Last week’s Major League Lacrosse results only led to more questions than answers, in terms of the postseason. With just one week remaining, one team has clinched a postseason berth. Here are our three stars from the week that was.
- Matt Bocklet (Denver) – 20 groundballs, one goal in two wins
Bocklet helped Denver win its fifth and sixth straight games last week, beginning with 11 groundballs in a 12-10 win at Rochester before adding nine GBs and his second goal of the season in a 15-12 victory vs. Charlotte. In Thursday’s win at Rochester, the Outlaws allowed just four first-half goals while they allowed only two second-half scores in Saturday’s win over Chesapeake. The defensive effort allowed the Denver offense to turn a 10-9 halftime deficit into a 15-12 win. For the season, Bocklet owns exactly 100 groundballs, third in the league and most among a non-faceoff specialist.
- Paul Rabil (New York) – five goals (including a two-point goal), one assist at Rochester
For the second straight week, Rabi is among our top stars. He began the week with a monster eight-point performance in an 18-12 win over Chesapeake Thursday night. Rabil tallied five goals, including a first-quarter two-point goal, and two assists. All eight of his points happened by the end of the third quarter as the Lizards took a commanding 17-9 lead after 45 minutes of play. Rabil continued with a six-point (three-goal, three-assist) effort in a 14-13 overtime loss at Boston Saturday. The Johns Hopkins product is now tied with teammate Rob Pannell for the MLL lead with 67 points on the season.
- Kevin Buchanan (Boston) – three points (including game-winning goal in overtime) vs. New York
Buchanan tallied three points against New York Saturday, and his final point couldn’t come at a bigger time. His goal just 51 seconds into overtime gave Boston a crucial 14-13 victory, keeping the Cannons squarely in the mix for a postseason berth. Buchanan also assisted on the game-tying goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, and added a third-quarter goal. Buchanan now owns 19 points this season.
Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)
– Myles Jones (Chesapeake) – six points (two two-point goals, two assists) in 18-12 loss at New York
– Mark Matthews (Atlanta) – five points (four goals, one assist) in 14-10 win over Ohio
– John Ranagan (Rochester) – eight points (two goals, six assists) over two games, including six points (one goal, five assists) in 14-9 win at Florida
