The Utah men’s lacrosse team entered their final regular season matchup with the Air Force Falcons on Saturday looking to remain undefeated in conference play heading into the ASUN conference tournament. In a game that saw multiple lead changes and an equalizing goal in the final second of the fourth quarter by Chase Robertson, Air Force prevailed, 16-15.
First Half
Both defenses dominated the initial 10 minutes of the first quarter, with Air Force taking a 2-0 lead at the 5:04 mark. The Utes struggled to finish at the net to open up the game, missing their first seven shot attempts, but with 4:28 remaining in the quarter, Will Overly found the back of the net for his 11th goal of the year.
The Ute offense continued to apply pressure as a face-off win by Bryce Madden quickly led to a Cade Faulkner goal to tie the game up at two goals apiece with 3:41 to go in the first. As the first quarter came to a close, a goal by Sky Rold and a quick answer from the Falcons kept this game tied at three entering the second quarter of action.
Utah continued to put the foot on the gas entering the second quarter as Zachary White cashed in his 15th goal of the year on the feed from Ryan Stines to give the Utes a 4-3 lead. Air Force continued to find answers, however, as a three-goal burst gave the Falcons a 6-4 advantage with 8:51 remaining in the second.
The Utes dominated down the stretch of the second quarter as Faulkner cashed in his second goal of the day, and back-to-back White goals for his third goal of the first half pushed the Utes on top 7-6 entering halftime.
Second Half
Chase Robertson got into the scoring action to open up the second half, but Air Force quickly answered to keep the Utah lead at just one with 8:42 to go in the third quarter. Both teams exchanged goals down the stretch of the third as Stines scored his first goal of the afternoon and 18th of the year, while Nathan Chalmers cashed in a man-up opportunity on the assist from Luke McNamara. The Utes would take a slight edge into the fourth quarter, leading 10-9.
Stines opened up the fourth quarter with his second goal of the day on the feed from White to extend Utah’s lead to 11-9, but back-to-back Falcon scores tied the game up once again, this time 11-11, with 10:34 to go. The Utes offense continued to struggle down the stretch as Air Force added their fourth unanswered goal and took a 13-11 lead with just 4:16 remaining in the game.
Utah continued to battle in the late stages of the final quarter, however, as Robertson found the back of the net for his second goal of the day to trim the Falcon lead to just one, 13-12.
Air Force would add to their lead with a goal at the 2:05 mark of the fourth quarter, but the Utes would not go away quietly, as goals from Stines and Robertson within seconds of one another tied it up at 14 with 1:01 to go. The final minute was a rollercoaster, as the Falcons scored with 0:48 left to go, but with 00:1 remaining, Robertson cashed in his fourth goal of the afternoon and third of the final quarter to force overtime in dramatic fashion.
Despite controlling possession for a majority of the overtime period, Utah could not get the job done, as a Falcon goal with 2:01 left would be the nail in the coffin as the Utes drop their first conference game of the year and fall to 6-8 on the year headed into the ASUN tournament.
k.garrison@dailyutahchronicle.com
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