Recap: Growney, Aldave net hat tricks in 14-8 victory for Team Read

Unfortunately for Team Apuzzo, the plan worked perfectly as Team Read used a strong first half to build an early lead and secure its first victory with a 14-8 verdict at USA Lacrosse Headquarters.

Captain Britt Read piloted her squad to the victory by making 14 saves, including five in the fourth quarter, to secure MVP 1 honors and a career-high 228 leaderboard points.

Defender Lizzie Colson followed with MVP 2 honors after ending the win with 203 leaderboard points, registering four ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers. Attacker Andie Aldave completed the MVP trifecta with the first hat trick of her Athletes Unlimited career along with an assist, giving her 168 leaderboard points.

Attacker Sam Apuzzo paced Team Apuzzo in the loss with three goals and an assist, while attacker Lauren Gilbert contributed a pair of markers.

KEY MOMENT

Holding a slim 4-3 advantage after the first quarter, Team Read used a four-goal outburst over a 10-minute span to push ahead by an 8-3 count early in the third quarter. Attacker Scottie Rose Growney netted two of her three goals during the surge.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Read’s career-high 228 points elevated her into the top position on the leaderboard, surging ahead 35 spots from Thursday. Colson, meanwhile, rose 44 places and into third place on the strength of her first career game with 200 or more leaderboard points.

GAME NOTES

• Team Read and Team Apuzzo combined to record 11 assists in Saturday’s opener, upping the league’s season total to 22 assists through three games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every assist during the season as part of its ‘Aspiration Assists’ initiative.

• Team Read became the 11th squad in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history to sweep all of the win points … The team won the first three quarters outright and tied Team Apuzzo, 3-3, in the final frame to secure the win points by winning the game.

• Team Apuzzo initiated a captain’s challenge on Apuzzo’s free position goal with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter, which was unsuccessful … Teams are now 0-for-2 in challenges this season.

• Apuzzo now owns 22 career multi-goal games after netting two goals in the opening quarter … She has scored at least one goal in 28-of-29 career Athletes Unlimited contests.

• Apuzzo also notched her league-record 13th career hat trick, including her fourth in the last five games dating back to last season.

• Read notched her eighth career game with 10 or more saves, which rank second in league history behind goalkeeper Taylor Moreno.

• Growney collected the fourth hat trick of her Athletes Unlimited career after finishing with three goals in the win for Team Read … She also added two assists to finish with a career-best five points.

• Rookie midfielder Brianne Gross scored the first goal of her Athletes Unlimited career with 5:30 remaining in the opening period … Gross netted 118 goals during her college career at Vanderbilt.

• Goalkeeper Mira Shane made her season debut to begin the second half for Team Apuzzo, finishing with one save over 13 minutes.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Britt Read (Team Read, +45)
• #2 – Lizzie Colson (Team Read, +30)
• #3 – Andie Aldave (Team Read, +15)