I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend and was able to watch some of the great lacrosse games that were played in the summer heat. There were upsets, SportsCenter top plays, big hits and even fights in games across the MLL and PLL. Let’s see who had a memorable weekend and who had a tough one in this edition of Winners and Losers.
Winners
Chrome Get Their First Win
After weeks of frustration and being so close to victory, Chrome finally got their first PLL win in surprising fashion against the Chaos. Chrome’s offense exploded for 19 goals and players were battling all over the field to grind out the win. Jordan Macintosh scored five goals and two assists to lead the way for the Chrome with Jordan Wolf also adding an impressive four goals and two assists. It was great to see Coach Dom Starsia and this Chrome squad get their chance to celebrate after so many tough overtime and close games that didn’t go their way earlier this summer. Is this the start of a late season surge by the Chrome?
5G & 2A Yesterday. @jmacintosh24 was DOMINATING 😤 pic.twitter.com/5o9a1Rjlog
— Chrome Lacrosse Club (@PLLChrome) July 8, 2019
Denver Outlaws 4th of July Game
For awhile now, the biggest crowd to play in front of for professional field lacrosse has been the annual 4th of July game played at Mile High Stadium. This year’s game featured the Denver Outlaws and Chesapeake Bayhawks which kept the tradition going. The loud crowd of 26,210 Outlaws fans were treated to a great back and forth game with Lyle Thompson and Steele Stanwick putting on show for the Bayhawks and Zach Currier, Chris Aslanian, John Grant Jr. and Dillon Ward dazzling for the Outlaws who would go on to win the game. Despite the rain delay, the stadium was packed for a pro lacrosse game as fans cheered on the Outlaws and celebrated with 4th of July fireworks.
Despite some 🌧️ and ⚡️, Thursday was pretty 🔥. pic.twitter.com/BWGQTBQAxd
— Denver Outlaws (@DenverOutlaws) July 9, 2019
Joe Nardella
The faceoff guy had two goals? Some people were probably scratching their heads as they looked at the stats of Whipsnakes’ win over the Atlas. Joe Nardella was the only player who scored more than one goal for the Whips. Nardella was battling and grinding against PLL All-Star Trevor Baptiste and getting the better of him as he was able to capitalize on his fast breaks and score some crucial goals for the Whipsnakes. On a team loaded with offensive stars it was cool to see an often unsung player like Nardella be the difference-maker. Major winner in this week’s Winners and Losers.
.@JNardss off the faceoff for his first PLL goal 🐍💧 pic.twitter.com/pnPIdzc20D
— Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club (@PLLWhipsnakes) July 7, 2019
Honorable Mentions
Bryan Cole
The Atlanta Blaze’s Bryan Cole quietly had one of the best performances of the week as he scored seven goals and added three assists in two games. Even more impressive was his four goal and one assist effort against the New York Lizards without Randy Staats drawing defenders and feeding him. Cole took over and got the Blaze a big win against the Lizards.
Brent Adams
Left off the All-Star list, Brent Adams had something to prove and he made sure everybody knew it as he dropped three nasty goals in the Redwoods win against the Archers. Adams might just be the best two way middie in the PLL.
Losers
Atlanta vs Chesapeake 2nd Quarter Brawl
No matter what side you stand on in the fighting vs no fighting in field lacrosse debate, the shoving matches and the actual fight that happened in the second quarter of the Atlanta – Chesapaeake game were a mess. After some big — and late — hits things got heated with players pushing and shoving and even ripping off helmets. Randy Staats and Warren Jeffrey, two Canadians used to fighting in box lacrosse, got into it and actually fought with helmets and gloves off. Both were suspended for a game. Quint Kessenich actually brought up some good points on the broadcast that referees should be able to watch the video back to actually see what player did instead of going off of what each ref saw which usually leads to conflicting accounts. However, that could take several minutes and slow the game down. It was also interesting to hear from Quint that fighting was legal in the first year of the MLL, but was banned soon after. Fighting in field lacrosse has always been a bit awkward compared to hockey or box lacrosse. Is it taking away from the game? Should it be allowed? Or should it be banned all together?
You can decide for yourself by watching what happened starting around the 57 minute mark of the game which is linked here.
Dallas Rattlers
Each weekend I am rooting for the Rattlers to get their first win and they keep getting close, but still just can’t put it all together. It hurts to have to put the Rattlers in the losers section again so I hope this will be the last week I have to and next week they will be at the top of the winners column.
Who were your winners and losers of Week 6?
