Laxcats go 2-3 on spring break road trip

Keren Tully Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore midfielder Matt Wilkens (8) gets hit by a Chapman player March 7 at Wildcat Field. They won two out of five games last week.

Arizona opened the trip losing to Haverford March 12, 18-4.

Head coach Mickey-Miles Felton said the team played well in the first half, but disappeared in the third quarter. Haverford scored 10 goals in the quarter en route to the victory.

The Laxcats opened the next game against Whittier the way they ended the contest with Haverford.

Whittier jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first half, then added four more quick goals to start the second half.

"At that point in the game something seemed to click inside of us," Felton said.

The Laxcats put together a solid effort in the second half and the game ended with UA losing 16-8. Senior attackman Dan Price scored three fourth quarter goals. Felton said the team felt positive after the loss.

"It was one of those games in which the losing team was celebrating, and the winning team was discouraged," Felton said.

The Laxcats rode that momentum into their game against division opponent Loyola Marymount Wednesday. Arizona won 16-7 in putting a complete game together. Sophomore midfielder Matt Wilkens scored four goals, freshman attackman Matt Green scored five and Price had two goals and three assists in the victory.

Arizona continued to play well by defeating M.I.T. 9-5 Friday night.

The Laxcats played the next morning in a game against UC-Santa Barbara. Felton was upset with his team's inconsistency as the Laxcats fell 14-1.

"It is one thing to not show up, but now that we have proved we can play it is a little disheartening to lose," he said.

Felton said he was impressed with the play of defensemen Jeff Cady, Price and Green. Felton added that Green was awarded a starting job on offense for his play last week.

The Laxcats will search for more consistent play in games this weekend against UC-Davis and Santa Clara.

Rugby wins conference

The UA Rugby team continued its dominating play with a 54-0 win over Arizona State Friday, capturing the SoCal Conference title.

Several Wildcats scored tries in the win including inside player Jon Shumway, flanker Jeff Logan and wing Ken Goto.

Shumway said it wasn't hard for the team to get fired up for the game against ASU.

"We came out pretty steamed," he said.

With the victory, the Wildcats secured first place in their division and will travel to Colorado Springs for the playoffs next month.

Last year, the Wildcats fell short of a trip to Colorado Springs, but still managed to place third in the Cherry Blossom Tournament in Washington, D.C.

Arizona did suffer one loss in the game when Chris Kron went down with a separated shoulder. Kron, who spent last summer playing with the U.S. National team, has been a leader for the Wildcats all year.

The timetable for Kron's recovery from the injury has yet to be determined. - Chris Reimer