Taylor Cummings climbed up to first on the Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse leaderboard as the unique league continued through its fourth week of action showcasing the best players in the world doing what they do best. Dempsey Arsenault fell to sixth from her first-place position from a week ago, now 269 points behind the pace set by Taylor Cummings at 1,507 points. Caylee Waters, Kady Glynn, Kylie Ohlmiller, and Kayla Wood round out the top five, in that order, heading into Week Five.
Points can be earned in a variety of ways, from being part of a team win to scoring goals to earning a top-three player award in a game and more.
All photos, video highlights, and game recaps are courtesy of Athletes Unlimited.
The schedule from this last weekend of contests was as follows:
Saturday, Aug. 14
GAME 21: Team Arsenault v Team Glynn
GAME 22: Team Wood v Team Cummings
Sunday, Aug. 15
GAME 23: Team Cummings v Team Arsenault
GAME 24: Team Wood v Team Glynn
Monday, Aug. 16
GAME 19: Team Arsenault v Team Wood
GAME 20: Team Glynn v Team Cummings
Taylor Cummings Climbs to First in Leaderboard
Saturday, Aug. 14 – Boyds, Maryland
GAME 21: Team Arsenault v Team Glynn
Kayla Treanor Hat Trick Helps Team Glynn Win
Team Glynn may have needed to wait an extra day to get its Week Four action of Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse underway, but it was certainly worth the wait.
Attacker Kayla Treanor (Syracuse) registered a hat trick and goalkeepers Kady Glynn (Loyola Maryland) and Mira Shane (Michigan) combined to make eight saves as Team Glynn held off Team Arsenault by a 9-6 count at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday afternoon.
Treanor, who missed Week Three due to a personal family matter, made an immediate impact in her return to the field with three goals and an assist.
Shane and Glynn, meanwhile, anchored a defensive unit that limited Team Arsenault to just three goals after the intermission. Shane tallied four stops in the first half before giving way to Glynn, who also recorded four saves while conceding just two goals.
Midfielder Grace Gabriel (Marquette) and attacker Cortney Fortunato (Notre Dame) each added two-goal efforts for Team Glynn, while attacker Kenzie Kent (Boston College) struck for a pair of goals in a losing effort for Team Arsenault.
Goalkeeper Britt Read (Oregon) set a league season high by notching 14 saves in the loss, including 10 in the opening half.
GAME 22: Team Wood v Team Cummings
Michelle Tumolo’s Seven-Point Performance Carries Team Wood
Sometimes, it’s not how you start but how you finish. However, that was certainly not the case for Team Wood on Saturday afternoon in its Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse game against Team Cummings on Saturday afternoon.
Team Wood, led by attacker Michelle Tumolo (Syracuse), surged to an early three-point lead in the opening quarter and never looked back en route to posting a 10-8 victory over Team Cummings at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
Tumolo tallied a game-high seven points on the strength of two goals, including a two-point marker in the first quarter, and four assists. Attacker Sam Apuzzo (Boston College) added a three-goal effort for her third hat trick of the season, while midfielder Haley Warden (James Madison) scored twice.
Attacker Nicole Levy (Syracuse) tallied two goals with two assists in the loss for Team Cummings, while midfielder Marie McCool (North Carolina) chipped in two goals, including her second two-pointer of the year.
Team Wood outshot Team Cummings, 32-18, and held an 11-9 advantage in draw controls.
Sunday, Aug. 15 – Boyds, Maryland
GAME 23: Team Cummings v Team Arsenault
Taylor Cummings, Team Cummings Dominate the X in Victory
When a team has every facet of the game working in its favor, there is very little an opponent can do about it.
For Team Cummings, everything was clicking in its Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse game against Team Arsenault on Sunday, which translated to a 16-9 victory at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
Midfielder Emily Parros (North Carolina) led the charge for Team Cummings, scoring four goals with an assist en route to claiming MVP 1 honors. Attacker Kylie Ohlmiller (Stony Brook) tallied a game-high five goals, while attacker Katrina Dowd (Northwestern) chipped in a hat trick with three tallies.
Team captain Taylor Cummings (Maryland) also provided a solid performance, scoring two goals with two assists while matching her season high with 10 draw controls.
