“Week one” of the 2018 Major League Lacrosse season is in the books! Here’s a complete breakdown of each MLL Week One game for those of you who weren’t able to watch in person.
MLL Week One Highlights
Coca-Cola Players of the Game
MLL Week One Game Recaps
New York 19, Denver 15
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (April 21) – Will Manny and Rob Pannell combined for 15 points as the New York Lizards topped the Denver Outlaws on Saturday night in the first game of the season, 19-15.
Joe LoCascio started the game with the first two-point goal of the MLL season to give the Lizards a two-goal lead 2:50 into the contest. LoCascio also scored a two-pointer in the fourth quarter.
The Outlaws scored the final three goals of the first half, punctuated by a Jeremy Sieverts tally with less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, to pull within one.
New York answered back in the third quarter with four of the next four goals. The Lizards outscored Denver in the second half, 9-6.
Players Who Impressed:
- Playing in his first season-opener with the Lizards, Will Manny scored a team-high five goals and added two assists to earn Coca-Cola MVP
- Michael Bocklet had four goals in his Lizards debut against his former team
- Joe LoCascio had two two-point goals in one game for the first time in his career
- Tom Kelly won 24 of 36 faceoffs for the Outlaws
- Matt Kavanagh (5 goals, assist) and Jeremy Sieverts (5 goals) combined for 11 points
Dallas 15, Chesapeake 9
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (April 21) – Playing their first game since the team relocated from Rochester to Dallas, the Dallas Rattlers earned a 15-9 win over the Chesapeake Bayhawks on Saturday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
After leading the team in points last season, Jordan Wolf started his 2018 campaign with a team-high four goals and one assist for the Rattlers.
Chesapeake had a 3-2 lead midway through the first quarter, but never regained it.
Wolf teamed with Brian Kormondy and Ty Thompson to score three goals in a five-minute span at in the third quarter that gave the Rattlers an 11-6 lead heading into the last quarter.
Colin Heacock, Myles Jones and Matt Danowski each scored two goals for Chesapeake.
Players Who Impressed:
- Blaze Riorden made the first start of his career and made 16 saves
- Jordan Wolf was named Coca-Cola MVP with five points
- Steele Stanwick played in his first MLL game since 2016 with Ohio and registered one goal on seven shots
- Brian Phipps made 22 saves on 37 shots for the Bayhawks
Charlotte 25, Boston 7
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 21) – The Charlotte Hounds started quickly, and piled on the goals as they cruised to a 25-7 victory over the Boston Cannons on Saturday night at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Kevin Cooper led the way for Charlotte, with a career-high seven goals and one assist.
The game remained close for the first 10 minutes of the first quarter with the score at 2-1 in favor of Charlotte. From that point on, the Hounds scored 12 goals in a row over two quarters, and were paced by Cooper and John Crawley.
Kylor Bellistri scored his first of the season to make it 16-2, but then Cooper scored the next three goals to put the game away.
Charlie Cipriano stopped 13 of 17 shots in 45 minutes of action. Benny Pugh made 3 saves on 14 shots in just over 27 minutes of action before being replaced by Jack Murphy.
Players Who Impressed:
- Kevin Cooper was named Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player with a team-high eight points (7 goals, assist)
- Ryan Brown and John Crawley each had four goals for the Hounds
- Charlie Cipriano made 13 saves on 17 shots
- Making his Cannons debut, Kyle Denhoff had two goals
- Kylor Bellistri (2 goals, assist) and Davey Emala (goal, 2 assists) tied for a team-high three points
Florida 13, Atlanta 10
KENNESAW, Ga. (April 22) – The Florida Launch scored seven of the first eight goals of the game and held on for a 13-10 win over the Atlanta Blaze on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
Dylan Molloy scored twice in the first five minutes of the game and finished with a team-high four points.
Atlanta trailed at halftime 9-4 and surrendered the first two goals of the third quarter, but then rallied with a four-goal streak with tallies from Matt Gibson, Kevin Rice, Deemer Class and Rice again in a span of nine minutes.
Austin Kaut made four saves in the fourth quarter as the Launch held on for the win.
Players Who Impressed:
- Sergio Salcido scored a team-high three goals, the first hat trick of his career
- Austin Kaut, who led the league in saves last season, made 20 saves
- Dylan Molloy (2 goals, 2 assists) and Nick Mariano (2 goals, assist) combined for seven points
- Deemer Class tallied the first two-point goal of the season for the Blaze and finished with four points (2 goals, assist)
- Kevin Rice scored a team-high three goals.
That’s a wrap on MLL Week One!
Visit MajorLeagueLacrosse.com to check out the full 2018 season schedule and purchase tickets.
