JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Redshirt-senior Evan Tyler and freshman Ethan LaMond combined for seven of Jacksonville University's 11 goals, but the Dolphin men's lacrosse team was unable to overcome an early six-goal run by Utah en route to a 15-11 decision in the Moe's Lacrosse Classic, Saturday afternoon at D.B. Milne Field.

"We are definitely disappointed in the outcome of today, but also recognize the opportunity it presents us moving forward," noted head coach John Galloway following the game. "We were able to generate 53 shots, and sometimes you run into a hot goalie. Credit to Utah for capitalizing on our mistakes, but we do feel confident this group has so much potential. I remain steadfast that this group will continue to get better each day. We said all month you can't win or lose championships in February. Tomorrow, the calendar turns, and it is time for us to use the lessons learned to become a team."

Tyler continued his quest toward 100 career points as he led the Dolphins with three goals and two assists on the day for 91 total career points, while junior Dixon Smith caused a Ute turnover and is now within one of tying JU's program record for career caused turnovers (58).

Notably, LaMond made his presence felt with a hat trick in the second quarter alone and finished the day with four goals.

"Despite the loss, the performance of Ethan LaMond is a huge positive moving forward," added Galloway. "We will get back to work as a group tomorrow to prepare for Hampton, and we will continue to believe in each other as we become the best team possible."

Jacksonville (2-2) peppered double-digit shots on the Utes (3-2) for three-straight quarters and finished the day with 53 total compared to just 37 from the visitors. While the Dolphins also held the advantage on clears, going a perfect 19-for-19, and turnovers, giving the ball up eight times less than Utah (15-7), the determining factor came at the faceoff X as Utah's Cole Brams won 19-of-29 and collected a game-high 10 ground balls.

Back-to-back goals from Tyler (14:09, 10:36) opened the game on a high note, but it was short-lived as Utah surged with six unanswered goals through 9:48 of the second to command a 6-2 lead. LaMond then buried back-to-back tallies of his own (8:04, 7:25) and finished a feed from Tyler (2:05) to deadlock the game at 7 apiece before halftime. However, a second 4-0 run from the Utes spanning the final 1:43 of the second to 10:48 into the third set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Junior Jack Dolan added a spark and brought things within two, 12-10, with 11:55 left in the game, but Utah snuffed out any momentum with three of the final four goals to seal the decision, 15-11.

Dolan finished the day with one goal, one assist, and three ground balls, while freshman Nathan Kapp finished 8-21 on faceoffs with a team-high seven ground balls. Defensively, junior Colin Hinton picked up a ground ball and caused a pair of Utah turnovers, while redshirt-senior Hunter Sells collected 12 saves between the pipes in the loss.

Utah was led by Colin Burke's seven-point performance (3g, 4a), while Jimmy Perkins added five points (4g, 1a). Goalies Liam Donnelly (12 saves) and Zion DeChesere (3 saves) split time in the crease and combined for 15 saves.

The Dolphins return to action on Friday, March 6 when they play host to Hampton at 7 p.m.