While southern Arizona bakes in the middle of a four-month drought, the No. 15 Arizona men’s club lacrosse team is ready to reverse the 1-4 dry spell that ended its 2005 season. The Laxcats will take on the Denver club lacrosse team Friday at 7 p.m. at Rincon Vista Field, and they are expecting rain in their season opener.

“”We want to get back to the top and start getting recognized again,”” said Arizona men’s lacrosse head coach Ken Broschart. “”Our offense is far improved from last year.””

Denver’s club lacrosse team plays second fiddle to the Division I varsity squad at its school, and although Broschart said that the Pioneers will not be “”as experienced or as committed as we are,”” he also added that the Laxcats are not expecting a cakewalk either.

“”There are going to be some good D-I players there,”” Broschart said. “”We need to get prepared and start playing as a whole.””

In past years, the Laxcats have stuck to a more conservative, defensive style of play, Broschart said, but the mixture of experience and leadership that is featured on the team could lead to a high scoring output this season.

“”We play a run-and-gun style of game,”” Broschart said.

Although this game doesn’t officially count toward Arizona’s league record, Broschart said it’s important in setting a tone for the season. He said he hopes his new offensive attack will bring the Laxcats victory in this game, which he compared to “”U of A football playing NAU.””

While Broschart said he does not expect to deviate from his planned season-starting lineup in this game, the team is looking for the younger players to step up and play well off the bench.

For first-time players like sophomore attackman Charlie Piermarini, the chance to finally start the season after so much preparation is invigorating, he said.

“”(I’m) definitely excited, nervous,”” he said. “”I know that all the hard work that we’ve been doing since the third week of school is going to pay off.””