Attacker Kenzie Kent (Boston College) paced Team Arsenault in a losing effort, scoring three goals with two assists. Midfielder Lindsey McKone (Northwestern) added a goal with three assists.
Team Cummings outshot Team Arsenault by a 31-23 margin and held a commanding 19-8 advantage on draw controls.
Notes: The 19 draw controls by Team Cummings are the most in a single game in the league this season. Ohlmiller recorded her second five-goal game of the season and the fifth by any player this year. Team Cummings’ 16 points equal the single-game high set by Team Arsenault on Aug. 7 against Team Read. There were a combined 16 assists on 22 goals in the game, including 10 by Team Cummings to set a single-game high this season.
GAME 24: Team Wood v Team Glynn
Late Two-Pointer Makes the Difference
Attacker Shayna Pirreca (Florida) has developed a reputation for being able to score from anywhere on the field during the 2021 Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse season.
Her latest example, a two-pointer with 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, elevated Team Glynn past Team Wood, 13-11, in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
Pirreca, who leads the league with five two-point goals, took a feed from attacker Kayla Treanor (Syracuse) and fired a shot from the wing that snuck past goalkeeper Angie Benson (Virginia Tech) for the game-winning marker.
Treanor led Team Glynn to the victory with two goals and three assists, while midfielder Ally Kennedy (Stony Brook) notched her second hat trick of the season with three goals.
Midfielder Alyssa Parrella (Hofstra) led all players with four goals, while attacker Sam Apuzzo (Boston College) added three goals to register her league-tying fourth hat trick of the season.
Team Glynn had a 16-10 advantage over Team Wood on draw controls, but was outshot by a 25-19 margin.
Monday, Aug. 16 – Boyds, Maryland
GAME 19: Team Arsenault v Team Wood
Izzy McMahon Scores Four in Team Arsenault Triumph
If there were any questions about how Team Arsenault would handle the early start to its Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse game against Team Wood on Monday, they were quickly answered by attacker Izzy McMahon (USC).
McMahon quickly showed her squad was full of morning people, scoring all four of her goals in the first half as Team Arsenault sprinted to a commanding lead en route to a 13-8 victory over Team Wood at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
The win allowed Team Arsenault to salvage one victory in its three Week Four contests, while Team Wood fell for the second time in three outings.
McMahon tallied three of her game-high four goals during a six-goal outburst in the second quarter, which gave Team Arsenault a commanding 9-4 edge at the intermission.
Midfielder Amanda Johansen (USC) netted a pair of two-point goals along with an assist for Team Arsenault, while midfielder Lindsey McKone chipped in three assists.
Attacker Sam Apuzzo (Boston College) posted a hat trick in the loss for Team Wood to go with six draw controls, while attacker Michelle Tumolo contributed two goals.
Team Wood outshot Team Arsenault by a 36-25 margin as goalkeepers Britt Read and Britt Brown combined to make 15 saves for Team Arsenault.
GAME 20: Team Glynn v Team Cummings
Caylee Waters’ Netminding Aids Taylor Cummings on Leaderboard
Goalkeeper Caylee Waters (North Carolina) has enjoyed some tremendous efforts during the first four weeks of the Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse season, but her performance against Team Glynn on Monday morning might have sealed a spot in a captain’s chair for the final week of the campaign.
Waters made eight saves and conceded just six goals as Team Cummings secured a 10-6 victory over Team Glynn to complete the Week Four schedule at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
Led by Waters, Team Cummings allowed just three goals in the opening three quarters while surging to a 10-3 advantage. Waters tallied five of her eight stops in the first 24 minutes as Team Cummings limited its opponent to just 14 shots.
Midfielder Marie McCool (North Carolina) led the charge offensively for Team Cummings with three goals and two assists, while attacker Kylie Ohlmiller (Stony Brook) added a goal with four assists.
Team Glynn was paced by midfielder Taylor VanThof (Loyola Maryland), who pocketed a pair of goals. Attacker Kayla Treanor (Syracuse) contributed a goal with an assist.
Team Cummings held a commanding 13-6 advantage in draw controls along with a slim 23-22 edge in shots.
