Laxcats advance in WCLL playoffs

"Some of the players told me that I was talking in my sleep, but I had so much adrenaline that I was just ready for the team to play the game," he said.

Felton should not have a problem catching a few winks tonight with his team's 24-15 victory over Chapman on Saturday behind him.

The win sends Arizona to the WCLL semifinals against Sonoma State at 5:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon in San Diego, Calif. The win also avenges an earlier loss to the Panthers in Tucson on April 5.

The Laxcats beat Sonoma State once this year, a 12-11 overtime thriller. Sonoma State made it to the semifinals after beating Stanford, 28-13.

The Laxcats got off to a 5-3 lead but trailed 8-5 when the Panthers scored five goals in a span of 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The Laxcats ended the streak when Chris Greco scored a goal off an assist from Lawrence Bass with five seconds left in the first quarter to turn around the game and cut the lead to 8-6.

Arizona came back to tie the game and take the lead for good when they outscored the Panthers, 6-2 in the second quarter and took the lead at halftime, 12-10.

In the third quarter the pace shifted to a pace the Laxcats knew they could handle against the larger Panthers. The Laxcats played keep-away and scored six goals to extend the lead to 18-12 after three.

The Laxcats also used their newly implemented defense and won 90 percent of their face-offs to earn the victory. They held the Panthers to only three goals in the second half.

"Our defense was solid today and we were able to get in their heads," junior defensemen Dave Ames said. "The win boosts our confidence level and gives us motivation toward the WCLL championship."