Recap: Rookies Lift Team Apuzzo to 10-6 Victory Over Team McCool

Rookie attacker Izzy Scane led the charge with a four-goal outburst as Team Apuzzo secured a 10-6 victory over Team McCool to close out the night’s action at USA Lacrosse Headquarters.

Apuzzo, who earned MVP 2 honors for her efforts, collected a game-high nine draw controls and added an assist to finish with 193 leaderboard points. Scane, meanwhile, garnered MVP 3 distinction and 168 leaderboard points after posting her second hat trick in the last three outings.

While Scane paced the offense, rookie defender Emily Nalls piloted the Team Apuzzo defense and secured MVP 1 honors after contributing four draw controls, three ground balls, and a caused turnover. Goalkeeper Kady Glynn added six saves in the victory.

Rookie attacker Sydni Black guided Team McCool with two goals, while team captain Marie McCool chipped in a goal with an assist. Goalkeeper Caylee Waters stopped 10 shots for Team McCool, which was outshot by a 31-24 margin.

KEY MOMENT

Trailing by a 3-2 margin after the opening quarter, Team Apuzzo used a natural hat trick from Scane to claim a 5-3 advantage with 6:40 remaining in the third period. Team McCool trimmed the margin to 7-6 before Team Apuzzo scored all three goals in the final frame to secure the victory.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Apuzzo rose into the top spot on the leaderboard with the 193-point effort on Thursday night, giving her a 58-point lead over goalkeeper Taylor Moreno. Nalls climbed into fifth place in the league standings with 514 points, while Scane follows in sixth place (514 points).

GAME NOTES

• Teams are now 3-for-8 in captain’s challenges through eight games this season … Team Apuzzo initiated a captain’s challenge on a goal by Black with 3:57 left in the third quarter … The challenge was successful after the goal was overturned on a goal circle violation by Black.

• Team McCool’s six goals matched the lowest offensive output by a team this season … Team Bosco was limited to just six goals against Team Moreno on July 18.

• Team Apuzzo matched a league season high after gathering 16 draw controls in Thursday’s nightcap against Team Moreno … Team Glynn had 16 draw controls against Team Moreno on July 20.

• Waters amassed 10 or more saves for the ninth time in her Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse career after her 10-save effort on Thursday night.

• Apuzzo now stands 21-7 all-time as a team captain … In addition, she extended her league record with the 27th game win of her AU Pro Lacrosse career.

• Apuzzo ran her streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 43 games after notching an assist in the first quarter … However, she failed to score a goal for just the third time in her career.

• Apuzzo matched her career high with nine draw controls, giving her 108 draw controls in her career … She joins McCool as the only players in league history with 100 or more career draw controls.

• Apuzzo earned the 27th Game MVP award of her AU Pro Lacrosse career with her MVP 2 commendation on Thursday, extending her league record.

• Scane registered her second four-goal performance of the season … She also tallied four goals against Team Apuzzo on July 20 … It is the eighth four-goal performance in the league through eight games this season.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Emily Nalls (Team Apuzzo, +45)
• #2 – Sam Apuzzo (Team Apuzzo, +30)
• #3 – Izzy Scane (Team Apuzzo, +15)