PLC Summer Championships: 2028 Attack Standouts

The Pinnacle Lacrosse Summer Championships took place at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Md., on July 18 and 19. I focused on the 2028 AA division, which ended with FCA Upstate beating the Seattle Starz in the championship game. Here are five attackmen who stood out to me at the event:    The player I was most impressed with at the PLC Summer Championships was Beckett Ritzer. He is incredibly crafty and does an excellent job of getting to the middle of the field from his natural lefty attack spot and out of the box. If you are not familiar with the Seattle Starz, you probably know him from ADVNC NDP Black, where he has to share the ball a little more with the other talented lefties on the roster. On that NDP team, I knew he had a great stepdown shot that he gets off quickly from different release points. At PLC, he was one of the main attractions, and he showed off the extra layers to his game, especially as a creator with the ball. Ritzer was initiating behind the cage with shifty finalizer-type moves, getting up the hashes for good shots or finding easy dunks off his mirror option. Off the wing, he is incredibly skilled sweeping to the middle of the field or getting underneath, where he is not afraid to feed with his right hand. I also loved his off-ball movement, where he does a great job of finding gaps and skip lanes.     One of the most unassuming players I have seen this summer is Lucas Grizzanti. He is 5'7" and around 150 pounds soaking wet, but he was huge for the Red Hots in their Naptown championship run. He kept that momentum going at the PLC Summer Championships, where he was impossible to ignore. He can make a difference out of the box, as the point man in transition, or as an X attackman. Grizzanti is incredibly skilled, plays within himself, fills the stat sheet, and can beat you in a lot of ways. Defenders will often press out in their approaches against him, and that is where he gets them. He wins on the first step, almost like a redodge bounce without bouncing, slipping past them quickly and turning the corner over the top or underneath on s-dodges. He also catches defenders sleeping off the ball in transition and settled situations with cuts through the middle, and he can do it with his left as well. What stands out most is his zero-second decision-making. It must come from his hockey background, because he already seems to know what he is going to do before the ball arrives. He was quick-sticking it to Kobe Genco or catching and shooting low to high as the point man in transition before the defense could react.     I thought Kieran Stenzel was one of the best 2028 attackmen at the PLC Summer Championships. He is not the type of attackman who is going to torch matchups, but he has a ton of skill, and his frame allows him to make plays through contact. Checks and physicality do not affect him like they do other players, as he is comfortable sweeping to the middle and shooting around contact. As the point man in transition, he looked excellent reading the field and making decisions before he received the ball, which led to a lot of assists. His catch-and-shoot ability is another major strength. Off the ball, he does a great job of sneakily cutting to the cage for easy finishes or drifting into gaps up top, where he can bring heat with his underhand stepdown.     While there was no shortage of offensive star power on the ADVNC Seattle Starz, Gallant made his mark on its PLC Championship run. He is a right-handed attackman who can also run out of the box, and he is a threat because of his shifty moves and ability to use both hands. His change of speed and rocker moves in the championship game against FCA Upstate really stood out, as he kept sliders delayed with his pace. On the run and with both hands, he has a deceptively quick three-quarters release that he can place wherever he wants. He also scored goals right in front of the net, picking up garbage and working as the mirror in invert sets.     Braxton Leary stood out to me as an attackman with potential. He has good height and a ton of athleticism. In the spring, he played well for the MIAA B runners-up as a feeder, finisher, and rider. At PLC, he stood out primarily for what he did with the ball. Leary has the shakes, hesitations, and burst to his dodges to free up his hands for feeds and shots whenever he wants. As a feeder, he fires skips through tight windows and adds look-offs to make them even better. If he continues to improve his stick, Leary will be a player to watch in the B conference this spring.

The Pinnacle Lacrosse Summer Championships took place at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Md., on July 18 and 19. I focused on the 2028 AA division, which ended with FCA Upstate beating the Seattle Starz in the championship game. Here are five attackmen who stood out to me at the event: