With the college season wrapped up, the full allotment of college seniors are now available for Major League Lacrosse. Several made strong debuts while others continued to impress last weekend, highlighted by former North Carolina Tar Heels.
Leading the way among rookies continues to be Charlotte’s Joey Sankey out of UNC. After an eight-point debut against Boston, Sankey followed with six points vs. New York. Included was a two-point goal in the fourth quarter which helped spark the Hounds’ 9-0 run to pull within 20-16, but it wasn’t enough.
On the other side, Ryan Walsh out of Colgate made his debut for the Lizards and had a hat trick, including this highlight-reel goal. He scored two of New York’s seven fourth-quarter goals, which were important to fend off Charlotte’s comeback attempt.
Sam Somers out of Army made his professional debut in goal for Rochester on Saturday, making 12 saves to lead his Rattlers to a 15-11 win. He stopped 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter as Rochester turned a 10-10 tie after three quarters of play into the four-goal victory.
A pair of rookies suited up for their debuts with the Florida Launch in a 13-9 loss at Boston. Second overall pick Connor Buczek of Cornell dished an assist and had a groundball while defenseman Casey Ikeda of Maryland had a groundball and scored a late third-quarter goal. The Launch feature several rookies, including Lyle Thompson and Chad Tutton who each played their second-career games on Saturday.
North Carolina’s Jimmy Bitter made his debut for Ohio in last Friday’s win at Denver and tallied three goals and an assist, along with a groundball. Included was the Machine’s final two goals to help his squad pull away. On the other side, the MVP of the NCAA Tournament Wesley Berg from the University of Denver, played for Denver’s pro team, the Outlaws. Berg got on the board with his first MLL goal 5:18 into the fourth quarter.
