Second Half Scoring Rout Pushes Utah Lacrosse Past Cleveland State, 15-11

CLEVELAND, Ohio – After a slow start, the University of Utah Lacrosse program had an offensive explosion today against the Cleveland State Vikings, picking up its second ASUN win with a 15-11 road victory. The Utes are 6-3 overall and 2-0 in league play.

After the Vikings took a 6-1 lead with less than three minutes to play in the first quarter the Utes got to work, scoring 14 goals in the final three periods while holding Cleveland State to just five. Utah took its first lead of the game with 5:19 to go in the third quarter and never gave it up, scoring six unanswered.

The Utes finished the game with 41 ground balls, the second time in three games that Utah has had 40+ while also causing four turnovers and holding the Vikings to just one man-up goal on their three attempts. To counter, Utah was 3-of-4 in its man-up opportunities.

GAME LEADERS
Utah's all-time points and goals leader took the game over in the second half, scoring four of his six goals which included the Utes' 10th goal of the game to officially give them the lead in the third quarter. He scored seven total points (1 assist), which ranks in the top-five all-time at Utah in single-game points.

Tyler Bradbury added six points to the stat line with two goals and a season-high four assists while MJ McMahon and Jordan Hyde contributed two goals each with Hyde also recording two assists. The Utes also had goals from Josh Rose, Jared Andreala and Koa Todd for their 15-goal performance.

Cole Brams scored his second double-digit ground ball game of the season, racking up 10 while also going 16-of-26 on face-offs. Samuel Cambere finished with seven ground balls to tie his season-high with Bradbury also getting work done defensively with a career-best three caused turnovers.

In goal, Zion Dechesere finished the game with 12 saves and nine goals allowed, which included only allowing three goals in the second and third quarters. He recorded a 57% save percentage against the Vikings.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Within just the first four minutes of the game, the Utes found themselves down 3-0 after Cleveland State caught Utah on its heels. Stout scored his first goal with 10:28 to go in the first quarter, but the Vikings would answer with three more unanswered goals before Stout would find the back of the net again to send Utah into the second quarter down 6-2.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN
After Cleveland State took a 7-2 advantage early in the second quarter, the Utes found a rhythm on both ends of the field. Two quick goals from Todd and Bradbury made it a three-point game with 7:38 left to play in the quarter with Dechesere making key saves down the stretch to keep the Vikings to just one goal in the quarter.

With 4:03 on the clock, Andreala would sling one into the goal for the Utes to make it a two-point game, giving him his seventh goal of the year. More saves from Dechesere, including one with just 21 seconds to go in the quarter, would once again prove to be pivotal for the Utes to stay in the game.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN
The third quarter would be when the Utes would take full control of the game, outscoring Cleveland State 7-2 with Utah's seven goals tying for the most in a quarter this season.

Stout got things started with his third goal of the game 23 seconds into the quarter, following it up with his fourth just minutes later to tie the game 7-7 with 12:22 to go. The back-and-forth would begin with Cleveland State answering to take the lead before Rose countered with a goal of his own to make it 8-8 with 9:49 on the clock.

The scoring rout would being at the 5:19 mark in the third quarter where Stout would put in his fifth goal of the game for Utah's first lead, starting a seven-goal run for the Utes. Hyde and McMahon would close out the quarter with goals to give Utah a three-point advantage heading into the final quarter of the game.

FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Stout scored Utah's 13th goal and his sixth with 13:40 left to play in the game with Bradbury and Hyde following suit with goals at 7:31 and 6:39 for a six-point lead for the Utes. Cleveland State would score two goals in the final two minutes of the game, but it wouldn't be enough with Utah scoring its second-straight and fifth overall road victory this season.

UP NEXT
Utah returns to Ute Field on Saturday, April 16 when they host Robert Morris. The game is set for a 1 p.m. MT start with single game tickets available for $10 with children 12 and younger getting free admission.