Games continued to be close this past weekend with a pair of one-goal games and a pair of three-goal contests. Here are my three stars from the weekend that was.
3) Brian Phipps (Ohio) – 14 saves, 6 in fourth quarter
Brian Phipps finished Sunday’s 12-9 win at Chesapeake with 14 saves, none bigger than six he made in the fourth quarter to thwart off a furious Bayhawks’ comeback attempt. The Machine went up 11-6 midway through the third quarter before Chesapeake scored three straight goals to pull within two after 45 minutes of play. Peter Baum scored 9:59 into the fourth quarter to add insurance, but the story of the quarter was Phipps who stopped all six shots sent his way to help Ohio wrap up its first win of the season while handing Chesapeake its first loss. For the season, Phipps owns a 12.00 goals against average and .550 save percentage.
2) Paul Rabil (New York) – 3 goals, 2 2-pt goals, 2 assists
After tallying two points in the season opener, Paul Rabil has posted five or more points in each of the last three games. He tied a season high with seven points at Boston Sunday to lead New York to a 15-14 win. Rabil opened the scoring just 2:06 into the game with his first of two two-pointers on the day. Rabil added a two-pointer in the third quarter to help the Lizards take a 14-11 lead at the end of three quarters. The Johns Hopkins alum turned five shots on goal into three goals. Rabil leads the MLL with 21 points and New York is MLL’s only undefeated team at 4-0 on the young season.
1) Jordan MacIntosh (Rochester) – 4 goals, 1 assist, game-winning overtime goal
In his first game of the season after wrapping up his National Lacrosse League season with Minnesota on Saturday, Jordan MacIntosh made a splash. The RIT alum tallied a game-high five points, but more important than any point total was the magnitude of his fourth goal as MacIntosh scored 1:01 into overtime to give his Rattlers a 10-9 win. Rochester had led 9-6 early in the fourth quarter, but the Launch finished the game on a 3-0 run over the final 13:46 of regulation. MacIntosh erased any doubt with his unassisted overtime goal as Rochester improved to 2-2 on the season.
