Laxcats' season comes to harsh close

The Laxcats' (8-8 overall) season and the careers of seniors Dave Ames, Chris Stinson, Kevin O'Donnell, Max Webber and Chris Greco came to an abrupt end in Northern California at the hands of the eventual Western Collegiate Lacrosse League champion California. UA lost to Cal 21-6 in the semifinals of the WCLL playoffs Friday evening.

"It just wasn't a fun weekend," Ames said. "We went in with a goal to win a championship and get to St. Louis to play for the national championship and we ended up on a plane with our tails between our legs."

The Bears were powered by five goals from senior attackmen J.P. Harbour and 13 other players who graced the stat book.

The Laxcats, who earlier in the season lost to Cal 14-10 in Tucson, had many opportunities in the first quarter to score some goals but just could not find the cage.

"We never got into the flow of the game," UA head coach Mickey-Miles Felton said. "One of the things we have been successful with is controlling the ball and not panicking. We did not play that way at all on Friday."

After getting annihilated by Cal, the Laxcats had the third place game Saturday to try and redeem themselves but they failed again, losing 12-10 to the Sonoma State Cossacks, who lost to the eventual runner-up Whittier Poets 11-8 in the semifinals.

"It was a much better game, even though it didn't have a lot meaning, but we came out hard looking for some pride and salvation," Ames said.

UA went into Stockton, Calif., on a high after a dominating 21-7 decision over Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals, but that didn't last too long as they were down 12-3 at the half against Cal.

"By beating LMU like we did it made us think we were better than we were," Felton said. "We played reverse roles in the LMU game and the Cal game."

The Laxcats fell short of the goals they were trying to attain this year, which included winning the WCLL and heading back to St. Louis to play in the national spotlight for the championship.

"What I am feeling is disappointment but there were still a lot of players playing golf last weekend while we were in the thick of things," Felton said. "We accomplished tremendous things this season under the circumstances and we have no reason to hold our heads down."