Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/15/22 – From Press Release
SPARKS, Md. – The Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse record book is going to look a lot different after Sunday’s penultimate game of the season between Team Glynn and Team Johansen.
And while there will be many memorable individual achievements authored into those pages, it will be the final score the players will be most concerned about – a 16-13 victory for Team Johansen at USA Lacrosse Headquarters.
A pair of rookies took center stage in leading Team Johansen to the victory. Attacker Scottie Rose Growney (Conestoga, UNC) netted five goals with an assist to earn MVP 1 honors and 192 leaderboard points, while midfielder Ally Mastroianni chipped in four goals of her own along with an assist and six draw controls.
Team Glynn Starters: Kady Glynn (GK), Izzy McMahon (A), Katrina Geiger (D), Courtney Taylor (D), Haley Warden (M), Halle Majorana (A), Ally Kennedy (M), Sydney Pirreca (D), Alyssa Parrella (M), Charlotte North (A)
Team Johansen Starters: Caylee Waters (GK), Kelly McPartland (M), Amanda Johansen (M), Cortney Fortunato (A), Scottie Rose Growney (A), Ally Mastroianni (M), Meg Douty (D), Kyra Pelton (D), Becca Block (D), Sam Geiersbach (A)
Game MVPs: #1 – Scottie Rose Growney (Team Johansen), +45 points
#2 – Ally Mastroianni (Team Johansen), +30 points
#3 – Charlotte North (Team Glynn), +15 points
Mastroianni, who posted her second straight hat trick, claimed MVP 2 distinction and garnered 169 leaderboard points.
Goalkeeper Caylee Waters anchored the defensive effort for Team Johansen by registering a career-high 13 saves, including eight in the first half. She also tallied two ground balls and a draw control.
Growney and Mastroianni’s performances overshadowed a record-setting day for rookie attacker Charlotte North, who earned MVP 3 recognition after scoring a league-record six goals, including a trio of two-point markers, with an assist.
Midfielder Ally Kennedy also registered a career-high 10 draw controls, while goalkeeper Kady Glynn finished her season with nine saves.
Key Moment: With the score tied at 11-all heading into the fourth quarter, Team Johansen ran off four consecutive goals to begin the final frame, including a two-pointer from captain Amanda Johansen, for a 16-11 advantage with 4:12 remaining. Kennedy and attacker Mollie Stevens closed the scoring with back-to-back markers, but the comeback fell short.
Leaderboard Impact: Mastroianni and Waters elevated their position on the leaderboard by seven spots, lifting them into the No. 3 and No. 4 positions, respectively. Johansen also moved into the top five with her 141-point performance in her final game of the season.
Final Standings
Rookie goalkeeper Taylor Moreno and attacker Sam Apuzzo battled back and forth at the top of the Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse leaderboard for most of the 2022 campaign, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the final determination for the league’s second champion needed some extra time to be decided.
For the first time in Athletes Unlimited’s three-year history, a season’s champion had to wait an extra day to claim the crown due to the final margin being too close to call. However, once the period for statistical appeals came to a close, it was the first-year-pro Moreno who stood atop the league 57-player standings with 1,798 points.
While Moreno secured the league’s title, defender Becca Block earned her second consecutive GEICO Defensive Player of the Year award in a vote of the league’s players and facilitators along with members of the Unlimited Club.
Apuzzo, midfielder Ally Mastroianni and goalkeeper Britt Read (Eastern Regional) rounded out the top four finishers, while defenders Emma Trenchard and Lizzie Colson joined Moreno and Block on the inaugural All-Defensive Team, as selected by the league’s players and facilitators.
Athletes Unlimited also announced that it will continue with a third season of lacrosse in 2023. Details regarding timing and location will be announced at a later date.
Moreno enjoyed a record-setting first season in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse after being one of 15 players selected in the league’s College Draft in late May. The former University of North Carolina netminder established a league record with 132 saves and held the top spot on the leaderboard after 8-of-12 game days this summer.
Moreno, who authored double-digit saves in 10-of-12 outings, posted a pair of 14-save efforts against Team Apuzzo on July 30 and against Team Colson on Aug. 6. She was named as one of the three game MVPs four times, including a pair of MVP 1 selections.
To commemorate her victory, Moreno 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 awards that are innovative, mixed-media, non-traditional works of art, pieces 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.