Laxcats avoid upset to Bruins
Coming to play the No.6 Arizona men's club lacrosse team means fast-paced, end-to-end action with little or no voice left at the end of the game.
UCLA arrived in Tucson yesterday to play a 1 p.m. game which had been delayed an hour due to rain.
The day had the word "slow" written all over it until a six-goal Arizona second half broke the Bruins' hopes and gave the Laxcats a 9-3 victory.
With Arizona (4-2) having played five games against top-25 opponents this season, the Bruins had intentions of pulling off their biggest upset of the year.
Bruins freshman Jonathan Yip opened the game with the first goal to wake up the Laxcats, who were still feeling the 12-1 defeat by No. 5 Michigan Wednesday.
Arizona soon found the neutral zone open up, as junior midfielder Brian Etheridge dashed down the field with counter attacks.
Once in Bruin territory, Arizona had trouble breaking down the UCLA defense. The Bruins were able to hold the Laxcats to a three-goal first half without committing a single penalty.
Persistent second efforts by UCLA prevented Arizona from finishing simple chances in the crease.
Scores by senior attackers Dave Sherman and Jed Godsey, and freshman Dave Foley began to slowly wear away the potential Bruin upset.
The Arizona defense kept UCLA scoreless for the remainder of the game, as the team recovered 36 ground balls in the second half.
The active Arizona midfield also battled, contributing to the momentum swing as Arizona netted six more goals to put the game out of reach.
"We just started squaring up and pressuring hard," said freshman Max Fleischman.
Arizona will play their conference openers this weekend in San Diego against San Diego State and UC-San Diego before heading into spring break.
"We've got to keep playing our style of game, keeping up the tempo," said Arizona head coach Ken Broschart. "These next two are must wins."
Ruggers left disappointed in SoCal showdowns
The Arizona men's rugby club team learned a lesson this weekend, as they fell 25-10 to Santa Barbara and 58-8 to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this weekend.
The Ruggers (5-6) went into the weekend looking to clinch the lone playoff spot out of the SoCal Conference for the regional playoffs. Wins would have boosted the team's chance at its sixth conference title in the last 10 years.
The Ruggers came out firing against the Gauchos on the unusual AstroTurf field in the old Gaucho football stadium.
The unusual playing surface, combined with the moist weather on the coast, proved to work against Arizona.
By the end of the first half, the Ruggers found themselves down 15-3.
The unsuccessful first half Friday was no better for Arizona yesterday, as again, Arizona gave up 15 first-half points and entered halftime scoreless.
"We never go down three tries," said senior team captain Justin Kunz. "It was just very difficult to recover."
Unfortunately for Arizona, both the Gauchos and Mustangs overpowered the Ruggers, as their backs became weary and fatigue settled in.
Both opponents controlled scrums, physically taking Arizona out of their matches.
"We were oversized by about 25 pounds per player today" said Arizona head coach Dave Sitton.
The sweep leaves Arizona with three losses and in third place in the conference, leaving the Wildcats a slim chance of making the playoffs.
"It was a very tough break," Kunz said. "There's really not much we can do."
Arizona plays ASU on March 26 in Tucson.