Utes Drop Senior Day Contest in Overtime

Saturday, April 25

Salt Lake City, Utah

12:00 PM

University of Utah

9-4

Air Force

6-7

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Final F
Air Force	3	3	2	5	1	14
Utah	5	2	2	4	0	13

4/25/2026 4:17 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Utah takes share of ASUN regular season title despite loss

SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 18-ranked University of Utah lacrosse program dropped the regular season finale against the Air Force Academy Falcons on Saturday at Ute Field, falling 14-13 in overtime.

Utah (9-4) finishes the season with a 4-1 record in league play, tying with Air Force and the Jacksonville Dolphins for a share of the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title. The three teams will be joined by Mercer at the ASUN Tournament in Jacksonville next week.

The Utes and Falcons battled back and forth all day and entered the fourth quarter tied at 8-8. Utah rattled off three goals in a row in the fourth to build a three-score cushion, but Air Force net three themselves in the final 75 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime, where they scored the game-winner with 41 seconds on the clock.

Utah trailed in total shots (34-47) and shots on goal (21-28) but held a 15-9 advantage in caused turnovers. Colin Lenskold made 14 saves in net to keep Utah in the game despite the shot differential. Air Force finished with a 19-12 advantage in faceoff wins.

GAME LEADERS
Ryan Stines and Luke McNamara led the way for the Utah offensive attack. Stines paced the team with seven points, scoring a hat trick and adding four assists, while McNamara led the team with five goals and a helper for six points. Zachary White, Luke Haley and Nathan Chalmers all tallied a goal and an assist each.

Luca Pivetta and Nikko DiPonio led the defensive effort, each causing three turnovers. Pivetta tallied a pair of ground balls while DiPonio logged a team-high six. The Utah defense's 15 caused turnovers tie for the seventh most in a game in program history.

Lenskold's 14 saves marked a new season high, and the senior enters postseason play with a program-record 641 career stops.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Air Force got on the board first with 12:20 on the clock, but Utah answered back 14 seconds later after Bryce Madden won the faceoff and set up White for the score. Utah took the lead with 8:50 on the clock after Karson Sparks caused a turnover on a clearance attempt, setting up the Stines to McNamara connection for the score.

Air Force responded with a score, but Jake Likes answered right back off a find from McNamara to give Utah a 3-2 lead. Utah increased the lead to two when Joel Mullen split two defenders at midfield on the clear and set up Ian Ludewig for the score.

The Falcons once again answered, cutting the lead back down to one, but Stines net his first of the day to give Utah a 5-3 edge heading into the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN
McNamara got the scoring started early in the second quarter, again off a Stines assist, to put Utah up, 6-3. The Falcons net two of their own to cut the lead back down to one, but Luke Haley answered with a highlight-reel goal of his own, juking his defender to get in front of goal and burying the shot to make it 7-5.

Air Force scored with 22 second left on the clock and Utah entered the locker room up 7-6.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Both defenses settled in in the third quarter as the two sides combined for only four goals. Air Force tied the game at 7-7 just 18 seconds into the half, and neither side could find nylon for the next nine minutes. Utah was able to take the lead again with 6:34 on the clock, as McNamara capped his hat trick off another Stines helper after Air Force was called for slashing.

The Falcons quickly answered back to make it 8-8, but White set up Stines for the go-ahead goal with 1:38 on the clock to put Utah ahead heading into the final frame. Lenskold made two saves in the final six minutes of the quarter to keep Utah up on the scoreboard.

FOURTH QUARTER & OVERTIME BREAKDOWN
Air Force net the equalizer four minutes into the fourth quarter, but McNamara answered back with his fourth to put Utah up by one less than a minute later. Feeling the momentum swing, Stines capped his hat trick to extend the Utah lead to two, then set up McNamara for another score to push the lead to 12-9.

Air Force stopped the run with 5:25 to play, but two minutes later, Chalmers buried one off a find from Sparks to put Utah back up by three.

The Falcons scored three goals in the final 73 seconds of regulation to force overtime. Utah had a pair of scoring chances in the extra period, but Air Force struck paydirt with 41 seconds on the clock to hand Utah its first loss in conference play.

UP NEXT
The ASUN Conference Tournament gets underway in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 1, with a pair of semifinal games, both of which are rematches from Saturday's slate. Top-seeded Jacksonville will take on No. 4 Mercer, while the second-seed Utes will look for revenge against No. 3 Air Force.

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