A busy Sunday of Major League Lacrosse action saw three close games that were all decided by four points or less. There was tremendous play across the board. Here’s my three stars of the weekend.
3. P.T. Ricci (Florida) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 9 groundballs
This is an out-of-the-box selection for the weekend’s No. 3 star, but look at P.T. Ricci’s stat line and it’s hard to argue. A defenseman/long-stick midfielder, Ricci made his presence felt at both ends of the field. He tallied a goal, assist and game-high nine groundballs. Florida won 19-of-30 faceoffs and held Chesapeake scoreless for a stretch of 11:37 bridging the third and four quarters, which allowed the Florida offense to score four straight goals and pull within 14-11 midway through the fourth quarter.
- Paul Rabil (New York) – 4 goals, 1 assist
Paul Rabil paced the New York offense on Sunday in a 14-10 win over Rochester to improve to 3-0 on the season. He finished with a game-high five points behind four goals and an assist, scoring once in the first quarter as the Lizards jumped out to a 5-2 lead after 15 minutes of play. Rabil added a second-quarter goal and assist to help his squad take an 8-2 advantage. Rochester pulled within 9-7 late in the third quarter, but a Rabil unassisted goal with just 2:32 remaining helped stop a 4-1 Rattlers’ run. With Rochester within 13-12, Rabil added a much-needed insurance goal with 5:35 remaining to make it 14-12, which proved to be the game’s final goal. Through three games this season, Rabil now owns an MLL-leading 14 points behind eight goals and six assists.
- Mike Sawyer (Charlotte) – 2 goals, including overtime game-winner
Mike Sawyer gets the weekend’s number one star because of the magnitude of his goal. Sawyer scored twice at Boston Saturday, but no goal was more important than his tally 2:21 into overtime as he took a feed from Thomas DeNapoli and ripped a shot from a step inside the two-point arc past Adam Ghitelman. Boston used a furious 4-0 run over the final six minutes to tie the score at 11 and force overtime, but Sawyer’s team-leading fifth goal of the season helped Charlotte even its record at 1-1.
