Recap: Team Apuzzo closes week 3-0; Moreno sets single-game saves record

It featured record-setting performances, a comeback bid and drama until the final horn. But, it was Team Apuzzo that ended the night in a starring role after picking up an 8-7 victory over Team Moreno to complete the second week of the season on Sunday night.

The win allowed Team Apuzzo to end the week with an unblemished 3-0 record, while Team Moreno finished the slate with a 2-1 mark.

Attacker Sam Apuzzo, the game’s MVP 1 selection, registered three goals with two assists to lead her squad to the victory. The former Boston College star also collected five draw controls with a ground ball and a caused turnover to finish with a game-high 204 leaderboard points.

While Apuzzo was directing her squad’s offense, goalkeeper Kady Glynn was piloting Team Apuzzo’s defensive efforts and secured MVP 2 honors after notching 12 saves, including seven in the second half. Glynn, who closed the week with 171 leaderboard points, made a key stop on a shot by midfielder Katie O’Donnell with 40 seconds remaining to preserve the one-point lead.

Defender Courtney Taylor completed the MVP trio for Team Apuzzo after posting two caused turnovers and authored 148 leaderboard points.

The result spoiled a historic effort by goalkeeper Taylor Moreno, who made an Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse single-game record 17 saves while adding four caused turnovers and two ground balls. Moreno, the reigning league champion, closed out the week with a 149-point effort.

Attackers Taylor VanThof and Kenzie Kent each scored two goals in the setback for Team Moreno.

KEY MOMENT

After Team Moreno battled back to even the score at 6-all with 1:33 left in the third quarter, Team Apuzzo responded with back-to-back tallies from attacker Sam Geiersbach and midfielder Grace Griffin to reclaim an 8-6 lead. Attacker Charlotte North trimmed the deficit to 8-7 with an unassisted marker with 4:39 remaining, but Team Moreno was unable to post the tying goal.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

The win allowed Glynn to move up four spots on the leaderboard and earn a spot as a captain for Week Three with 736 points. Moreno remains the leader with 1,047 points and has a 156-point advantage over Apuzzo, who will serve as a captain for the seventh consecutive week.

GAME NOTES

• Team Apuzzo and Team Moreno combined to earn eight assists in Sunday’s Week Two finale, upping the league’s season total to 76 assists through 12 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every assist this season as part of its ‘Aspiration Assists’ initiative.

• Team Apuzzo challenged a goal by North with 4:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, which was unsuccessful.

• Team Apuzzo becomes the first team to secure a 3-0 weekly record this season … It is the eighth time in 11 all-time weeks a team has been unbeaten in its three competitions.

• Team Apuzzo’s 38 shot attempts are the most in a single game in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history, surpassing the 37 shots taken by Team Colson against Team Moreno on August 6, 2022.

• Apuzzo now owns a 4-1 all-time mark against Moreno when the duo squares off as captains … She also stands 15-3 overall as a captain, the best mark in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history.

• Apuzzo recorded 200 or more leaderboard points for the fifth time in her Athletes Unlimited career, which ranks second in league history behind Moreno’s six 200-point outings.

• Six of the first 12 games this season have been decided by a one-point margin.

• Moreno’s 17 saves eclipsed the previous single-game standard of 16 saves made by Britt Read against Team Glynn on August 14, 2021 … It is the second time in league history that a goalkeeper has posted 15 or more saves in a single game.

• Moreno became the first player in league history to reach 1,000 leaderboard points in the first two weeks of a season … She held the previous mark with 996 points during the first two weeks of the 2022 campaign.

• In addition, Moreno also established a new league record for leaderboard points in a week, earning 605 points in Week Two … She surpasses her own previous mark of 581 points set during the opening week of the 2022 campaign.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Sam Apuzzo (Team Apuzzo, +45)
• #2 – Kady Glynn (Team Apuzzo, +30)
• #3 – Courtney Taylor (Team Apuzzo, +15)