CHRYSTAL McCONNELL/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman attackman Dan Sturm and the No. 6 Laxcats swept UCLA and Loyola Marymont in the opening weekend for the Lacrosse team.

Sandwiched between games with No. 21 UCLA and No. 2 Colorado State, the men's lacrosse team's match-up with Loyola Marymount had all the makings of a letdown, but the Laxcats rallied in the second half to win 8-6, led by limping All-American senior Bryan Moore.

The No. 6 Laxcats (2-0, 2-0) opened the weekend with a blowout of No. 21 UCLA, 15-5, but found themselves down 2-0 to unranked Loyola Marymount after the first quarter and 4-1 after the second.

"I originally wasn't supposed to play; I really can't walk," Moore said. "Thankfully I have a couple of days off."

In limited time, Moore still scored three goals including the team's second goal before halftime, which cut the deficit to two.

"He actually wasn't going to play at all. He got the game ball, he told me, 'I want to go out there and play,'" said head coach Adam Hopkins. "He played a great game."

Going into the LMU game, Hopkins was concerned about the possibility of a letdown.

"I was a little worried about it," Hopkins said. "I don't know if it was an actual letdown or if we just didn't think that team was that good."

After going down 4-1, the Laxcats reeled off six goals to take control of the game.

"We started playing smart lacrosse, the way we know how," Hopkins said. "In the beginning they threw a different scheme at us that we couldn't really handle too much, but we eventually recognized it."

Junior attackman Jeems Lochridge lead the way against LMU with five assists and sophomore attackman Mike Ravid had two goals and two assists.

The Lions made the end of the game interesting with two goals in the fourth quarter. LMU even had a chance to tie it, driving down the field with 30 seconds to go, but after a save by sophomore goalie Sean Koffel, the Laxcats stormed down the field and finished off Loyola Marymount with a goal by defender Tom Wiley.

Moore will be able to play against Colorado State, Hopkins said.

"The trainer thought with a couple of days off I should be fine," Moore said.

Arizona also beat UCLA in a battle between highly regarded sophomore goalies. It was a long day for UCLA's All-American goaltender Spencer Fivelson, who eventually was pulled.

The Laxcats took many of their starters out in the fourth quarter, beginning with Koffel. Arizona dominated the game so much that backup goalie sophomore Greg Abdouch had as many saves - five - as Koffel.

The Laxcats led a balanced attack against UCLA. Five players tied for the lead in points, with three.

"The defense played phenomenally all weekend," Hopkins said. "The offense did what I expected."

It was important to get the two wins, because in the race with rival UC Santa Barabra, one game could mean the difference between first place in the division and second, Moore said.

"With the conference wins, you just have to get them," Moore said.

The Laxcats will step out of Western Collegiate Lacrosse League action to host No. 2 Colorado at home this Saturday.