Saturday, April 26
USAFA, CO
12:00 PM
Air Force Academy
5-8, 4-1ASUN
16
vs
15
Utah
5-8, 4-1ASUN
1
2
3
4
OT
F
Utah
3
4
3
5
0
15
Air Force
3
3
3
6
1
16
Air Force Wins a Share of the ASUN Regular Season Title in Thrilling 16-15 OT Win Against Utah
4/26/2025 5:23:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force and Utah duked it out in an overtime thriller with the Falcons coming out on top, 16-15, to claim a share of the ASUN regular season title on Senior Day at Falcon Stadium. Air Force finalized the 2025 regular season campaign at 6-7 overall with a 4-1 mark in the conference. Utah, who also earned a share of the regular season title, brings the regular season to a close at 5-8, 4-1 ASUN.
GAME NOTES
-Air Force, Utah, and Jacksonville (9-4, 4-1 ASUN) repeat as ASUN regular season co-champions.
-Despite the win over the league frontrunner, Air Force will be seeded third in the ASUN Tournament based on goal differential criteria. Utah, the top seed and defending back-to-back ASUN Tournament champions, will take on fourth-seeded Bellarmine (8-8, 2-3). Jacksonville, the tournament host, will play against Air Force as the No. 2 seed.
-The regular season title marks the sixth title since 2014 with four of the regular season titles being shared.
-After starting the season 0-4, the Falcons brought the regular season to a close on a four-game win streak.
-Air Force and Jacksonville met in last season's ASUN Tournament semifinals hosted at USAFA. The Dolphins beat the Falcons, 15-10.
SIGNIFICANT STATS
-Caelan Driggs, the NCAA's fifth leading scorer, scored a game-high five goals. It's Driggs' fourth five-goal performance, 10th hat trick performance, and fifth-straight game with a hat trick. Driggs now has 45 goals this season (3rd in AF single-season record book) and 82 career goals (7th in AF career record book).
-Wes Peene, the man who scored the OT game-winner, finished with a personal season-best five points (4g, 1a), tying his career-best mark. Peene has three hat tricks and 21 goals this year.
-AF points leader Josh Yago finished with four points (3g, 1a). Yago leads the ASUN in points (59) and assists (30), marks that rank him fifth and 10th in the NCAA, respectively. The hat trick marked the fifth of his season. His 144 career points is sixth in the AF career record book while his 30 assists this season ties his mark from last season, the second most in the AF single-season record book.
-Jake Marek had a career day in the cage, making a career-best 22 saves to secure the AF win. Marek also picked up a team-high eight ground balls.
-Ryan Stadelmaier, boasting the team's highest shooting percentage, scored two goals on three shots. He has 18 goals this season.
-The AF defense was anchored by Cole Cunningham (6gb) and Aidan Chairs (2cto).
-The Falcons, who are fifth in the NCAA in man-up offense, went 2-2 in extra man opportunities.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Air Force got off to a hot start with a 2-0 lead 10 minutes into the game. Cole Cunningham fed Josh Yago in transition for the first goal at 9:18. Ryan Stadelmaier followed up with help from Mana Wilhelm at 5:04. Utah goals leader Will Overly put the Utes on the board at 4:28. It was the first of a three-goal run. Trailing 3-2 with less than a minute in the quarter, Josh Yago found the back of the net via help from Cole Rassas in an extra man opportunity. The teams entered the second quarter tied at three.
Second Quarter
Utah was first to strike in the second quarter as Zachary White scored via feed from Utes points leader Ryan Stines. Driggs and Stadelmaier responded to tie and take the lead, 5-4, respectively. Wes Peene extended the lead with a goal at 5:48. The rest of the quarter belonged to Utah as they went on a four-goal streak to take a 7-6 lead heading into the halftime break.
Third Quarter
The Falcons and Utes went back-and-forth for the entire third quarter. Chase Robertson gave Utah a two-goal lead, 8-6, with a goal at the 9:08 mark. Peene responded with a goal 26 seconds later. Ryan Stines took his turn with a goal at 4:56. Peene connected with Yago in response at 3:12. Luke McNamara connected with Nathan Chalmers at 1:27 to regain the two-goal lead. In the waning seconds of the quarter, Charlie Pyfer took matters into his own hands, running the ball downfield, ducking and dodging his way to the cage where he finished one-on-one against the Ute's keeper with one second left on the ticker. AF entered the fourth quarter trailing by one goal, 10-9.
Fourth Quarter
The Utes' White connected with Stines to regain a two-goal Utah lead at 13:17. The Falcons, undeterred, ignited the offense and rattled off four-straight goals from 12:42 to 4:16. Driggs scored the first and last goal of the run. Wes Peene and freshman LSM Hee-Cheol Shin notched a pair of goals in between to tie and take the lead, respectively. The goal marked the first of Shin's career. Utah stopped the hemorrhaging at 3:13 with a goal from Chase Robertson to bring the Utes within one goal, 13-12. Driggs responded with his fourth goal at the 2:05 mark to recapture a two-goal lead. Stines and Robertson responded in rapid succession to tie the game with goals at 1:29 and 1:01. Just 13 seconds later, Cunningham collected a crucial ground ball off the faceoff which he flicked to Yago who fed Driggs for a goal in stride. AF won the ground ball off the faceoff and just needed to clear to seal the deal, the Utah defense battled tough to deny the clear and score a goal with just one second remaining in regulation.
Overtime
Utah won the initial ground ball and had a pair of shooting opportunities from Stines and Cody Hart, both to no avail. Marek made a critical save, and AF called a timeout after the clear. The timeout proved invaluable as the ensuing play led to Wes Peene's goal via assist from Mana Wilhelm.
