Standout Performances: Week Two
Week two has come and gone, but these are the players on each team that stood out on the pitch.
Daniel Williams – San Antonio Soldados (B)
It’s not breaking news anymore from one of the best players in the world, but beater Daniel Williams can take out half of a defense by himself in a matter of seconds. He routinely tap beats multiple chasers and wins exchanges with opposing beaters on the same possession, sending even the most organized defenses into absolute chaos. His outstanding field awareness, quick lateral movement, and controlled beats make it all possible. He led all beaters in a tight series with a plus/minus of +7. When Williams is on the field, opposing defenses are going to become unbalanced.
Lauren Smith – Kansas City Stampede (C)
One of the biggest moves of the offseason, chaser Lauren Smith lived up to the hype in her debut for the Kansas City Stampede. Utilized in a relatively smaller role last season for the Chicago Prowl as a rookie, she played huge minutes in the stifling San Antonio weather for the short-handed Stampede and contributed in every way imaginable. In game one in particular, when Kansas City came closest to knocking off the Soldados, she set the tone by scoring off well-timed cuts around the hoops, scoring from midrange, registering blocks, and making open-field tackles. She was locked in and leading by example on both ends of the field.
Leeanne Dillmann – Boston Forge (B)
Beater Leeanne Dillmann tied with Max Havlin for the highest plus/minus of the weekend at +19, tops in the league through two weeks of play. After a slow start in game one against the Charlotte Aviators, who have historically carried a deep beater corps, Dillmann gained confidence and began to assert her will offensively and dominate the matchup. She described her thought process postgame on the MLQ Network. “[Beater Kieran Collier] and I looked at each other and were like, ‘Hey, I think we’re better than we’re playing right now, so why not try to be a little more aggressive?’”
Zachary Thompson – Charlotte Aviators (K)
The highly-touted Charlotte Aviators keeper Zachary Thompson did not put up gaudy numbers this weekend against the Boston Forge, but he still managed a couple of “wow” moments in the three-game sweep. Specifically in the third game, he showed off a long-range shot that caught Boston napping on defense from practically midfield. He also consistently took advantage of small windows cleared by the Aviators’ beaters on designed plays. Thompson minimized his turnovers in dangerous places, something Charlotte can work as a team going forward.
Joanne Lam – Toronto Raiders (C)
Chaser Joanne Lam has been doing it for more than a decade now, going all the way back to her illustrious college career at Emerson College, but she continues to have a knack for making something out of nothing on a quadball pitch. She will recover loose balls from broken plays and rather than resetting, she will immediately look to attack and find the gaps in the opposing defense herself, often taking the ball all the way to the hoops for a goal. Lam finished the weekend with three goals, one assist, and two stops, part of an extremely balanced scoring effort from the Raiders, who got each and every one of their rostered quadball players on the scoreboard over the course of the series.
Joseph Lombardi – Cleveland Riff (C)
Chaser Joseph Lombardi was a steadying presence for the Cleveland Riff, expanding upon the role he played last season during his first year with the team. He shifted the angle of attack against the Raiders’ zone defense and initiated drives with aggressive cuts and effective pump fakes that committed multiple defenders and freed his teammates. With utility Peter Brechting splitting his time between keeper and beater, Lombardi carried an increased portion of the ballhandling responsibilities and he finished with four goals, tied with sparkplug chaser Adam Thompson for a team high.
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