Laxcats take on Chapman with home playoff game on the line

In order for the No. 5 Laxcats (9-2, 9-1 in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League) to have another home game, they must win this weekend which would allow them to host one of the WCLL's quarterfinal matches on April 19.

Over the last few years, No. 4 Chapman has gone from a pretender to one of the top contending teams in the conference, Laxcats head coach Mickey-Miles Felton said.

The last time these two teams got together, they split with each team winning on the other's home field. The Laxcats won 15-14 in overtime in California, while Chapman took the Tucson match 8-5.

"Chapman is coming here playing better than they have all season," Felton said. "They do not want to come back here and play in two weeks, either, so this is as crucial of a game as any we will play all season"

The winner of the match will be the WCLL's No. 2 seed and will host the quarterfinal. The loser will be the No. 3 seed and will have to play on the road for three straight weeks.

"(We) would like to give our players one more home match, and hope to come out with momentum," Felton said.

The Laxcats did get a bit of good news this week when they found out that they were awarded a victory by forfeit over California-Davis on March 2. The win was given because Davis was using an inelligible player who ended up scoring four goals in the fourth quarter, Felton said.

The Laxcats will be out on the Mall today selling team t-shirts and encouraging students to come out to the match tomorrow.