The No. 8 Arizona club lacrosse team will make its fourth playoff appearance in as many years as it takes on No. 24 UCLA at 1 p.m. in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League quarterfinals tomorrow at Murphey Field at Lohse Stadium.
The Laxcats (10-4, 5-2 WCLL) will try to advance past the quarterfinals for the second time in that span when they face UCLA (10-5, 5-4) for the second time this season.
Arizona squeaked past the Bruins in the first meeting between the two clubs by a score of 10-7 in
March 13 in Los Angeles. The Laxcats are looking forward to playing at home, which might very well be their biggest advantage, said Carson Parmelee, senior close defender and defensive captain.
“”Them coming here changes everything,”” he said. “”They have to travel (today), wake up early (tomorrow), we will have our loud fan base, and it will be over 90 degrees here.
“”Being home is huge for us.””
Arizona senior attackman Steve Luna said he sees the team sticking to what has been working for in the past couple games.
“”They have a few good players, so I imagine we are going to try and keep the ball away from them and to hold the ball on our offensive end,”” he said.
Arizona head coach Kenny Broschart said he knows that UCLA has a much-improved defense since the two teams last played and thinks his players are going to have their hands full.
Luna also said that his team is playing against a tough defense, but he is not letting that get to him.
“”We have played against great defenses before and yet none have yet to shut us down,”” he said.
Although the performance of Arizona’s offense is important, Parmelee never underestimates how important a sold defense is.
“”We need to believe in each other and play as a team,”” he said.
In the last meeting, the Laxcats were fortunate to escape with the victory as they played a sloppy and penalty-infested game.
The Laxcats found themselves man down for a substantial part of the game, so they are looking to avoid that on Saturday.
“”We really need to cut down on the penalties this time,”” Parmelee said. “”We need to play smart and as a team.””