Armen Aprahamian

Though Cal was able to tough out the deluge in Lowell, they couldn’t shake the cold in Storrs, Connecticut on Friday.

Moving away to college can be rough on students, especially when school is far from home. Luckily enough for redshirt sophomore Eliza Christman, her team will be accompanying her on a trip back to her hometown.

This alternative tactic, however, worked to perfection as the team channeled this fire to dismantle Mercer, 18-8.

Most observers will tell you that lacrosse is an East Coast game, considering its roots as a Native American sport there. But Cal would like to dispute that claim.

For their second game, Cal played host to San Diego State; the two schools have apparently made it an annual tradition to determine their matchups by the final possession.

The framework is now in place, the system has been built and offseason sweat has been spilled. For Cal women’s lacrosse, it’s all about stepping up to the plate with that “winner’s mentality.” At least, that’s what the players will tell you.

But by the end of the season, under new head coach Justin Wilcox, hope had replaced lowly prospects for the season, and the voice of the cynic had been muffled.

The Bears won the starting sprint, but faster than Bryce Love’s 57-yard touchdown sucked the life out of the Cal student section, Stanford was up 3-0 and Cal badly needed an answer.

On paper, both teams are very similar. Cal and Stanford have split their head-to-head matchups this season. The Cardinal have one more loss than the Bears, but neither team has lost by more than 2 goals. Stanford only has the higher seed based on the technicality that its first head-to-head matchup with Cal was a nonconference game.