By
Jeff Lund
Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA loses in league semifinals, consolation game
Arizona's lacrosse team was again bitten by top teams this weekend.
California, ranked No. 5, edged the Laxcats 9-8 in the consolation game Sunday after No. 4 Sonoma State crushed the Cats 22-9 in the semifinal game on Saturday.
"It was pretty disappointing," sophomore Kevin Eyre said of the loss to Sonoma State. "We didn't come out that strong."
The Cossacks dominated Saturday's game, controlling the ball for much of the game and putting overwhelming pressure on the Laxcat defense.
"We didn't really run the offense," Eyre said. "There was a lot of pressure on our defense. Seventy-five percent of the time the ball was on our defense's side. Having the ball down there, they controlled the game and just kept putting goals in."
Looking to rebound, the Laxcats took on a tough Cal team Sunday only to fall to the Golden Bears in overtime despite carrying a one-man advantage into the extra period.
Cal scored the game-winning goal shortly after returning to full strength.
"In the Cal game, we played a lot better," Eyre said. "The seniors came into the game and realized they might not have many games left. They scored some big goals. We had a good opportunity, but we couldn't score."
Eyre said the loss to the Golden Bears may have actually given the Laxcats a little boost despite coming up short.
"To hang with Cal gave us confidence," Eyre said. "We were down after the Colorado trip and after the start of this trip. Playing well kind of gave us a spark."
With the two losses, the Laxcats slipped to 11-6 and their once-strong grip on a bid to the National Championships has loosened, but Eyre hopes the spark gained after the Cal game will ignite a fire if the Laxcats are selected to the St. Louis tournament.
"It is kind of up in the air," Eyre said. "We think we have a good chance."
Eyre said he is a little worried about the team's chances because of the lack of quality wins this season.
"I don't think we have done all that much," Eyre said. "We beat Auburn when they were ranked pretty high, and we beat UC-Santa Barbara. Other than playing Cal though, that's it."
The fate of the Laxcats will now fall upon the lacrosse selection committee, who will make selections tonight for the National Championship tournament.
The Laxcats' brutal schedule, ranked as the eighth toughest in the country, included clashes with eight top-20 teams, in which the Laxcats managed only three wins.
