Laxcats win brawl with Buffaloes

The Laxcats were beating up on teams all weekend, and it didn't stop after the final whistle blew.

Yesterday, in a 15-7 win over the No. 12 Colorado Buffaloes, the Laxcats' and Buffaloes' benches cleared as time expired. A fight ensued and it took both coaching staffs and referees several minutes to separate both squads.

"It was an intense game and my guys didn't back down," head coach Adam Hopkins said. "We kind of have a rivalry with CU and it was an intensity-driven fight."

There were no ejections and both teams made amends several minutes later by shaking hands.

UA was led by a strong defensive effort, headed by sophomore Tom Wiley and some crucial goal-scoring by junior midfielder Bryan Moore. Moore led all Laxcats scorers with six points.

The Laxcats (11-1, 5-0) scored the first three goals of the game and never trailed. UA was able to create scoring opportunities on fast breaks, including a goal late in the fourth quarter when sophomore attackman Jeems Lockridge found Moore on the break for a goal.

"We played really well," Moore said. "We stepped up for this one."

The Laxcats also beat the University of Illinois, 16-9, Friday night.

UA dominated the game from start to finish and never trailed.

Senior attackman Jay Spatafora led the team with seven points on the weekend. Junior attackman Josh Morrison had six points and junior attackman Charlie Mink had five points, all of which were goals.

"We are starting to play more full games," Hopkins said. "We are getting closer to putting a complete game together every time."

Moore agreed.

"Every game we are building and learning," he said.

The Laxcats will continue play tomorrow when they take on Santa Clara at 7 p.m. at Laxcat Field.

"We are doing what we know we can do," Hopkins said. "These were big wins for us, but we've got more coming up."

Rugby tramples ASU, wins 14th consecutive meeting

The Wildcat rugby team ran its current win streak over Arizona State to 14 games this weekend with a 59-15 win.

With the win, UA (7-7, 5-3) finished third in the SoCal Conference standings and avoided finishing behind the Sun Devils for the first time in league history.

"(The winning streak) is something we take very seriously," head coach Dave Sitton said. "We are enjoying it immensely and would like to keep it going as long as we can."

Sitton said the Wildcat defense was a big factor in the win.

"The defense was stifling. Every time they got the ball, they had no place to go with it," he said.

The Wildcats had a balanced scoring attack, with nine tries coming from seven different players.

They were led in scoring by senior center Joe Schmitt and junior wing Mike McCartney, who each scored two tries.

Sitton said the team is a little disappointed with the third-place finish because only the top two teams make the postseason.

The Wildcats lost three conference games this season, two of them by a combined six points.

"It's frustrating," Sitton said. "We are six points away from the playoffs."

UA has finished their conference schedule, but will continue play tomorrow at 4 p.m. against Air Force at Estevan Park.