With nine teams in the MLL, that means there are only nine starting spots for goalies. We truly get to see the best goalies in the world play each week. But it’s Wednesday, which means we have to narrow that nine down to three for the keepers of the week. The best of the best:
First Star—John Galloway
If you saw the Rattlers demolish the Outlaws Saturday night this one comes at no surprise to you. Rochester’s entire squad was firing on all cylinders that night in Denver. Galloway was ice cold between the pipes. He held the Outlaw’s offense to only a mere 10 goals while netting 17 saves. In comparison to our next two stars, the save number may seem a bit small but anytime you hold an MLL team to 10 goals it calls for praise. Besides the save stats Galloway also ran his defense and was pretty rock solid on clears for Rochester. An all around great performance.
Second Star—Tyler Fiorito
Despite being handed an overtime loss, Fiorito is my second star of the week. It is never easy coming into enemy territory and having a big day at the crease. Especially when that enemy is the defending MLL Champions, The New York Lizards, featuring one of the best offensive squads in the league. Not to mention one of the most known names in lacrosse, Paul Rabil.
Despite all of this, Fiorito stood tall. The keeper from Princeton had a staggering 36 shots against and netted a whopping 23 saves for the day. While he did allow 13 goals against (one of them being an overtime dagger) he came up big for the Cannons. If Boston had anyone else in net we wouldn’t be talking about an overtime thriller. We would be talking about the Lizards running away with the game.
Third Star—Drew Adams
Adams held fast again for the Lizards this week, earning the third star. With the Lizards-Cannons rivalry developing, each game is going to be a hard fought battle. Adams is easily a factor as to why the Lizards came up with the huge W. Thirty-one shots against and 20 saves is remarkable in this sniper-filled league. Not to mention standing tall in overtime and shutting the Cannons offense down, allowing for a New York victory.
Although Adams got the big win I gave the second star to Fiorito. Fiorito went against an offense who has been hot all season and Paul Rabil. Boston’s defense was decent all game but without Fiorito coming up big the game would not have been as close. The Lizards defense held together better than the Cannons, giving Adams a slightly easier time in net. Not to take away from his amazing performance though. The decision between these two for the second star was very close. Even though he did not get the third star, Adams had a spectacular day in net.
