Recap: Apuzzo records hat trick in 8-5 victory

But, on Thursday night against Team Johansen, the late magic wasn’t needed as Team Apuzzo sprinted to a quick 4-0 lead and held on to claim an 8-5 victory at USA Lacrosse Headquarters.

The win allowed attacker Sam Apuzzo to move back into the top spot of the leaderboard after registering 178 leaderboard points and the game’s top MVP honor. The Boston College standout, who began the week just six points behind first place, netted three goals, including a two-point marker, along with an assist.

Goalkeeper Britt Read, the game’s MVP 2 selection, notched 11 saves en route to closing the night with a season-high 210 leaderboard points for Team Apuzzo. Midfielders Dempsey Arsenault and Katie O’Donnell each chipped in a goal with an assist in the victory.

Attacker Cortney Fortunato tallied a two-point goal with an assist in the loss for Team Johansen while three other players scored a goal. Defender Kyra Pelton garnered MVP 3 honors in the setback after posting a caused turnover.

Goalkeeper Caylee Waters registered a team-high 81 leaderboard points on the strength of nine saves and four ground balls.

KEY MOMENT

Team Apuzzo used a goal from four different players to build a 4-0 lead with 5:21 remaining in the second quarter. Team Johansen closed the gap to 4-3 before back-to-back markers from Apuzzo and Arsenault expanded the advantage to three points with 6:40 left in the third period.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Apuzzo’s efforts give her a 172-point advantage over goalkeeper Taylor Moreno heading into Thursday’s second game between Team Moreno and Team Glynn. Meanwhile, Arsenault rose five spots up the leaderboard into fifth place following a 109-point performance in the victory.

GAME NOTES

• Team Johansen missed its first 12 shots before rookie attacker Sam Geiersbach’s tally with 3:32 remaining in the second quarter.

• The teams failed to score in the fourth quarter, shooting a combined 0-for-12 in the period … It marked the second scoreless quarter in regulation this season after Team Read and Team Apuzzo did not score in the fourth quarter on July 23.

• Rookie attacker Andie Aldave scored the first goal of her professional career with 5:21 left in the second quarter to give Team Apuzzo a 4-0 lead … Aldave, making her professional debut, was added to the Athletes Unlimited roster on Monday as an injury replacement.

• Fortunato’s two-point goal in the second quarter was the sixth of her Athletes Unlimited career, moving her into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time list.

• Apuzzo extended her Athletes Unlimited point-scoring streak to 25 consecutive games with a goal and an assist in the first half … Apuzzo now owns a league-record 80 career points in two seasons.

• Apuzzo also became the first player in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history to amass 3,000 career points after claiming 178 points in Thursday’s opener.

• Apuzzo scored her third career two-point marker with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter when she scored off an assist from rookie attacker Lauren Gilbert … It was also her third goal of the game, marking her second hat trick of the season.

• Apuzzo now has seven multi-goal efforts this season.

• Gilbert was held without a point for the first time this season after missing all nine of her shot attempts … She did extend her point-scoring streak to 10 straight games with an assist.

• Midfielder Ally Mastroianni scored her first career two-point goal with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter, cutting the Team Johansen deficit to 6-5 with a shot off a feed from Fortunato.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Sam Apuzzo (Team Apuzzo, +45)
• #2 – Britt Read (Team Apuzzo, +30)
• #3 – Kyra Pelton (Team Johansen, +15)