The No. 8 Arizona club lacrosse team headed into the weekend with its eyes on the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League championship trophy, only to end the weekend just short of its high hopes.
The Laxcats (12-5) were defeated by No. 3 Sonoma State (14-3) in the finals yesterday 7-3 after squeaking by No. 11 Cal Poly (11-6) 11-10 with an overtime goal by junior midfielder Harrison Crawford on Saturday in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The Laxcats knew they were facing a team that prides itself on the same thing they do: hard work.
Sonoma State’s slogan, “”blue collar lacrosse,”” implies that hard-working attitude, and it was evident the team’s work was paying off as they received the most All-League selections in the conference, including one from almost every position.
The Seawolves were able to walk the walk in the finals against Arizona.
“”They are a really strong team that works hard,”” said Carson Parmelee, a senior close defender and the defensive captain. “”We were held to three goals, and unfortunately you have to hold them to two to win the game.””
Along with hard work, the Seawolves also shared a common game plan with the Laxcats, which was holding the ball on offense to wait for a good shot and to play tough defense.
“”That’s what makes this game interesting,”” Parmelee said. “”We are both very similar teams.””
After being held to less than five goals for the first time in the season, the Laxcats were denied their bid to win the WCLL.
Crawford, senior midfielder Brian Etheredge and sophomore attackman Christian Burrows each scored a goal in the championship game, but it was not enough to come out on top.
The offense had its work cut out for it yesterday when trying to score on one of the best goalies in the WCLL, junior Warren Pringle, who’s a first-team All-WCLL selection at his position.
“”We got plenty of shots,”” Arizona head coach Kenny Broschart said. “”Their goalie was blocking everything we shot.””
Broschart said he knows his team fought hard on their run.
“”They were a really good team,”” he said. “”I think we could have shot better and been a little more aggressive, but that goalie was really on his game.””
The Laxcats’ defense played a strong game as usual, but two early Sonoma State goals set the pace for the game, Parmelee said.
Broschart also said he felt good about the defense’s play.
“”They played an unbelievable game,”” Broschart said. “”It is a shame that they let those three goals get by early, but the rest of the game they played very solid.””
Although Arizona suffered this loss, they still have a lot to look forward to as the National Championships begin May 10 in Dallas, Texas.
“”We are still going to work hard,”” Parmelee said. “”We are upset about this loss, but hopefully we can get a solid set of five practices in before we go to Texas and perform well there.””
