Falcon Lacrosse Takes Down ASUN Rival Utah, 12-11

SALT LAKE CITY – Air Force knocked off the ASUN preseason favorite Utah Utes, 12-11, Wednesday afternoon at Ute Field. The Falcons, now 3-4 overall, improved to 2-0 in conference action. The win kills the Utes' three-game hot streak against Air Force.

A strong first half of play facilitated the AF victory as the Falcons took the locker rooms at half with an 8-3 lead. Despite Utah scoring first, the Falcons' Jake Mason, Aidan Tolen, and Cole Rasas responded with first quarter goals— Mason scoring two in the period, and Luke Vrsansky assisting Tolen with his goal.

Utah responded first in the second quarter with a goal from Cody Hart. The Falcons rebutted with two pairs of goals from Caelan Driggs and Josh Yago. Driggs and Yago lead the Falcons with 16 and 21 points this season, respectively. Rassas, Driggs, and Blaze DeGracie were credited with assists in the quarter.

Out of the half, Utah's Jordan Hyde scored at the 8:45 mark. The Falcons responded behind goals from Mana Wilhelm and Wes Peene, increasing Air Force's lead to 10-4 and marking the largest lead the Falcons have had on an opponent this season.

Utah put their bests efforts forth in tracking the Falcons down, scoring six unanswered goals in just over 10 minutes to knot the game up at 10. With 5:57 remaining in regulation, sophomore Blake Boyd put an end to the Utes' run, scoring his first collegiate goal. Senior defender Chris Bardak added another at the 3:00 mark for his third goal this season. Utah's Jordan Hyde scored at the 1:41 mark to bring Utah back into striking distance but the Utes ultimately ran out of real estate on the ticker.

Despite being outshot, 45-31, the Falcons displayed their accuracy with 21 shots on goal while the Utes put 24 shots on goal.

Jake Knapp had a solid day facing off at center X, winning 11-of-25 attempts. He picked up three ground balls in the effort. In goal, Nolan Parlette was credited with his third win this season, 13 saves on a .542 save-percentage. Defensively, Air Force caused six of Utah's 18 turnovers—Driggs was credited with three CTOs.

Next up, Air Force travels to St. Louis to take on Lindenwood in conference action. The Falcons and Lions will face off at 1 p.m. CT at Hunter Stadium.

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