The No. 8 Arizona men’s club lacrosse team advanced to the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League semifinals for the first time since 2004 when the Laxcats beat No. 24 UCLA 11-3 Saturday at Murphey Field at Lohse Stadium.

If Arizona’s hopes of advancing to the WCLL Championship are to come to fruition, the Laxcats will have to defeat No. 11 Cal Poly on Saturday in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Looking to avenge the Laxcats’ 10-7 victory at their home field on March 13, UCLA (10-5) played tough throughout the game, but in the end it was not enough to knock off the streaking Arizona team, which has won four straight contests and eight of its last 10.

“”They were a good team,”” said Carson Parmelee, a senior close defender and defensive captain. “”They fought hard, and they definitely will be back next year.””

The Laxcats held the Bruins to the lowest score of the season, beating by two the previous low, achieved when they held San Diego State to five on April 2.

Although the Laxcats controlled the game, Arizona head coach Kenny Broschart was not too impressed with his team’s play.

“”We really didn’t play a good game, and we were all over the place,”” he said. “”We didn’t play a sharp game, but we played hard.””

The Laxcats have grown accustomed to relying on their offense, as they have only won one game this season when not putting up double-digit goals. The Laxcats’ attackmen didn’t let the team down, as they were able to score 10 or more goals for the ninth time this season.

Senior midfielder Brian Etheredge scored four goals, and junior Harrison Crawford added three goals and one assist.

Senior attackman Steve Luna was pleased with the Laxcats’ play on offense Saturday.

“”We trusted one another, and we worked hard to get the ball,”” Luna said. “”We were able to avoid their pressure and score goals.””

As usual, the potent Laxcat offense overshadowed the solid defensive effort.

Nevertheless, Arizona has not allowed a team to score in double figures since March 24, when they gave up 18 goals at No. 1 Michigan.

“”Ever since that midseason breakdown at Michigan we have been a different team,”” Parmelee said. “”We are also starting to believe in each other now, and we are playing at a high level.””