Forget that the decisive goal in Michigan's 10-9 victory over the Arizona men's lacrosse team March 13 was guarded well (it deflected off goalie Charlie Salemi's helmet into the net). Ignore the fact that the Laxcats pounded Michigan State 16-9 the next day in arctic East Lansing.
With a trio of conference games in Los Angeles this weekend, the Laxcats need to show some big "C" to re-establish residence in the win column.
Here's a hint: It isn't "claws."
"We play with our character, and we should beat the remaining teams on our schedule," head coach Kenny Broschart said. "But if we go back to last year's character, then we'll be ending up in the doghouse again."
By "again," Broschart points to last year's team. Through eight games last season, Arizona stood a salivating 7-1. But with a playoff berth fixed clearly in the foreground, the Laxcats dropped seven of their final nine games, falling short of the postseason.
No. 6 Arizona (5-3, 0-1 Western Collegiate Lacrosse League) isn't counting on a letdown tomorrow against Chapman (7-0, 3-0). Despite a seamless record thus far, the eighth-ranked Panthers could show fatigue from their Tuesday match against Oregon.
Broschart remains cautious.
"We have to go into the game and play our style and just stop them from playing theirs," he said.
The Laxcats square off against No.18 Loyola Marymount (8-3, 2-1) Sunday. Headed by attackman Jon Wiley, who leads the WCLL in scoring with 69 points, the Lions shellacked Pacific Lutheran 19-6 Sunday.
In a rematch more than a year in the making, Arizona will face UCLA Monday. The Bruins (2-7, 0-4) last battled the Laxcats Feb. 8, 2003 in a 15-5 season-opening Arizona victory that cued the team's first-half run.
With their conference schedule heating up - and another playoff berth within their reach - the Laxcats hope a similar streak starts this weekend.
"If we play our brand of lacrosse, we should sweep the whole weekend," Broschart said. "But if we don't come to play, any of the three teams can beat us."
Senior midfielder Jeems Lochridge believes Arizona needs another "C" to stay on the winning track: consistency.
"We need to establish ourselves so that once we get up, we keep doing what we're doing, not trying to get fancy or do anything different," Lochridge said. "We need to blow opponents out of the water completely."