LOS ANGELES - The Arizona men's lacrosse team opened its season at the 2018 Pac-12 Shootout at UCLA and returned home to Tucson with a 1-1 split.

The Wildcats dropped their first game to No. 8 Utah on Saturday afternoon, 16-5 before rebounding with a 10-7 victory over USC on Sunday.

Against the Utes, goals were tough to come by. A few bright spots on the day were senior attackman Colton Lloyd managing a hat trick, while attackman Jeff Howard and midfielder Jayden Chandran would each notch a goal apiece.

Arizona had a quick turn around to face USC on Sunday in an early morning contest.

The Trojans struck first, capitalizing on a fast break to take a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats answered with senior Jeff Howard tying the game at 1-1. Momentum kept stayed with Arizona as it rattled off four straight goals.

Arizona wouldn't trail the rest of the way.

Notable performances on the afternoon included Howard's hat trick and strong work out of midfielders Shane Crownhart (2g, 1a), Zach Rogers (1g, 2a) and Alec Moen (1g, 1a).

Particularly impressive was faceoff specialist Ben Callaghan, who won 14-of-21 draws (67%) and freshman goalie Wyatt Hill tallying 17 (71%) saves.

"We have a lot to take away from this weekend...good, bad and ugly," said first-year Arizona coach Matt Blamey. "Being humbled early in the year can be a great thing. Utah did just that. We have some great film to review and a lot to improve upon.

"I am proud of how our team reacted to a tough loss and rebounded on Sunday. We had some tremendous individual efforts and it's a great sign when seven of 10 goals are assisted. USC was a well-coached team and put up a heck of a fight."

The 'Cats will hit the road to Las Vegas for another back-to-back weekend. Arizona will take on SLC foe UNLV on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Then on Saturday the U of A will square off against the Wolfpack from Nevada. Faceoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.