Over the weekend, Paul Rabil put up the 644th point of his pro lacrosse career and became the professional field game’s all-time points leader.
It happened with 5:14 to go in the second quarter of Cannons’ contest against Chaos on Saturday when Rabil went left around Chaos LSM Troy Reh, creating enough space for himself to get away a shot that pinpointed the bottom right corner and beat Chaos goalie Blaze Riorden. The goal gave the Cannons a 5-4 advantage and put Rabil back on the mountaintop.
He finished the day with three goals, three assists, and 647 career pro field lacrosse points, but it wasn’t enough to get the win as Chaos outscored Cannons in the second half, 9-2, to achieve victory, 14-10.
Rabil surpassed John Grant Jr. on the leaderboard, who took back the title in 2019 after coming out of retirement to spend a season as a player-coach for the Denver Outlaws at age 44. For now, and likely for good with Grant Jr. turning 47 this year, it seems that Rabil has won this game of hot potato.
However, Rabil is now the points leader in specifically pro field lacrosse, not pro lacrosse as a whole.
This nuance caused some uproar among box lacrosse fans over the weekend, who objected to Rabil’s achievement being worded as though it spanned the wide net of all pro lax.
In the NLL, John Tavares is the all-time points leader with 1,749 for his career. John Grant Jr. is second at 1,446, according to the 2019-20 NLL Media Guide & Record Book, and a handful of others have also broken the 1,000-point career milestone.
Rabil has spent the majority of his pro lacrosse career in the field game, but he did play in the NLL from 2008 to 2013 with the San Jose/Washington Stealth and Philadelphia Wings. In 77 regular season and playoff games, he had 69 goals and 110 assists for 179 points, bringing his total pro lacrosse points total to 826.
But that doesn’t detract from Rabil’s monumental accomplishment in pro field lacrosse, where he now stands alone as the sport’s points leader.
Now for the other lacrosse news from the week of June 29-July 5, 2021.
Last Week in Lacrosse
The NCAA’s new policy that allows college athletes to profit off of their own name, image, and likeness went into effect July 1, opening up massive opportunities for men’s and women’s college lacrosse players.
A woman at the World Series of Youth Lacrosse allegedly racially abused members of the Iroquois Nationals team at the event.
The 2021 Vail Lacrosse Shootout week-long lacrosse festival concluded after crowning a number of champions at its 49th edition and return following a pandemic-induced one-year hiatus.
Chase Scanlan has entered the transfer portal, per Matt Kinnear of Inside Lacrosse.
VCU women’s lacrosse hired Nicole Flores as its next boss, naming her as the second head coach in the program’s history.
In one of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the regular season, Whipsnakes narrowly escaped Archers, 15-14, to remain alone atop the PLL standings.
Get Caught Up on LAS Contest
Miss out on what we did last week? Here’s a recap of some of our top content from the last seven days.
What Makes a Good Box Lacrosse Stick?
Tucker La Belle explains to you what makes for a good box lacrosse stick, from the head to the handle down to the stringing.
2021 Vail Lacrosse Shootout
The 2021 Vail Lacrosse Shootout went on all of last week, and we had daily photos and results from all the action. Check it all out here.
Panther City Expansion Draft Marks Franchise’s First Moves
Panther City LC completed its expansion draft this week and made four trades after selecting 13 players to build out its roster.
Ecuador Lacrosse: International Spotlight
Ecuador Lacrosse is working to bring lax to its country. Despite pandemic and political setbacks, the organization is operating again and growing the game.
