Emotions should ride high at 1 p.m. tomorrow, when the No. 7 Arizona men's club lacrosse team battles No. 4 University of California, Santa Barbara.
Arizona (7-2, 2-0 Western Collegiate Lacrosse League) tries to bounce back from two heart-wrenching defeats suffered last season against the Gauchos (12-2, 3-0 WCLL).
The Laxcats fell to UCSB 9-8 in Tucson during the regular season and fell 11-1 in the WCLL championship game.
The Gauchos are expected to come into the game strong after losing to No. 3 BYU last month.
Since the loss, UCSB has scored 22 goals in two games.
Meanwhile, the Laxcats continue to recover from their 7-6 win against No. 18 Chapman March 25.
"This should be a great test for us, but I think we're very prepared," said Arizona head coach Ken Broschart.
Senior midfielder, William Patton, who is one of the conference's scoring leaders with 20 goals, leads the Gaucho offense.
Patton pairs with senior attackman Luke Wilson, the 2004 WCLL offensive player of the year.
UCSB is known for its aggressive play covering both ends of the field.
To counter, Arizona plans to swarm on defense and prevent penetration toward the goal.
"We're just going to play our game and make adjustments as necessary," Broschart said.
The Laxcats welcome back freshman attackman Eric Poole, who missed time with a foot injury.