Recap: Team Kennedy Storms Past Team Moreno, 15-8

Ryan Legarsky

Aug 11, 2024

SPARKS, Md. — Rookies accounted for 14 of Team Kennedy’s 15 goals in a 15-8 victory against Team Moreno to kick off the final day of Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse action at USA Lacrosse Headquarters on Sunday afternoon.

Team Kennedy finishes Week Four at 1-2, while Team Moreno drops to 0-3 to end the final week of play in the 2024 season.

Midfielder Ally Kennedy tallied 219 leaderboard points after scoring a goal with three assists and three draw controls to claim MVP 1 honors in her team’s victory.

Rookie midfielder Ellie Masera finished with four goals, two ground balls, and a caused turnover to earn MVP 2 laurels and 211 points towards the standings.

Despite the loss for Team Moreno, defender Kristen Carr collected MVP 3 honors after picking up a pair of ground balls in her final AU Pro Lacrosse contest.

For Team Kennedy, rookie attacker Izzy Scane led the way with a five-goal outburst to pace all scorers in the game.

Attacker Livy Rosenzweig grabbed 13 draw controls, which is one shy of her single-game record that she set yesterday against Team North, while rookie attacker Maggi Hall contributed four goals.

Defensively, goalkeeper Britt Read made eight saves in the victory.

Rookie attacker Isabella Peterson and rookie midfielder Megan Kinna each scored twice for Team Moreno in the loss, while Peterson also grabbed four ground balls.

Goalkeeper Taylor Moreno made five saves, while Kat Buchanan entered the game and finished with six stopped shots.

KEY MOMENT

The game was deadlocked at 1-1 after the first quarter before Team Kennedy went on a 7-2 scoring run in the second frame to take an 8-3 lead at halftime that was never relinquished.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Attacker Sam Apuzzo remains in the top spot entering the final game of the 2024 season, while Kennedy jumps into second place in the standings with 1,582 points. Attacker Charlotte North is just five points behind in third. Moreno holds on to fourth on the leaderboard with 1,318 points.

GAME NOTES

Teams are now 6-for-18 in captain’s challenges in the 2024 season … Team Kennedy initiated a captain’s challenge following a turnover by Rosenzweig for being in the goal circle … Following the review, the call on the field was upheld and the turnover stood.
Scane set a new career high with five goals in Team Kennedy’s victory … She has registered at least three goals in all but two games in her rookie campaign … The Northwestern star is the second player in the league to reach the 30-goal plateau in the 2024 season and finishes the year with 32 markers.
Masera struck for four goals to move her weekly total to 12 markers … Masera has at least three goals in five games in her first AU Pro Lacrosse season.
Rosenzweig grabbed 13 draw controls to move her season total to 104 and establish her single-season record … This is the eighth time in her career to surpass 10 draws in a game and the seventh time in the 2024 season.
Rosenzweig also crosses 150 career draw controls and is just the second player in AU Pro Lacrosse history to surpass the milestone … Midfielder Marie McCool reached 150 career draws earlier this season and stands as the all-time league leader with 170 draw controls.
Hall contributed her second four-goal performance of her rookie AU Pro Lacrosse campaign … She previously scored four goals in her league debut against Team Apuzzo on July 18.
Read made eight saves in the victory to move her career saves total to 406. She is the first netminder in the league to surpass 400 career saves … Moreno finished with five saves to bring her career mark to 399.
Team Moreno finishes the week 0-3 for the second time in her 11 weeks as a captain … The only other time Moreno was held winless in a week came between August 5-7 in the 2022 campaign … It is also the second time Team Moreno has lost four consecutive games.
Buchanan relieved Moreno in the cage at the 8:28 mark of the third quarter … This was Buchanan’s third appearance of the season.
Team Kennedy completed the fifth win points sweep of the 2024 AU Pro Lacrosse season after taking all four quarter points and the game win … It is the 24th all-time win point sweep in AU Pro Lacrosse’s four-year history.
Kennedy claims her seventh Game MVP honor of the season to tie Apuzzo for the most in the 2024 season … It is her 13th all-time postgame laurel and just the second MVP 1 accolade of her four-year career.
Masera garnered MVP 2 honors for the first time in her AU Pro Lacrosse career … The Stony Brook product earned MVP 3 plaudits twice in her rookie season.
Carr claims her second Game MVP honor in her established AU Pro Lacrosse career … She gets MVP 3 considerations for the first time after previously claiming MVP 2 plaudits once.