Rookies In The MLL: Week 11 Update

Week 11 of the Major League Lacrosse season ended a few days ago. Let’s check in with how some of the recent NCAA graduates have done in the four games played this week!

Ohio Machine @ New York Lizards

The Lizards edged the Machine at Hofstra, 15-14, last Thursday.

Here are the rookies that played for the Machine:

• Connor Cannizzaro (Denver Pioneers) - 1 assist, 3 shots on goal, 1 ground ball
• Nick Fields (Johns Hopkins Blue Jays) - 1 ground ball, 2 penalty minutes

Cannizzaro was quiet in this game, posting just one assist on the stat sheet.

Here are the rookies that played for the Lizards:

• Jack Carrigan (Loyola Greyhounds) - 2 ground balls
• Jon Garino, Jr. (Maryland Terrapins) - 3-of-6 on face-offs, 2 ground balls

Garino made his MLL debut after being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Lizards a few weeks ago. He went 50% on draws.

Florida Launch @ Atlanta Blaze

The Blaze torched the Launch, 17-4, Saturday night.

Here are the the rookies that played for the Launch:

• Ryan Drenner (Towson Tigers) - 1 shot on goal, 3 ground balls, 1 caused turnover
• Nick Mariano (Syracuse Orange) - 1 goal, 2 shots on goal
• Dylan Molloy (Brown Bears) - 1 assist, 1 shots on goal, 1 ground ball, 3 turnovers
• Jarrod Neumann (Providence Friars) - 1 ground ball, 1 shot off cage
• Alex Tulett (Brown) - 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 shot on goal, 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers

The offense did nothing for the most part, but half of the goals came from rookies. Tulett had the best day out of anyone on the Launch with his stat line. I was surprised to see no Sergio Salcido in the lineup.

Here are the rookies that played for the Blaze:

• Dylan Donahue (Syracuse) - 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 shots on goal, 3 ground balls, 1 caused turnover
• Garrett Epple (Notre Dame Fighting Irish) - 2 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
• Jake Withers (Ohio State Buckeyes) - 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 shot on goal, 14-of-22 on face-offs, 9 ground balls

Epple definitely had the best game of his young career with his three caused turnovers, while Donahue had a big game with four total points. And Withers dominated the face-off X as well.

Also, I think Dylan’s name has changed to “Dyan”:

A total of six Cuse alums played in the game, and a seventh (Salcido) also showed up.

But the Blaze weren’t done with games just yet.

Rochester Rattlers @ Chesapeake Bayhawks

The Bayhawks blew out the Rattlers, 19-9, on Sunday.

Here are the rookies that played for the Rattlers:

• Ryan McNamara (Marquette Golden Eagles) - 1 shot on goal, 2 ground balls, 3 turnovers
• Zed Williams (Virginia Cavaliers) - 1 goal, 3 shots on goal, 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover, 3 turnovers

The two Rattler rookies were quiet in this one, except for the goal by Williams.

Here are the rookies that played for the Bayhawks:

• Josh Byrne (Hofstra Pride) - 2 goals, 3 assists, 2 shots on goal
• Isaiah Davis-Allen (Maryland) - 5 ground balls, 1 caused turnover
• Chris Fennell (Navy Midshipmen) - 1 assist, 1 ground ball, 2 caused turnovers
• Jake Froccaro (Villanova Wildcats) - 1 goal, 1 two-point goal, 3 assists, 3 shots on goal, 1 ground ball
• Colin Heacock (Maryland) - 2 goals, 3 shots on goal, 2 ground balls
• Ben Williams (Syracuse) - 5-of-17 on face-offs, 1 ground ball

Froccaro recorded the first two-point goal by a rookie and finished with either five or six points in the game. The MLL’s stats say five points and consider a two-point goal as a single point. I don’t like that, so I’m going with six, because a two-point goal is worth two points, not one. But he’s looking like the best rookie so far this year, winning another Rookie of the Week honor. Byrne is slightly behind Froccaro in the race for being the top rookie with a five-point day of his own.

Denver Outlaws 24, Atlanta Blaze 12

The Outlaws crushed the Blaze, 24-12, in a big offensive scoring game.

Here are the rookies that played for the Blaze:

• Garrett Epple (Notre Dame) - 1 goal, 3 ground balls, 1 caused turnover
• Jake Withers (Ohio State) - 10-of-30 on face-offs, 4 ground balls, 1 shot off cage, 2 penalty minutes

Epple had a goal in a very quiet game from the two Blaze rookies. Maybe the short amount of rest played a factor?

Here are the rookies that played for the Outlaws:

• Zach Currier (Princeton Tigers) - 2 goals, 2 shots on goal, 5 ground balls, 1 caused turnover, 0-for-1 on face-offs
• Romar Dennis (Loyola) - 1 goal, 4 shots on goal, 2 shots off cage

Currier put up two goals and also took a draw in the loss. Dennis scored his second goal of his MLL career in as many games.

No games this week, as the MLL is at their All-Star break.