#19 Utes lacrosse team falls to #2 Duke, 19-7
DURHAM, N.C. (ABC4 Sports) – The Utah lacrosse team’s second trip to the NCAA Tournament was once again a short one.
The #19 Utes fell to the second-ranked Duke Saturday in the first round, 19-7.
Utah finished its season 12-5 overall with its second-straight NCAA Championships appearance after back-to-back ASUN Championships and three consecutive regular season ASUN titles.
Utah came into the match on a nine-game winning streak, and the Utes were the third highest scoring team in the nation at over 15 goals per contest.
But against the mighty Blue Devils, Utah tied a season-low in goals with just seven.
Tyler Bradbury and Jordan Hyde led the Utes in scoring with two goals each with Bradbury also turning in two ground balls. Jared Andreala, Cody Hart and Ryan Stines all added one goal apiece with Stines also adding two assists for three points.
Dyson Williams led Duke with five goals, while Josh Zawada added four. Duke led 7-2 at the end of the first quarter and 11-5 at the half. The Duke defense led the Utes to just two goals in the second half in advancing to the Elite 8.
Utes lacrosse team out to make history at NCAA Tournament
On defense, Utah was led in caused turnovers by Nikko DiPonio, who also had three ground balls, followed by Joey Boylston’s two caused turnovers. Tyler Kloeckl also had a team-high four ground balls, winning nine faceoffs as well.
Through 18 games this season, Utah broke 18 individual and team single-game and single-season records. The Utes set program records in team single-season assists (), saves () and caused turnovers (), also tying the Utah record for single-season wins (12).
This is the second straight year Utah has been eliminated in the first game of the NCAA Tournament, having also lost to Notre Dame last season, 20-7.
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