After a week break, the MLL has rebooted itself this past weekend as it heads into the second of three “terms” this season. Who are the league leaders in each statistic thus far heading into Week 5 of MLL action? Here is a breakdown of each statistic.
Points: Casey Powell, A, Florida Launch
Powell has put his money where his mouth is. After helping move the MLL team formally known as the Hamilton Nationals to Florida, Casey has played every single game this season after seemingly playing only two last year. He has recemented himself as the best player in the league as he leads the league with 25 points. His 25 points is one ahead of Paul Rabil who has 24. Powell’s spectacular play has kept Florida from losing Joe Walters in the offseason.
Goals: Eric Law, A, Denver Outlaws and Kevin Buchanan, A, Boston Cannons
It is like young meets old as Law enters his second year in the league while Buchanan enters his ninth season. Both players have 15 goals and are two of the game’s best at finishing when the ball gets into their sticks. We shouldn’t be surprised by Law as he torched the Hounds last year in the MLL Championship Weekend Semifinal game to the tune of seven goals. Meanwhile, Buchanan has scored 106 goals in his last five seasons.
Assists: Paul Rabil, M, Boston Cannons
Rabil continues to be one of, if not, the best player in the MLL. From the midfield spot, he has 15 assists, one ahead of Casey Powell for the league lead. He attracts so much attention from up top that teams will slide as soon as he starts to run at the cage. He is equally adept at finding open teammates for easy shots as he is at creating his own. We are watching a truly great player.
Two-point goals: Jeremy Sieverts, M, Denver Outlaws
Not a shocker here. Sieverts had six of them last season and seven the year before. He has proven himself to be a true sniper from the outside. Teams know it and still can’t stop him from painting corners. Sieverts has three so far this season, one ahead of Rochester Rattler defenseman Mike Manley.
Shooting Percentage: Eric Law, A, Denver Outlaws and Casey Powell, A, Florida Launch
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that these players are tied for the top mark in the league. Both players have a shooting percentage of .500 so far! Law has scored 15 goals on 30 shots while Powell has scored 11 goals on 22 shots. There are players above them but they have three shots on goal so they don’t count. With both being attackmen, it makes sense that their percentages would be so high as they get great looks from around the crease and other high percentage areas.
Faceoff Percentage: Greg Gurenlian, FO, New York Lizards
The Beast is living up to his name as he has controlled the faceoff X and has given the Lizards and their offense plenty of possessions. Gurenlian is 85-of-138 on the season which translates to a .616 win percentage. For him to be winning that much at the top level of lacrosse says just how dominant he is for the Lizards. He outmuscles opponents and can also win it forward to spark the fastbreak.
Ground balls: Greg Gurenlian, FO, New York Lizards
Not really fair as he creates all the ground ball opportunities off of faceoffs but even so you still have to collect the ball off the ground once you win it so kudos to him for not being afraid to get down and dirty. He has a league-high 37 of them so far this season, four more than John Ortolani of the Rochester Rattlers. Being one of the best faceoff men in the game should see him build on that number all year.
Side note, if you want to know which player has the most ground balls that isn’t a faceoff guy, then the award goes to defeneseman Joel White of the Rochester Rattlers who has 29.
Saves: Brett Queener, G, Florida Launch
Queener has 72 saves on the season which is one more than Jesse Schwartzman on the season. He has been a reason why the Launch are 3-2 this season and he ranks in the top third in the league in save percentage. Queener has seen a lot of rubber this year and some games it looks like the Launch could’ve been blown out if not for him.
Save Percentage: Jesse Schwartzman, G, Denver Outlaws
Not a surprise to see the reigning goalie of the year as the leader in this statistical category, right? Schwartzman has picked up right where he left off and leads the league with a .607 save percentage. Scott Rodgers of the Ohio Machine comes in second with .600. Schwartzman seems like a man on a mission as he and the Outlaws continue their league record regular season consecutive game winning streak as they look to avenge last year’s loss in the semifinals of MLL Championship Weekend.
Goals Against Average: Jordan Burke, G, Boston Cannons
Burke has certainly played much better this season for the Cannons than he did last year. Adding Brodie Merrill and a slew of other defensemen has certainly helped the cause. Burke leads the league with a 8.86 goals against average and has helped the Cannons to a 2-3 record which wouldn’t be impressive except for the fact that they have lost all three games by one goal.
