GAME 10
RMU (4-5 / 1-3 #ASUNMLAX) vs. Utah (5-4 / 4-0 #ASUNMLAX)
Saturday, April 8 | 12:00 p.m.
Joe Walton Stadium (3,000) | Moon Township, Pa.
 
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Gero Von Dehn (pxp), Nathan Breisinger
Twitter: @RMUMLacrosse | Instagram: rmumlacrosse
 
Opening Face-Off

• The RMU men's lacrosse team is set to host Utah in an ASUN game on Saturday, April 8^th at 12:00 p.m.
• This will be the first time RMU is hosting Utah at the Joe Walton Stadium.
• Last time out, RMU lost a close battle to Mercer, 9-8.
• Against the Bears, fifth-year attacker Taggart Clark tallied four points.
• Liam Keane scooped up a team-high five ground balls. On defense, Owen Down and Liam Blakely both caused two turnovers against Mercer.
• Starting his first game between the pipes, junior Kyle Reihner had one of the best goalkeeping performances in team history. With 20 saves, he finished with the third-most stops in one game for RMU. Reihner held a .690 save percentage on the day.
• Head coach Craig McDonald owns a 14-11 overall record at RMU, and is 5-4 in conference play.

GAMEDAY LINKS
- Video
- Live Stats
- Tickets
- RMU Athletics Gameday App

The All-Time Series (Utah) – The Colonials and Utes have only faced off three times, but the last time might've been the most important game in program history. Exactly 13 months ago, in the 2022 ASUN Championship game, RMU was victorious with a game winning goal by Elliot Holden to win the first ASUN crown. In Huntsville, Ala. At Milton Frank Stadium, the Colonials won 18-17 in overtime. In that game, Taggart Clark stepped up to the plate, producing four goals and three assists. His seven points are the second-most ever in an ASUN tournament game. Will Johansen and Elliot Holden both scored a brace, and returning players Colton Lidstone and Eric Swagerty both notched a point. Bo Columbus and Steven DelleMonache combined for 22 face-off wins and five ground balls each. With their great performances in the tournament this past year, Owen Down, Will Johansen, Elliot Holden and James Leary were all named to the All-Tournament team.
 
All-time, RMU is 2-1 against Utah. Their only loss in this series came earlier in that 2022 season. Eric Swagerty had three points, Torin Neal posted two and Clark, Holden and Johansen all paced for one point each. James Leary led the team that game in ground balls with five. In the 2021 season when RMU was not yet in the ASUN conference, these two teams met for the first time, and RMU walked away with a 16-12 win in Utah. Will Johansen, a junior at the time, dished out two assists. Johnny Chaisson and Taggart Clark both scored one goal. In three games against the Utes, Clark owns nine points. Goalkeeper Liam Rosenthal was pivotal in that win, making 12 saves.
 
Scouting the Utes – So far in the 2023 season, Utah remains the only undefeated team left in the ASUN. They're on a four-game win streak after beating Bellarmine, Detroit Mercy, Air Force and Jacksonville all in conference play. Three of their losses came earlier in the season to ranked opponents: #8 Rutgers, #16 Johns Hopkins, and #17 Denver.
 
Utah's main scorer is #23 Tyler Bradbury, who's produced 17 goals and 14 assists. Leading the team in goals are attackers Jordan Hyde (24 goals) and Ryan Stines (23 goals). In the face-off circle, Cole Brams has won 131 draws, owning a .541 face-off win percentage, and has picked up a team-high 67 ground balls. On defense, senior Joey Boylston has caused a team-high 14 turnovers and scooped up 27 ground balls. The Utes have used three different goalies but have mainly played Colin Lenskolo. He owns a 3-4 record with 108 saves so far in the campaign, and a save percentage of .484.
 
WELL ROUNDED
Heading off to the NLL after graduation, Taggart Clark has been a consistent force offensively for the Colonials all season. Clark has started in all nine games for RMU, and produced in all nine contests. On five different occasions, the Canadian has registered three or more points in a game. In the 2022 season, Clark finished with 21 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. Not only helping offensively, on the defensive side, he's set to pass those numbers. So far in the 2023 campaign, Clark boasts 18 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Heading into battle against Utah, Clark owns 19 goals and nine assists on the year.

Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | RMU Athletics Gameday App 

Tweet #BobbyMo   Tweet #RMUnite   Tweet #ASUNMLAX