Sam Apuzzo Crowned 2024 AU Pro Lacrosse Champion

Apuzzo, who has finished in the Top 4 during each AU Pro Lacrosse season, accumulated 1,852 leaderboard points. She ranked third with 29 goals, fourth in draw controls (44), and added eight assists and 10 caused turnovers. She posted an 8-4 record as a captain, including a perfect 3-0 record to close the season, leading a team in all four weeks. She led the league in Stat Points (642) and MVP Points (330). She is the first athlete in any AU sport to medal in four seasons.

In the season finale against Team North, Apuzzo scored three goals, including two in the opening period, and added an assist to secure the crown with a 13-10 victory. 

“I’m so proud to be part of this group of women that are incredible, that work so hard to be here to put the best thing on the field,” Apuzzo said. “I’m so lucky and humbled and happy and grateful to be a part of it.”

In addition, rookie defender Emily Nalls was voted as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year by the league’s players and facilitators along with members of the Unlimited Club, while goalkeeper Kat Buchanan was named 2024 AU Pro Lacrosse Teammate of the Year.  

Nalls finished the season with 10 caused turnovers, 32 draw controls, and 18 ground balls. She was joined on the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse All-Defensive Team by fellow defenders Katie Detwiler, Meg Douty, and Sydney Scales. 

North tallied 1,654 leaderboard points to finish third in a record-breaking season. She broke the single-season goals record with 50 and the single-game goals record, scoring eight against Team Kennedy on Aug. 4. She was a captain for the first time in her AU Pro Lacrosse career in Weeks Three and Four.

Kennedy finished her fourth AU Pro Lacrosse campaign with 1,582 leaderboard points. She received MVP honors on seven occasions and was a captain in Weeks Three and Four. She scored 15 goals with three assists, 22 ground balls, eight caused turnovers, and 31 draw controls. Kennedy was amongst the winningest players in the league, collecting 890 Win Points. She ranked third in Stat Points with 497.

Mastroianni rounded out the Top 4 finishers with 1,385 leaderboard points. She ranked second with 59 draw controls, adding six goals, and five assists. She received MVP honors four times. It is her second Top 4 finish. She previously finished third in 2022.

To commemorate her victory, Apuzzo will receive a medal designed and hand-fabricated by Lisa Issenberg, founder of Kiitellä, inc. Kiitellä is a Finnish word meaning “to thank, applaud or praise,” and Issenberg creates innovative awards that are mixed-media, non-traditional works of art that celebrate accomplishment, humanity, and philanthropy. Kiitellä is committed to being a responsible steward of our environment, with each step in the process, from design to fabrication to delivery, using minimal energy and material. 

Athletes Unlimited will also commission a portrait of Apuzzo for its Champions Collection, which features emerging artists whose work and approach speak to the mission and values of Athletes Unlimited. Apuzzo’s portrait will be created by Sinder Block, an artist completing her BFA at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) whose work “seeks to evoke a sense of nostalgia and celebrate the purity of tender moments, revealing the universal beauty inherent in the simplicity of everyday life.” 

“Congratulations to Sam Apuzzo, Emily Nalls, and Kat Buchanan on winning our 2024 major awards,” said Abi Jackson, Director of Lacrosse for Athletes Unlimited. “This was our most thrilling season yet, with intense competition in front of the best lacrosse fans in the world at USA Lacrosse HQ.”