Texas Tames No. 7 Utah

SALT LAKE CITY -- Texas struck for three consecutive goals coming out of halftime, giving the visiting Longhorns an 8-4 lead they would ride to a 10-8 upset victory over No. 7 Utah on Thursday night.

Texas (11-1) senior middie Danny Koudelka led the way by converting a hat trick, with two of the goals coming in the decisive three-goal run at the beginning of the second that swamped Utah (10-4).

The Longhorns opened the game with two quick goals by Andrew Brown and Charlie Highum, but the Utes weathered the early push and countered with markers from Josh Stout and Ian Elson. The two teams traded goals at the end of the quarter to remain tied at threes.

Utah took its first -- and last -- lead of the game when Elson barrelled down the alley and bounced a shot past Texas netminder Ryan Tyrell. Connor Bailey tied the game back up at fours before John King gave the 'Horns a lead they would never lose at 5-4.

After Texas took its 8-4 lead in the third, Utah twice cut the Longhorns edge to two goals, including the final margin, but could not solve Tyrell, who had a monster game in goal.

“We got beat," said Utah coach Brian Holman. "Last time we lost, we regrouped, we really learned a lot and we’re going to take the same thing out of this and hopefully gain some momentum. They were better than us, and we’ll figure out what we need to do to get better moving forward.”

Texas continues its tour of the Beehive State when it faces No. 6 Brigham Young on Saturday in Provo at 1 p.m.