BOSTON, Mass. – Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Monday its weekly award winners for the week ending June 17, 2012, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross. Denver Outlaws attackman Brendan Mundorf was named as the recipient of the MLL Offensive Player of the Week award while Boston Cannons goalkeeper Jordan Burke earned MLL Defensive Player of the Week notice.
In addition, Long Island Lizards attackman Tommy Palasek received the Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week award.
Honored as the MLL Offensive Player of the Week for the sixth time in his career, Mundorf scored six goals and added two assists as the Outlaws earned a 16-12 victory over the Rochester Rattlers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Saturday night. Named as the Bud Light MLL Player of the Game for the 13th time in his career, the former UMBC attackman tallied three of his goals in the first half as the Outlaws built a 9-6 half-time lead en route to the victory.
The MLL’s second-leading scorer with 30 points, Mundorf has scored 17 goals with 13 assists in six games this year for the Outlaws, who are tied for second in the MLL with a 5-2 record.
While leading the Boston Cannons to a 16-8 victory over the Charlotte Hounds on Saturday night at American Legion Memorial Stadium, Burke made 15 saves and allowed just four goals in 53 minutes. He made eight of his saves in the third quarter as the Cannons outscored Charlotte by a 4-1 margin. Burke was named as the Bud Light MLL Player of the Game for the fourth time in his career.
Burke, who earned the fifth MLL Defensive Player of the Week award of his career, leads the MLL with a 9.36 goals against average and a league-high 91 saves. He has also posted a league-high .583 save percentage.
Palasek earned Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week notice for the first time this season after scoring a season-high four goals in the Lizards’ 16-12 victory over Ohio on Saturday night at Selby Stadium. Honored as the Bud Light MLL Player of the Game for the first time in his career, the former Syracuse University attackman tallied three of his goals in the second half as the Lizards overcame an 8-7 half-time deficit to earn their fourth straight win.
Palasek, who has scored seven goals with an assist in three games this season, was selected by the Lizards with the 28th overall pick in the 2012 MLL Collegiate Draft. He led Syracuse to a 9-8 record as a senior and was the Orange’s leading scorer with 54 points while contributing a team-high 30 assists.
The eighth week of the 2012 Major League Lacrosse season will feature four intriguing match-ups. The MLL-leading Chesapeake Bayhawks will welcome the defending MLL champion Boston Cannons to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium while the Charlotte Hounds and the Ohio Machine will square off in a match-up of the league’s newest teams. Meanwhile, Denver travels to Long Island while Hamilton and Rochester face each other on the CBS Sports Network.
