The Utah men’s lacrosse team hung with No. 2 Chapman for the first half but were eventually the victims of another Chapman blowout.
Chapman beat Utah by the score of 21-8 and notched their seventh double-digit win over six MCLA opponents and one D-III school in 13 games.
Chapman started the scoring a minute and a half into the game on a goal by midfielder Derek Mills. Chapman scored four more goals before Utah found the net with 6:26 left in the first quarter. Attackmen Pat Guinn was able to scoop the ball up out of a scrum at midfield and run past the Chapman defense who failed to recover and went one-on-one with Chapman goalie Jason Kho. Guinn found an opening and took advantage to get Utah on the board.
A minute later, Utah was penalized for holding and Chapman was able to capitalize on a goal by midfielder Marcus Wooden. Utah returned the favor after Chapman was called for offside. Midfielder Matt Qualey found the back of the net and brought the score to 6-2 in favor of Chapman. With 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Chapman was called for a slash and again Utah capitalized on the man-up opportunity as Qualey scored with two seconds left to make the score 6-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams started the second quarter with sloppy possessions and Utah was able to score first. With 11:15 remaining in the second quarter, Utah attackmen Joshua Dimick scored after the Utah defense cleared the ball to him. Dimick beat his man and notched the goal to bring the Utes within two goals. Chapman would score two more goals in the quarter to give them a 8-4 lead at halftime.
Chapman and Utah traded goals before Chapman went on a 7-0 run that included a two man-up goal and a goal by midfielder Andrew Clayton that had virtually no angle with 3 seconds left in the third quarter. Chapman extended their run to 10-0 before Utah scored two goals with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game. Chapman would score two more goals before time expired, giving the Panthers a 21-7 win.
“They’re good. They are really good,” said Utah head coach Craig Morris. “We started out slow and they jumped out with a bunch of goals and I am very proud of how my team fought back in that first half and we made a game of it as long as we could. At the pace that they go our wheels came off and one thing leads to another.”
Utah (5-6, 1-2) will face in-state rival Utah State on April 15 in Salt Lake City. Chapman (10-1, 4-0) will face No. 4 BYU on Friday at the BYU North Fields in Provo, Utah.
Photos courtesy of Haslam Photography
