7-0 Start Too High a Hill to Climb as Late JU Men’s Rally Falls Short to Utah 16-14; Intreri 3G/1A, Greiner 3G, Kapp 25-32 FO/15 GBs
Cardinal Mooney alum MJ McMahon 2A, Newsome alum Luke Haley 1A for Utah
Dolphins Comeback Bid Stopped Short Against Utah
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Facing a seven-goal deficit, the Jacksonville men’s lacrosse team battled back to a one-goal deficit late in the fourth, but came up short in a 16-14 loss to Utah in the Jacksonville Lacrosse Classic.
The Numbers
It was Nathan Kapp’s day, as Kapp won 25-32 faceoff opportunities and had 15 ground balls in the game. He also added some much-needed offensive production with one goal and two assists.
Jackson Intrieri and Jacob Greiner led the team in goals, with three each. Nicky Brown and Ibrahim Pio joined the pair with multiple scores of their own, earning two apiece.
Anthony Caputo, Kapp and Brown all finished with two assists each, helping the Dolphins climb out of an early deficit.
How It Happened
Ethan LaMond scored at the 12:22 mark of the first quarter to open up the scoring in the game before the Utes reeled off seven straight scores to put JU in a hole.
Kapp and Brown connected with five seconds left in the opening quarter to spark the Dolphins, trailing 7-2 heading into the second quarter.
In the second and third, the Dolphins settled in, staying within striking distance. Kapp continued an impressive performance, keeping JU in the hunt heading to the halftime break, winning 15-17 faceoffs as Jacksonville trailed 11-5.
Both sides scored four in the third before a fourth-quarter run for the Dolphins cut the deficit to one as JU scored five straight to make it a 15-14 game. Utah would hold on in the final moments, scoring the final goal on an empty net with 30 seconds remaining to take a 16-14 victory.
Head Coach John Galloway
“Obviously I am disappointed about the result of the game, but I do believe we found out about the fabric of our team today. We were down multiple times and found our way back in the fight.
I believe we will go into the month of April with the motivation to keep getting better and the knowledge that we have the right guys in the room to achieve everything we set out to this season. I’m having more fun every week with this group.”
