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1. The MLL Championship Game is set.

The Dallas Rattlers and Denver Outlaws won their respective semifinals on Saturday, setting up a much-anticipated matchup this weekend in Charleston, S.C.

For the Rattlers, the 15-12 win over the New York Lizards helped them move to the MLL title game in the first season in Dallas. Six different scorers combined to help the Rattlers take a 6-1 lead after the first quarter. Despite two goals from Rob Pannell and Jake Bernhardt in the second quarter, the Lizards trailed 9-5 heading into halftime.

The teams went back-and-forth through the third quarter, leading to a 15-9 Rattlers lead with 8:56 left. Bernhardt, Will Manny and Kevin Unterstein mounted a Lizards rally, but it ultimately came up short. Ready Staats and Jordan Wolf led the way for the Rattlers with two goals and two assists.

As for the Outlaws, they’re back to the title game for the third consecutive season, and they advanced in a thriller with the Chesapeake Bayhawks. After Matt Kavanagh scored the go-ahead goal to give Denver a 13-12 lead with 3:53 left, the Outlaws held on in the final seconds to clinch the upset win.

Zach Currier had two goals in a back-and-forth first half that ended with a 6-5 Denver lead. He added two out of the break to push the lead to three goals, but Lyle Thompson’s two-goal third quarter kept the Bayhawks in it. Both teams had runs in the fourth quarter that gave them the lead (11-10 Chesapeake, 12-11 Denver), but Kavanagh’s goal came minutes after Colin Heacock tied the game up. Can the Outlaws make it two titles in three years?

2. NCAA Men's Lacrosse is getting a shot clock. And the dive is back (partially). Those among others rules passed last week.

The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committee met in Indianapolis last week to consider rules changes effective for the 2019 season. The result? The committee announced Friday that it will recommend a 60-second shot clock that will start when teams cross midfield. In addition, teams will have 20 seconds to clear the ball.

Also, the dive is back — or at least a version of it. The committee voted to reinstate the dive, so long as the dive is going away from goal. In other recommendations, the committee identified sportsmanship as a point of emphasis, reduced the substitution box from 20 yards to 10 yards and called for the release of a shot at the end of the shot clock and game clock a reviewable play during the NCAA Division I championship.

As expected, the lacrosse community shared its thoughts on the rules changes. Here's a sampling:

3. US Lacrosse welcomed the newest members of the U.S. U19 Women’s National Team over the weekend. 

Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and her staff whittled down a tryout group of 110 players to the 36-member training team, which was announced on Sunday. All of this in preparation for the 2019 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Women’s U19 World Championship, which will be held Aug. 1-10, 2019 in Peterborough, Canada.

The roster includes 12 attackers, 13 midfielders, eight defenders and three goalies and features players from 11 different states.

The first training weekend for the team will be held Oct. 5-8 at the Team USA Fall Classic in conjunction with the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Senior Teams at US Lacrosse.

4. The San Diego Seals held their first NLL Combine on Saturday, bringing players from across North America together for a shot at an NLL roster. Stay tuned for the Philadelphia Wings Combine on Sept. 9.

WHAT WE’RE READING

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Joel White ……. LONG POLE DIVE.

Virginia coach Lax Tiffany shares his thoughts on the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committee’s recommendations. 

Aaron Greyeyes goes behind-the-back for the Iroquois Nationals in the World Junior Lacrosse Championship.

How cool is this? Tyler Steinhardt and his Shootout for Soldiers crew helped ring the opening bell at NASDAQ on Friday.

WHAT’S ON TAP

  • A conversation with the coaching staff of the FIL World Championship-winning U.S. national team.

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