COMING UP
Air Force travels to Jacksonville for their fourth straight ASUN Tournament appearance in as many tries since joining the league. The third-seeded Falcons will take on host No. 2 seed Jacksonville on Friday, May 2. Action at Rock Stadium is slated for 4 pm ET.
GAME NOTES
-Air Force, Utah, and Jacksonville (9-4, 4-1 ASUN) repeat as ASUN regular season co-champions.
-Despite the win over the league frontrunner, Air Force will be seeded third in the ASUN Tournament based on goal differential criteria. Utah, the top seed and defending back-to-back ASUN Tournament champions, will take on fourth-seeded Bellarmine (8-8, 2-3). Jacksonville, the tournament host, will play against Air Force as the No. 2 seed.
-The regular season title marks the sixth title since 2014 with four of the regular season titles being shared.
-After starting the season 0-4, the Falcons brought the regular season to a close on a four-game win streak.
-Air Force and Jacksonville met in last season's ASUN Tournament semifinals hosted at USAFA. The Dolphins beat the Falcons, 15-10.
SIGNIFICANT STATS
-Caelan Driggs, the NCAA's fifth leading scorer, scored a game-high five goals. It's Driggs' fourth five-goal performance, 10th hat trick performance, and fifth-straight game with a hat trick. Driggs now has 45 goals this season (3rd in AF single-season record book) and 82 career goals (7th in AF career record book).
-Wes Peene, the man who scored the OT game-winner, finished with a personal season-best five points (4g, 1a), tying his career-best mark. Peene has three hat tricks and 21 goals this year.
-AF points leader Josh Yago finished with four points (3g, 1a). Yago leads the ASUN in points (59) and assists (30), marks that rank him fifth and 10th in the NCAA, respectively. The hat trick marked the fifth of his season. His 144 career points is sixth in the AF career record book while his 30 assists this season ties his mark from last season, the second most in the AF single-season record book.
-Jake Marek had a career day in the cage, making a career-best 22 saves to secure the AF win. Marek also picked up a team-high eight ground balls.
-Ryan Stadelmaier, boasting the team's highest shooting percentage, scored two goals on three shots. He has 18 goals this season.
-The AF defense was anchored by Cole Cunningham (6gb) and Aidan Chairs (2cto).
-The Falcons, who are fifth in the NCAA in man-up offense, went 2-2 in extra man opportunities.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Air Force got off to a hot start with a 2-0 lead 10 minutes into the game. Cole Cunningham fed Josh Yago in transition for the first goal at 9:18. Ryan Stadelmaier followed up with help from Mana Wilhelm at 5:04. Utah goals leader Will Overly put the Utes on the board at 4:28. It was the first of a three-goal run. Trailing 3-2 with less than a minute in the quarter, Josh Yago found the back of the net via help from Cole Rassas in an extra man opportunity. The teams entered the second quarter tied at three.
Second Quarter
Utah was first to strike in the second quarter as Zachary White scored via feed from Utes points leader Ryan Stines. Driggs and Stadelmaier responded to tie and take the lead, 5-4, respectively. Wes Peene extended the lead with a goal at 5:48. The rest of the quarter belonged to Utah as they went on a four-goal streak to take a 7-6 lead heading into the halftime break.
Third Quarter
The Falcons and Utes went back-and-forth for the entire third quarter. Chase Robertson gave Utah a two-goal lead, 8-6, with a goal at the 9:08 mark. Peene responded with a goal 26 seconds later. Ryan Stines took his turn with a goal at 4:56. Peene connected with Yago in response at 3:12. Luke McNamara connected with Nathan Chalmers at 1:27 to regain the two-goal lead. In the waning seconds of the quarter, Charlie Pyfer took matters into his own hands, running the ball downfield, ducking and dodging his way to the cage where he finished one-on-one against the Ute's keeper with one second left on the ticker. AF entered the fourth quarter trailing by one goal, 10-9.
Fourth Quarter
The Utes' White connected with Stines to regain a two-goal Utah lead at 13:17. The Falcons, undeterred, ignited the offense and rattled off four-straight goals from 12:42 to 4:16. Driggs scored the first and last goal of the run. Wes Peene and freshman LSM Hee-Cheol Shin notched a pair of goals in between to tie and take the lead, respectively. The goal marked the first of Shin's career. Utah stopped the hemorrhaging at 3:13 with a goal from Chase Robertson to bring the Utes within one goal, 13-12. Driggs responded with his fourth goal at the 2:05 mark to recapture a two-goal lead. Stines and Robertson responded in rapid succession to tie the game with goals at 1:29 and 1:01. Just 13 seconds later, Cunningham collected a crucial ground ball off the faceoff which he flicked to Yago who fed Driggs for a goal in stride. AF won the ground ball off the faceoff and just needed to clear to seal the deal, the Utah defense battled tough to deny the clear and score a goal with just one second remaining in regulation.
Overtime
Utah won the initial ground ball and had a pair of shooting opportunities from Stines and Cody Hart, both to no avail. Marek made a critical save, and AF called a timeout after the clear. The timeout proved invaluable as the ensuing play led to Wes Peene's goal via assist from Mana Wilhelm.
COMING UP
Air Force travels to Jacksonville for their fourth straight ASUN Tournament appearance in as many tries since joining the league. The third-seeded Falcons will take on host No. 2 seed Jacksonville on Friday, May 2. Action at Rock Stadium is slated for 4 pm ET.
Team Stats
UTAH
AFA
Shots
57
39
Turnovers
16
19
Caused Turnovers
9
5
Faceoffs Won
21
12
Extra-Man Opps
2
2
Ground Balls
44
35
Game Leaders
G
5
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
GK
/ Men's Lacrosse
SSDM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
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