Utah Headed to First NCAA Tournament After Winning ASUN

Just five seasons into its varsity existence, Utah is headed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship.

The Utes, led by second-year head coach Andrew McMinn, defeated Air Force 11-9 to win the Atlantic Sun tournament at Robert Morris, the school where McMinn coached for a decade before taking the Utah job.

“I’m so proud of our guys,” McMinn said. “They’ve worked to a set a level all year that we couldn’t be more proud of. To see it all come together and culminate in a victory here is exactly what we were gearing towards obviously.”

One of the biggest reasons for the victory was the play of senior faceoff specialist Cole Brams. Brams won 21 of 23 faceoffs, winning most of them to himself as he finished with 18 groundballs. He won 43 of 56 in the two Atlantic Sun tournament games to win MVP honors.

“His mental toughness is unmatched,” McMinn said. “When he’s at his best mentally, I don’t think there are many guys that can compete with him. He was a huge part of our success today.”

The 11 goals scored by Utah (12-4) was actually its third-lowest scoring output of the season, but the extra possession time generated by Brams helped Utah keep Air Force off the board.

The Falcons led 4-2 early, but Utah scored the final three goals of the first half to take a 5-4 halftime lead. The last goal was a diving backhander by Jordan Hyde.

Q2 | 2:59 | Utah 5, Air Force 4

Jordan Hyde aka SUPERMAN with the goal for the lead#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/W8RMfS2XRa

— Utah Lacrosse (@UtahLacrosse) May 7, 2023

Air Force struck first in the second half with Shad Bruce tying the game 5-5, but Utah then scored four straight goals, two of them by Carson Moyer. Air Force never got closer than two goals the rest of the way as Utah’s Ryan Stines and Tyler Bradbury scored key fourth quarter goals.

Moyer led Utah with four goals while Hyde and Koa Todd each scored twice. Utah goalie Colin Lenskold made nine saves.

Josh Yago (2g) was the only Air Force player with multiple goals and Brandon Dodd had a team-high three points (1g, 2a). Jason Rose made 11 saves for the Falcons.

Utah will enter the NCAA tournament on an 11-game winning streak.