ASU took hold of its postseason fate Saturday night, upsetting the No. 7 Arizona men's club lacrosse team 9-6 before a crowd of mixed bloods at Murphy Stadium.
A tale of two halves began after Arizona (7-4, 3-2 Western Collegiate Lacrosse League) sat comfortably with a 5-2 halftime lead.
The Sun Devils (5-7, 3-3) bounced back to halt every ounce of the Laxcats' momentum, scoring four goals in the third quarter, two of which were by sophomore midfielder Jason Bellar.
"We gave them an inch, and they took it," said Arizona junior defender Carson Parmelee.
Parmelee tied the game with several minutes left in the third quarter, but as the game dwindled down, Arizona's offense began to fall out of sync with missed passes and ground balls.
"It's a shame. We just had so many good looks," said senior attackman Dave Sherman.
The Sun Devils played a fast-paced style, keeping Arizona on their toes without any time to recover.
Both teams tried to gain advantages with big hits, including one made by junior midfielder Brian Etheridge that crunched Bellar early in the fourth period.
Both teams exchanged shoves early on, as players tried to get into one another's heads during sideline substitutions.
The crowd roared as both sides tried to drown out the sound of the other.
"It's really a nice thing when we're able to get that many fans out," said Sherman.
Senior attackman Greg Polheber scored a goal 33 seconds into the game, taking a feed from junior attackman Adam Paris.
Paris added a goal right before halftime as ASU goaltender Jake Delashmit tried to clear the zone.
As Paris waved his stick above his head, trying to block Delashmit's release, the goaltender flipped the ball right into Paris' stick. Paris threw a single fake and tucked the ball snuggly inside the left post.
The loss leaves Arizona, which had entered the weekend in a three-way tie for first in the conference, with a WCLL quarterfinal matchup against No. 4 UC Santa Barbara April 23.