The University of Utah Lacrosse team won the ASUN championship for the second straight season with its 16-13 win over Jacksonville on Sunday at Air Force Academy, Colo., earning an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championships.
Utah will visit No. 2 seed Duke for a first-round NCAA tournament game Saturday at 12:30 p.m. MDT in Durham, N.C. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Utah improved to 12-4 overall, tying the school record for single-season wins.
After leading by as many as seven goals early in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville went on a late rally, scoring five unanswered to make it a two-point game with less than four minutes to play. Utah’s defense and goalkeeper Colin Lenskold held the Dolphins at bay for the final minutes of the game, allowing Jared Andreala to sneak Utah’s 16th goal in with just 18 seconds to go to seal the victory.
Sophomore Ryan Stines was named tournament MVP with Joey Boylston, Tyler Bradbury, Nikko DiPonio and Lenskold also earning All-Tournament honors. Utah has scored 15 or more goals in six straight games, wrapping up Sunday’s game with 40 shots that included 27 on goal. Utah also had 34 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers along with 14 faceoff wins.
Stines, the ASUN (Atlantic Sun Conference) Player of the Year, led the Utes with five goals against the Dolphins, giving him 47 goals on the season and his third straight game with two or more.
Bradbury also added four points on three goals and an assist with Andreala contributing a hat trick of his own. Faceoff specialist Tyler Kloeckl led the team in ground balls with eight to go along with his 14 faceoff wins.
Sophomore DiPonio finished the game with a career-high two assists, four ground balls and three caused turnovers with freshman Mikey Crane adding three caused turnovers as well. In goal, Lenskold finished the game with 16 saves, which ties for the third-most in school history.
