Laxcats face familiar foe in playoff semis

The California Golden Bears (14-1) saw UA when they were known as the "Sweet Sixteen" but now the Laxcats (8-6) have their experienced players back and are playing well.

"Cal is sleeping on us," senior captain Dave Ames said. "They think they have this game in the bag but they are going to be really surprised when we come into town Friday night."

The Laxcats, who defeated Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals 21-7 Saturday in Tucson, will be seeking revenge on a team who earlier in the season defeated them 15-10.

Cal is also ranked second in the USILA national poll.

"My feeling is that as the season progresses teams become better and we were not a good team when we played them, but I think we proved on Saturday that we are now a very good team," UA head coach Mickey-Miles Felton said.

The Laxcats have been trying to rectify a few elements of their game such as the faceoff and penalties. These are just some of the problems that sparked a win by Cal Feb. 28 in Tucson.

"We made a lot of stupid errors against them in the first game that cannot exist if we plan to win this game," Ames said.

Senior Chris Greco and freshman Matt Wilkins did not play in the first game. And junior Dan McCarthy, who is now an attackman, was a midfielder at the time.

"I think the guy that they don't really know about is Matt Wilkins," Felton said. "He makes our second midfield line very strong. We literally have two lines in which anyone can score goals. They also might not be prepared for McCarthy's speed on attack."

With junior Dan Price and Greco back at 100 percent or close to it, UA will be giving Cal a new look offensively with many more players to rotate in and out.

"With Danny and Greco back everything is starting to click," senior Max Webber said. "Everybody is starting to get comfortable again."