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It was not an easy week for the Atlanta Blaze.

In a span of eight days, the Blaze played four games. Their Week 7 contests included flying across the country to play the league- leading Denver Outlaws in a noon game Thursday and coming back to host the second-place Boston Cannons on Saturday.

Atlanta put up a fight, playing in two of the most exciting games any team has played this season, but the Blaze came up short both times, losing each game by one goal.

The Blaze struggled through the first quarter of the matchup against the Outlaws, going down 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. The team continued to fight, however, and a stretch of five consecutive goals in the third quarter — including three from Randy Staats — even nudged the Blaze ahead 13-12.

The teams exchanged goals throughout the fourth quarter, but Zach Currier scored with two seconds remaining to finally push Denver past Atlanta 18-17.

“Both teams. Great game. Unbelievable,” Denver coach Tony Seaman said in a postgame interview on Lax Sports Network. “They’re really good. We’re really good. It was just a great day. Great effort by our guys.”

Atlanta once again got off to a slow start against the Cannons, as Boston scored the first five goals of the game and went ahead 6-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Blaze outscored Boston 5-1 in the second quarter, however, to take a 9-7 lead into halftime.

Again, Atlanta couldn’t hold on to their second half lead. After Christian Mazzone scored the first goal of the second half, Boston fired off 10 consecutive goals to take a 17-10 lead. The Blaze made a spirited comeback, as Dylan Maher scored two 2-point goals to help the Blaze come within one with just under two minutes remaining, but the equalizer was not to be had.

“I think they’re a team, kind of like us, that likes to go on runs. They have offensive firepower all over the field,” Cannons attackman Mark Cockerton said about Atlanta in a televised postgame interview. “They’re a really talented team.”

Atlanta — which has scored the most goals in Major League Lacrosse — will have to put this weekend, especially the Boston game, behind it quickly. The Blaze take on the Cannons twice more in the next three weeks.

Lizards get another win

Prior to the start of the season, the New York Lizards seemed to be a favorite to — at the very least — earn a trip to the MLL postseason. The team that already had the reigning league MVP Rob Pannell added Mark Matthews, Kevin Crowley, Dylan Molloy and Austin Kaut.

Winning the offseason didn’t result in any early-season wins, however. The Lizards lost the first four games of the season, including two matchups with the Boston Cannons.

Things might be turning around for New York, however. The Lizards defeated the Boston Cannons 15-12 in Week 7 and now have won two of the past three games.

“We have a lot of good players. We haven’t really played together before this season,” Molloy said in a postgame interview done by Lizards staff. “It just took a little time to get that chemistry going, and we’re really wrapping it together now, and hopefully there are more wins on the way.”

The Lizards outscored the Cannons 7-1 in the third quarter to take a 12-9 lead, one they would not relinquish. Molloy led the charge for New York with four total goals on the day, including a “SportsCenter” Top 10 goal where he picked up a ball after goosing it one-handed through Justin Pugal’s legs, then ran through Tim Edwards and Matt Dziama before shooting past Nick Marrocco.

All-Star captains announced

MLL announced last week 42 players elected by fans to participate in the MLL All-Star Game. Three days later, the league announced Lyle Thompson and Rob Pannell would be the team captains that select the rosters for the July 27 showcase at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

Thompson is making his first All-Star Game appearance, but is certainly not a surprise. The two-time Tewaaraton Award winner, playing a full MLL season for the first time in his career, leads the league with 25 goals and 37 points.

Pannell will make his seventh consecutive appearance in the MLL All-Star Game. He currently has 13 goals and 15 assists through seven games. He tweeted his excitement, sharing the original tweet from the league and commenting, “Oh baby!”

Noteworthy

Greg Puskuldjian won 18 of 31 faceoffs and scored two goals in New York’s victory over Boston. … Lizards goalie Austin Kaut made 17 saves against the Cannons. …

After a one-goal game against the Lizards, Mark Cockerton scored four goals and added an assist against the Atlanta Blaze. … Will Sands (one goal, three assists), Challen Rogers (three goals, one assist), and Connor O’Hara (three goals, one assist) all had four points for the Cannons against the Blaze. … Making his MLL debut, Tate Boyce came on in relief of Nick Marrocco in the final minute of Boston’s game against Atlanta. His highlight-worthy save against MLL All-Star Shayne Jackson preserved the one-goal victory for the Cannons. …

Randy Staats enjoyed a three-goal, three-assist performance against the Denver Outlaws. … Alex Woodall won 19 of 33 faceoffs and picked up nine ground balls against the Cannons. … In the loss to the Cannons, Blaze defender Liam Byrnes scored a goal, tallied an assist, picked up three ground balls and caused two turnovers. …

Lyle Thompson (two goals, two assists), Andrew Kew (three goals, one assist) and Steele Stanwick (three goals, one assist) each had four points in Chesapeake’s victory over the Dallas Rattlers. … Chesapeake’s Kenny Massa won 17 of 26 faceoffs. …

Adam Osika, in his second game with the Rattlers, led the team with four points on three goals and one assist. … Sean Sconone made his MLL debut, making 14 saves and picking up three ground balls.

Player of the Week
Brendan Sunday, M, Atlanta Blaze

Yes, his team suffered two losses in Week 7. Sunday was an extremely impactful performer in two high scoring games, however, with back-to-back four goal games. The rookie, named an MLL All-Star in his first season, scored four goals and added an assist against the Denver Outlaws on Thursday. Then, against the Cannons on Saturday, Sunday led all players with seven points on four goals and three assists.

Play of the Week
Bradley Voight, A, Dallas Rattlers

Week 7 was the most exciting week of the 2019 MLL season, and there were many plays worthy of consideration for play of the week, including Molloy’s bulldozer.

Dallas rookie Bradley Voigt, added to the team from the player pool on Thursday, scored his first MLL goal in style. His pump fake into a behind-the-back goal even had the iconic John Grant Jr. tweeting his praise, replying simply, “That’s filthy!!!”