Rookies continue to make their mark in Major League Lacrosse. There were several standouts last weekend and others who are continuing to make their MLL debuts.
The weekend began with Florida’s impressive 16-12 win over New York. In that game, Cornell product Connor Buczek tallied three points behind two goals, including a two-point goal. Buczek opened the scoring for Florida with a two-pointer to give his team a 2-1 advantage. He added a man-up goal in the second quarter as the Launch won their second game of the year, handing New York just its second loss. Nicky Galasso of Syracuse made his MLL debut in the victory, scoring one goal for the Launch. Maryland product Casey Ikeda tallied a pair of groundballs, as did rookie Mark DiFrangia out of St. John’s.
On the other side, Mike Malave made his Major League Lacrosse debut for the Lizards, firing two shots and scooping a groundball. Ryan Walsh out of Colgate tallied a hat trick for New York.
North Carolina product Joey Sankey continued his strong rookie season in Charlotte’s 14-11 win over Denver, finishing with three points behind a goal and two assists. He is up to 26 points, including 13 goals, in just five games. Sankey’s former ACC rival Will Haus out of Duke dished an assist. On the other side, David Dickson of Bucknell made his MLL debut for the Outlaws, recording an assist. Denver product Erik Adamson tallied a hat trick (his first three career goals) playing in his second MLL game. Other rookies who played include Greg Melaugh (Merrimack) and Johnny Rodriguez (Salisbury). Rodriguez made four saves, allowing four goals, in 16:58 between the pipes.
Another North Carolina alum, Jimmy Bitter, had a big game in the Ohio Machine’s 15-12 win at Rochester Sunday, tallying three goals and an assist. Albany’s Matt Bertrams made his MLL debut for the Machine while Bitter’s UNC teammate Jake Bailey scooped a groundball. There were several rookies who suited up for the Rattlers, including Jack Near (Notre Dame) and Randy Staats (Syracuse). Staats’ Syracuse teammate Kevin Rice finished with a goal and assist for Rochester.
Rounding out the weekend was Chesapeake at Boston. Army West Point’s John Glesener’s MLL debut included his first-career goal, a two-point goal in the third quarter to give Boston a 10-7 lead. Ryan Tucker (Virginia) and Wells Stanwick (Johns Hopkins) each dished an assist. On the flip side, Patrick Harbeson (Virginia) tallied two groundballs in his second game with Chesapeake while Chris Hipps (Duke) also suited up for Bayhawks.
