For the second weekend in a row, Team Gold went 3-0. And for the second weekend in a row, Kayla Wood led the way.

Wood, who shined in Week 1 as Kylie Ohlmiller captained Team Gold, took on the captain duties herself in Week 2 and continued to showcase her all-around abilities.

Wood, No. 1 on the Athletes Unlimited individual leaderboard, will again captain Team Gold in Week 3. But before we look to far ahead, let’s recap another outstanding weekend of AU Lacrosse.

THE RETURN OF ALEX AUST

Alex Aust didn’t play in Week 1. She made up for lost time in Week 2.

The former Maryland Terrapin and U.S. national team attacker is up to No. 19 on the individual leaderboard, even though she’s played half the game of her contemporaries. Aust produced the first five-goal game in Athletes Unlimited history, helping Team Gold to a 3-0 week.

Her quick-stick score in the pouring rain was just one of her many highlights this weekend.

.@AAust10 quick sticks one into the back of the net to give Team @kwooood the lead 3-2 at the end of the 1st#BeUnlimited // : @FS1 pic.twitter.com/zYzzgbOOT3

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) August 1, 2021

Recently profiled by USA Lacrosse Magazine contributor Lauren Merola, Aust was featured in this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. The past few seasons, Aust has made her mark as an acclaimed fitness instructor and social media influencer.

Preaching women’s empowerment, Aust has been a steady voice in the women’s lacrosse community for much of the last decade. Now back on a professional field, Aust is ready to leave her mark on the lacrosse scene yet again.

GOALIE GREATNESS

Three goalies — Britt Read, Kady Glynn and Caylee Waters — reside in the top 10 on the AU Lacrosse leaderboard. Two more goalies — Haley Hicklen and Amber Hill — check in inside the top 25.

Athletes Unlimited has made it a point to value every position on the field. While midfielders and attackers get the headlines and highlights, defenders and goalies can be overlooked. Not any longer.

Read will be the captain of Team Blue this week. Read, Waters and Hill are the only goalies on the AU roster to earn game MVP points through two weeks, an honor given out through a combination of fan and player voting. This showcases the respect fans and players alike have for those in the crease.

No goalie has made more saves than Read, as her 33 saves are four more than Waters and nine more than Hicklen.

A member of Team England, Read is making her first appearance in professional women’s lacrosse. The former Oregon goalie set the Ducks’ single-season saves record (179) in 2018 before it was broken by Rachel Hall the following season. Prior to joining Oregon, she spent three years at Louisville, where she holds career records for saves (323) and save percentage (51.6).

LEADERBOARD

WEEK 3 CAPTAINS

The Week 3 draft is Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern on Facebook Live. Check it out at Athletes Unlimited or USA Lacrosse Magazine.

KAYLA WOOD: What’s left to say about Wood? She’s taken Athletes Unlimited by storm, surprising fans from the jump and earning the top spot on the leaderboard yet again.

DEMPSEY ARSENAULT: Arsenault is just 59 points off the lead, and drafting a team that can get the best of Wood’s squad could be just what she needs to be No. 1.

BRITT READ: Read’s 193 stat points are the most of any captain this week, but her 480 win points are the least.

KYLIE OHLMILLER: Ohlmiller said after the first game of the AU season that she’d draft Wood every chance she gets. She can’t do that this time, so she’ll have to figure out how to slow the only other captain to produce a 3-0 team.