Behind another stifling defensive effort, Arizona's men's lacrosse teamed capped its regular season with an 11-3 victory Saturday night over Arizona State in Tempe.
Junior attackman Adam Paris tallied three goals and two assists for the Laxcats (12-3, 6-1 Western Collegiate Lacrosse League), who scored 10 or more goals for the eighth straight game - all Arizona victories.
Sun Devil attackman Jeff Pilon, who entered the match leading the WCLL with 46 assists, managed only one goalsetter against an Arizona defense seemingly bent on disrupting the Sun Devils' offensive flow. ASU's three goals were all scored full quarters apart, with junior midfielder Nick Cicchetti scoring netters in the first and fourth periods.
"The defense played great tonight, just as they have for the last five games," said Laxcats head coach Kenny Broschart.
Sophomore attackman Greg Polheber overcame a slow start to score three second-half goals against ASU (7-7, 3-4), which saw its three-game winning streak snapped. Polheber, whose 4.20 points per game ranks fourth in the WCLL, also notched an assist.
Polheber came alive in the final quarter, pushing the Laxcats' lead to six only 12 seconds in. Then, after Cicchetti made it 9-3 with 10:42 remaining, Polheber dove to catch a low feed from freshman attackman Harrison Crawford. Still falling, he slipped the ball under the legs of goalie Ethan Furtek, much to the delight of the Arizona sideline.
Junior midfielder Dave Sherman ended Arizona's scoring goal with less than three minutes left.
"They were intimidated," said team president Mickey Miles-Felton of the Devils. "You could see it in their eyes."
The night began as a bit of a gaffe for the Laxcats, who had offensive struggles of their own early on. Jeems Lochridge gave Arizona the lead for good with a wrister in the game's first minute, but blustery winds and near-freezing Tempe temperatures inhibited ball movement for most of the match.
Nevertheless, Paris followed Lochridge with two goals in the first period, later completing his hat trick with six minutes to go in the second period and the Laxcats up 5-1.
Lochridge finished with one goal and two assists, while fellow senior Tom Wiley chipped in two goals, both unassisted.
"The offense had to get adjusted first," Broschart said. "We just needed to iron things out a bit."
Notes: Crawford started his first game on the front line Saturday, finishing with one assist. He was permanently shifted from midfield after starter Christian Burrows was dropped from the team due to academic ineligibility. In his first season with Arizona, Burrows ranked fourth in scoring with 33 points ... After the game, many Laxcats took issue with the Gilbert High School turf, which became littered with nearby trash at certain points throughout the game. One player said the mostly-dirt field was "tough to cut on." ... Yuma native Sean Kerley returned from injury to take Burrows' former jersey number, while hometown kid Steve Luna delighted the decidedly pro-UA crowd with a goal seven minutes into the third period.