As we move into July, competition is as tight as ever in Major League Lacrosse. Here are three stars from this past weekend.
3) Paul Rabil (New York) – 6 points (4 goals, 1 two-point goal, 1 assist)
Paul Rabil returned from injury with a bang, tallying six points to help his New York Lizards snap a two-game losing streak. With Rabil in the lineup, New York improved to 9-0, but the Lizards are 0-2 when he doesn’t play. The Johns Hopkins product scored a first-quarter goal then had two goals, including a big two-point goal in the second. With the score tied at 13 in the fourth quarter, Rabil assisted on the go-ahead goal and scored an insurance tally for the 15-13 victory over Chesapeake. Even after missing two games, the All-World midfielder still stands fifth in Major League Lacrosse with 42 points.
2) Davey Emala (Boston) – 6 goals
Davey Emala helped spark an offensive outburst by the Cannons, who dominated Denver on Saturday night 22-9 for their third straight win. In sole possession of second place with a 7-4 record, Boston opened by taking an 8-4 lead after one quarter, which included an Emala goal with 2:16 on the clock. Emala’s breakout quarter was the third as he scored four of Boston’s five goals. The Cannons outscored the Outlaws 5-0 to turn a 13-7 halftime lead into a commanding 18-7 advantage after three. The six goals were two more than Emala’s previous season high as the North Carolina product now has five hat tricks and seven multi-goal games on the year. Emala has 25 goals and four assists in 11 games this season.
1) Lyle Thompson (Florida) – 7 goals, 1 assist
Undoubtedly the number one star of the weekend was Florida’s Lyle Thompson, who came alive with seven goals and one assist to lead his Florida Launch to a 19-9 win over Charlotte. Thompson assisted on a first-quarter goal then scored three second-quarter goals and two each in the third and fourth quarters. The Launch pulled away and erased any doubt by scoring six of the first seven fourth-quarter tallies. Thompson’s previous career-high was two goals as the Albany product now has 12 goals and nine assists in five MLL games this season. Florida has won two straight games to improve to 3-8 on the year.
