Recap: Team Apuzzo secures first shootout victory in league history

Eric Rhew

Jul 30, 2022

SPARKS, Md. — Fans of Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse will remember the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader between Team Apuzzo and Team Moreno for a very long time.

Not only did it include one of the greatest comebacks in the league’s two-year history, but it also included the first-ever shootout, which Team Apuzzo claimed by a 12-10 margin at USA Lacrosse Headquarters.

Attacker Sam Apuzzo and goalkeeper Taylor Moreno captained their teams to one of the greatest games in league history. Apuzzo tallied 176 leaderboard points and earned MVP 1 honors after scoring three goals with four ground balls, seven draw controls and a caused turnover.

Moreno, meanwhile, followed with the MVP 2 award with 140 leaderboard points. The rookie from the University of North Carolina equaled the league single-game record with 15 saves, including 13 in regulation. She also had a ground ball in the setback, which was her first as a professional.

Goalkeeper Kady Glynn, Moreno’s counterpart on Team Apuzzo, completed the MVP trio after making six saves, including three in the shootout. Glynn also chipped in four ground balls with a caused turnover.

KEY MOMENT

Trailing by a 9-4 margin with 5:42 left in regulation, Team Apuzzo ran off six consecutive goals in a five-minute span to claim a 10-9 lead on a goal by Apuzzo with 24 seconds remaining. But, Team Moreno forced the extra session on a goal by rookie attacker Scottie Rose Growney with 10.9 seconds left.

After neither team scored in the overtime period, Apuzzo and rookie attacker Charlotte North staked Team Apuzzo to a 12-10 advantage with back-to-back markers past Moreno. Growney and attacker Cortney Fortunato evened the score at 12-12 before midfielder Katie O’Donnell sent Team Apuzzo to the victory circle with a goal.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Moreno remains the league’s leader with 923 points while Apuzzo carries 826 points into Sunday’s finale. Meanwhile, nine of the top 10 spots on the leaderboard are held by players from either Team Apuzzo or Team Moreno.

GAME NOTES

Despite losing the game, Moreno still holds a 97-point lead over Apuzzo heading into Sunday’s Week Two finale … However, Moreno’s streak of three consecutive games with 200 or more leaderboard points came to an end.
Apuzzo extended her streak of consecutive games with at least one goal to 20 straight contests with her first hat trick of the season … She has registered four multi-goal efforts in her first five games.
O’Donnell authored her first hat trick of the season in the victory for Team Apuzzo … She had scored just four goals in her first three games.
Fortunato, who netted just one goal in her first three games, put together her second straight four-goal performance in the loss for Team Moreno.
Growney scored a season-high four goals in the setback, including one of Team Moreno’s goals in the shootout period.
Team Apuzzo outshot Team Moreno by a 42-25 margin, including a commanding 25-9 clip in the second half of regulation … The squad also held a 17-8 advantage on draw controls.

Updated Leaderboard (through games of July 30)

RANK	CHG	ATHLETE	TOTAL PTS	WIN PTS	STAT PTS	MVP PTS
1	0	Moreno, Taylor	923	480	293	150
2	0	Apuzzo, Sam	826	565	156	105
3	1	Colson, Lizzie	663	565	98	0
4	1	Arsenault, Dempsey	660	480	180	0
5	-2	Johansen, Amanda	634	395	164	75
6	2	Glynn, Kady	597	375	162	60
7	-1	Geiersbach, Sam	593	565	28	0
8	0	Mastroianni, Ally	582	375	162	45
9	-2	Trenchard, Emma	550	480	70	0
10	4	North, Charlotte	515	360	110	45