Weather was the enemy in Boyds, Md., during Week 4 of the Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse season, forcing schedule shakeups and overall playing a factor on the field.
Friday evening’s games were postponed and playing bright and early on Monday, making the first day of Week 5 a busy one around the league with the final draft coming Monday evening.
Dempsey Arsenault’s Team Gold topped Kayla Wood’s Team Orange 13-8, and then Taylor Cummings’ Team Blue handled Kady Glynn’s Team Purple 10-6, capping the week.
Glynn made moves this week, cementing herself as a contender for the individual points title entering the final three games of the inaugural Athletes Unlimited season.
In this week’s notebook, we’ll take a look at the contenders for the title.
THE CONTENDERS
For the first time since the first game of the season, Kayla Wood is not in the top four. She won’t be a captain this week for the first time since the inaugural draft, meaning she’ll be up for grabs for this week’s four captains — Taylor Cummings, Caylee Waters, Kady Glynn and Kylie Ohlmiller.
Ohlmiller glowingly spoke of her experience playing with Wood after Week 1, and the former Stony Brook star has even taken to social media to express how close she and Wood have become after meeting for the first time at Athletes Unlimited. Could there be a reunion in the cards?
Realistically, any number of players are still in contention for the points crown. While Cummings does hold an 85-point edge over Waters in second place, the AU scoring system makes it so anyone who takes the field in Week 5 can earn significant points and make up ground.
Given the depth of the league and the quantity of points available in a given week, anyone in the Top 20 could feasibly make a run. Those on the lower end of that spectrum — like Kenzie Kent (1,005 points at No. 20) — likely need a little luck, too. But Kent is easily one of the most talented attackers in the league and could go off for a big week.
The diverse way in which players can earn points as legitimized the talent at every position. Within the Top 10 after Week 4, there are two midfielders, three goalies, four attackers and one defender.
Much of the analysis on who will be the favorite in Week 5 will come after Monday night’s draft, at which point it will be easier to see matchups, pairings and the like. Ohlmiller, who has the first pick as the captain of Team Purple, is theoretically in the best position to gain the upper hand from the jump.
An individual champ will be crowned Sunday. Don’t miss the action.
WEEKEND HIGHLIGHT
Um, how did Nicole Levy pull this off?
LEADERBOARD
|
|
NAME |
POS |
PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Taylor Cummings |
M |
1,507 |
|
2 |
Caylee Waters |
G |
1,422 |
|
3 |
Kady Glynn |
G |
1,357 |
|
4 |
Kylie Ohlmiller |
A |
1,292 |
|
5 |
Kayla Wood |
D |
1,273 |
|
6 |
Dempsey Arsenault |
M |
1,238 |
|
7 |
Kayla Treanor |
A |
1,212 |
|
8 |
Britt Read |
G |
1,168 |
|
9 |
Nicole Levy |
A |
1,164 |
|
10 |
Sam Apuzzo |
A |
1,164 |
WEEK 5 CAPTAINS
The Week 5 draft is Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern on Facebook Live. Check it out at Athletes Unlimited or USA Lacrosse Magazine.
TAYLOR CUMMINGS: Eighty-five points ahead of Caylee Waters, Cummings is three games away from capturing the first individual points crown in Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse history.
CAYLEE WATERS: Waters climbed three spots in Week 4 to get within striking distance of the top spot.
KADY GLYNN: Glynn has been in the mix all season, and she’s now 150 points back of Cummings.
KYLIE OHLMILLER: Ohlmiller has some ground to make up, needing 215 points to reach Cummings.