The Cannons spent the better part of the last year searching for a solution at lefty attack. With three games under his belt, Coulter Mackesy is shaping up to be the answer.
In a 13-12 win over the Maryland Whipsnakes on Saturday, the rookie scored three goals, all assisted by Asher Nolting. As the Cannons’ quarterback, Nolting is rarely searching in a game for the “hot hand” to pass to. Rather, Mackesy has become the missing piece on the Cannons’ attack – the balance Boston’s facilitator has been looking for.
“We play positionless lacrosse,” Nolting said after the win. “On this Cannons team, there are no assigned roles.”
But the emerging connection between Nolting and Mackesy looks very much like a classic quarterback-to-wide receiver pairing – exactly what head coach and general manager Brian Holman envisioned when Boston drafted Mackesy fourth overall in May.
“We needed a natural lefty who could live off-ball, finish efficiently and stretch defenses,” Holman said. “Coulter checks all those boxes.”
Filling the lefty void
Last season, the Cannons ranked last in fast-break efficiency (19.3%). The glaring lack of a true lefty outlet was the obvious culprit of the issue.
“The first flow of transition is typically through your left-handed attackman,” Holman explained. “[Mackesy] doesn’t need to hold the ball. He gets to the right spot and finishes.”
And that’s precisely what he did against Maryland. Mackesy floated into pockets of space, cut with perfect timing and let Nolting do what he does best: read the field and deliver.
A seamless connection
Nolting finished the night with six points (1G, 5A), matching his career high. Three of those five assists came on feeds to Mackesy.
Mackesy’s presence forced Maryland to show some respect to the lefty side, spreading its slides and opening Nolting’s driving lanes. The result? A hat trick for Mackesy and a career night for Nolting. Against Maryland, that “flow” Holman mentioned was seamless.
From projection to reality
The idea of “pick your poison” when trying to defend in pro lacrosse is often overused. But in this case, it’s the best way to describe the Cannons’ attack.
With Mackesy on the left and Marcus Holman on the right, Boston forces defenses to hesitate. Nolting’s reads get easier, and help-side collapses become all the more costly.
Even before this attack had played a game together, ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra recognized the potential. In his PLL preseason predictions, he wrote: “I expect [Boston’s] offense to be explosive, with the combination of the right-handed Marcus Holman, the distributor with a point guard mentality in Asher Nolting and the left-handed sniper in rookie Coulter Mackesy. This attack line has it all.”
Built for the long run
Right now, the 3-1 Cannons are cruising at the top of the standings. But with two months of regular-season lacrosse left to play, a lot can happen. Mackesy’s game continues to trend upward every time he takes to the field. The more time he and Nolting spend on the field together, the more dangerous they become.
What started as a draft-day projection is quickly becoming one of the most reliable connections in the Cannons’ offense. Mackesy elevates Nolting’s game. With a true lefty outlet in place, his vision as a facilitator can be fully unlocked – and Boston’s offense is operating with a new level of balance and creativity.
For a team with championship aspirations, that kind of chemistry might just be the difference come playoff time.
