Recap: Team Apuzzo surges to 9-2 victory against Team Moreno

The win allowed Team Apuzzo to finish the week with a 2-1 record, while Team Moreno also closed the opening series with a 2-1 mark.

Attacker Sam Apuzzo completed a stellar start to the season by netting two goals, including a two-point marker, with an assist to secure MVP 1 honors for the second time. The former Boston College star finished with 218 leaderboard points, moving her into the No. 2 position on the leaderboard.

Goalkeeper Kady Glynn notched seven saves to claim MVP 2 honors and 188 leaderboard points, while rookie defender Abby Bosco was the MVP 3 selection following an effort that included three ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers for 170 leaderboard points.

Midfielders Molly Garrett and Marie McCool accounted for Team Moreno’s two goals in the setback, while goalkeeper Taylor Moreno stopped 10 shots.

KEY MOMENT

Team Apuzzo netted four of the game’s first five goals, including a two-pointer from Apuzzo, to build a 5-1 lead with 4:34 remaining in the first half. Team Moreno halted the run with a goal from Garrett before Team Apuzzo struck for four consecutive markers to close the scoring.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Apuzzo’s 218-point performance allowed her to remain in the Orange captain’s chair for the second week in a row, while Moreno remains the league leader with 442 leaderboard points. They will be joined as captains by goalkeeper Britt Read and defender Lizzie Colson for the Week Two draft.

GAME NOTES

• Team Apuzzo and Team Moreno teamed up to record four assists in Sunday’s opener, upping the league’s season total to 42 assists through six games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every assist this season as part of its ‘Aspiration Assists’ initiative.

• Team Apuzzo and Team Moreno combined to net just 11 total points, matching the lowest combined point total in a game in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history … The standard was established on August 7, 2022, when Team Johansen battled Team Colson to a 7-4 verdict.

• Apuzzo now owns a 3-1 record in four all-time meetings against Moreno as a captain … She has 15 points in those four contests with eight goals, including a two-pointer, and six assists.

• Apuzzo also notched her fourth career game with 200 or more leaderboard points, tying her with Moreno for the all-time lead … She has notched 100 or more points in 18-of-30 career appearances.

• Team Apuzzo secured all 125 win points with its victory over Team Moreno, marking the 12th time a team has posted a clean sweep of the win points in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history … Team Read also had a win points sweep in its victory over Team Apuzzo on Saturday afternoon.

• Team Moreno was limited to just two goals in its loss on Sunday, marking the fewest goals scored by a team in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history … The previous single-game low was three goals by Team Benson in an 11-3 setback against Team Ohlmiller on July 23, 2021.

• Apuzzo became the first player in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history to amass 100 career points as a result of her four-point effort against Team Moreno … Apuzzo, who also owns the league’s career goals standard, closed Week One with 101 career points.

• Apuzzo has scored a goal in 29-of-30 career outings, while registering at least one point in every game she has played in her Athletes Unlimited career.

• Moreno, meanwhile, owns 12 games with 10 or more saves after finishing with 10 saves in Sunday’s loss to Team Apuzzo.

• Midfielder Amanda Johansen registered her ninth career multi-goal contest after scoring two goals in Sunday’s win … Attacker Lauren Gilbert also secured her 10th career multi-goal effort.

GAME MVPS

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