on Saturday afternoon, causing a program-record 21 caused turnovers and scooping up 43 ground balls while forcing six failed clearance attempts. Utah also held the Big Green scoreless in their five extra-man opportunities

Utah controlled the faceoff circle, winning 18-of-30 tries, which led to a huge advantage in time of possession. The game got more and more physical as the clock ticked down, with the two teams being called for 12 total penalties.

GAME LEADERS
Zachary White powered Utah's offense with five goals and added two assists for a team-high and career-best seven points, while also contributing four ground balls and three caused turnovers. The senior entered the week without a goal to his name this season. Ryan Stines matched White with five goals of his own and added one assist while putting nine of his 12 shots on goal. Will Overly also logged his first hat trick of the season. In total, six Utes found the back of the net on the afternoon.

Nikko DiPonio led the Utah defense with four caused turnovers and six ground balls whiel Mikey Crane added five ground balls and a caused turnover. 13 Utes caused at least one turnover on the day with four – DiPonio, Crane, White and Marco Pascarella – logging multiple.

Tyler Kloeckl (12-of-20) and Bryce Madden (6-of-9) were dominant in the center circle, combining to win 18 of their 29 faceoff tries. Colin Lenskold spent 53 minutes in the cage for the Utes, making four saves.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Utah was able to get on the scoreboard first when Freddie DiMarzo found Stines for the opening score two minutes into the action. After five minutes without a goal, Stines found an open Bryce Horton in front of net for Utah's second goal of the day, and 20 seconds later, White picked up an errant pass and took it straight to goal, scoring to give the Utes a 3-0 lead with 6:41 to play.

Dartmouth would score twice to cut the lead down to one, but White was able to put the Utes back on the board with his second of the day just before the quarter ended to give Utah a 4-2 lead through the first 15 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Forty-five seconds after play resumed, Ben Trask caused a turnover that set up a Luke McNamara goal thanks to an assist from White. Less than a minute later, Overly net his first of the afternoon to put the Utes up by four. Dartmouth would cut into that advantage, however, scoring three unanswered goals to make it a 6-5 game with 9:05 left in the half.

Overly scored off a find from Jordan Reed, but Dartmouth answered back with another score of its own. Leading by two goals, Utah reclaimed all of the momentum thanks to White catching fire. The senior tallied his first-career hat trick with 3:47 left to play, then found his fourth of the day with 43 seconds left. Cade Faulkner tacked on one more before the halftime whistle blew, and Utah entered the locker room up, 10-6.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Utah opened the second half with three unanswered goals. White found McNamara for his second score of the day to open the third, then Stines net a pair of unassisted goals to put the Utes up, 13-6, and capped a 6-0 scoring run.

Dartmouth scored to stop the run, but after Kloeckl won the ensuing faceoff, White found space in front of goal thanks to the feed from Nathan Chalmers and answered right back for Utah. Stines scored his third of the quarter with 6:40 left to push the Utah lead to eight. Dartmouth would score one more before the quarter ended, but Utah headed into the fourth with a 15-8 edge.

FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Though Utah continued to create looks in its offensive zone, the home side couldn't break through in the first five minutes of the fourth. Stines was finally able to create some separation from his defender with 10:06 on the clock, netting his fifth goal of the day. Less than two minutes later, DiPonio caused a turnover and put Utah on the fast break, which was capped when Luca Pivetta found Overly for the hat trick to put Utah up, 17-8.

Utah parked the bus and pulled many of the starters. Dartmouth would score two more times before the clock hit zeroes, but Utah's defense was able to keep any potential comeback at bay.

UP NEXT
The Utes hit the road following the two-game homestand, traveling to Wisconsin for a midweek matchup against Marquette on Wednesday, March 11. Gametime is set for 11 a.m. MT with live coverage 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.