The No. 15 Arizona men’s club lacrosse team did not get the picture-perfect ending it dreamed of in the first game of its home stand thisÿweekend at Murphey Field at Lohse Stadium.

The Laxcats (8-4, 3-2 Western Collegiate Lacrosse League) suffered a heartbreaking loss to the South Division leader, No. 5 UC-San Diego (9-3, 5-2), 10-9 on Saturday but bounced back to beat San Diego State (4-7, 1-6) 15-5 yesterday.

The Arizona game against UCSD was close, with a few lead changes as the game went into the fourth quarter tied at six.

UCSD went on a four-goal run early in the fourth to take a 10-6 lead.

“”We had some mental lapses and some physical lapses during that span,”” said senior attackman Steve Luna. “”They are a good team, and they were able to take advantage.””

The Laxcats didn’t give up when falling behind by four goals early in the fourth. The potent offense was able to score three goals, but the team ran out of time, falling short by one goal.

“”If we would have had a few more minutes, I think we would have beat them,”” Luna said.

The players were upset, but they found it important to keep their heads up.

Senior close defender Carson Parmelee said he understands that the Laxcats have plenty of chances to make up for this loss.

“”Next week we play a high-ranked team in (No. 6) UC-Santa Barbara, and after that we have the conference tournament,”” Parmelee said. “”We have plenty of opportunity to make our case for an at-large bid.””

Arizona head coach Kenny Broschart said his team fought hard and stuck to the game plan.

The Laxcats were disappointed by the loss, but they weren’t going to let the last game keep them down.

“”We only lost by one goal to this great team,”” Parmelee said. “”This shows that we belong with the top teams in our conference.””

Broschart was adamant that his team didn’t dwell on the first loss and stay focused on San Diego State.

The Laxcats had an efficient day on offense, as they were able to score 15 goals, including five goals and one assist from Luna.

“”I don’t think this team was up to our caliber, and we played smart,”” Broschart said. “”We didn’t play down to their level, and that showed a lot of character.””