With the playoff race being in full swing right now, every game is a must-win for pretty much every team in the MLL. The Boston Cannons (6-4) are currently tied for third in the league, one game behind the Denver Outlaws (7-3). This is the second time the two teams have met this season, with the Cannons winning 17-10 behind 7 points from Paul Rabil.
Attack
The Cannons’ have one of the best and highest-scoring attack units in the league. The three starters sit at 2, 3 and 4 on the Cannons’ top scorers list. Ryan Boyle sits at 34 points, Kevin Buchanan has 30, and Matt Poskay currently has 29. Coming off the bench, Ari Sussman has 15 points for the Cannons.
The Outlaws’ have an outstanding attack unit behind multiple double digit scorers this season. Brendan Mundorf is second in the league in points with 37 going into this game against the Cannons. Also having a great season is Jordan McBride who has 22 points so far on the year. Josh Sims has 16 points and rookie Mark Matthews is one behind him with 15. Not far behind Matthews is another rookie in Chris Bocklet who has 12 points right now.
Midfield
Boston’s Paul Rabil is the face of lacrosse in the United States; and for a reason. Rabil currently leads the league in points with 53 which is 16 points more than Mundorf who sits at second. Midfielder Mike Stone is having a breakout year with 21 points so far and Bill McGlone sits with 7 points.
Denver has one of the highest scoring midfield groups in the league. Their top three midfielders all have more than 20 points on the season. Jeremy Sieverts leads that midfield group with 30 points. Peet Poillon isn’t far behind with 27 and Terry Kimener is right on Poillon’s tail with 25 points.
Face-Off
Boston’s Chris Eck is easily one of the best face-off specialists in the league. Eck has won 161 of 285 face-offs on the year, which equals to be a .564 percentage. Eck’s ability to win the possession is a huge reason why the Cannons are having the success that they are.
The Outlaws have had multiple players taking face-offs for them this year, and recently traded for specialist Anthony Kelly who has won 23 of 30 so far for the Outlaws. Also taking face-offs for them has been Justin Pennington (27 of 63), Dillon Roy (13 of 28) and Chris Mattes (50 of 117).
Defense
The Cannons have a great defense behind multiple stars. PT Ricci leads the defense in groundballs with 34; but no points on the year. Brian Farrell and Kyle Sweeney are both having great season so far, both players with 7 points on the year. Accompanied with Jack Reid and Mitch Belisle, the Cannons have a very strong defensive unit.
The Outlaws have one of the best defensive units in the league behind All-Star Lee Zink. Zink, coupled with Matt Bocklet, have been a huge defensive presence for Denver this year. Roy Dillon is also playing great for the Outlaws with 32 groundballs on the season.
Goalie
The Cannons’ Jordan Burke has the best stats of any goalie in the league and is playing lights out as of late. He has stopped 135 of 237 shots on the season for a .570 save percentage which is tops in the league. Burke is averaging 10.26 goals per game which is also good for best in the league.
Denver’s Jesse Schwartzman isn’t far behind Burke when it comes to stats. Schwartzman has the second highest save percentage with .534, behind 117 saves on 219 shots. Schwartzman is third in the league for goals against, averaging only 10.65 goals against per game.
