The assist has long been the benchmark for ranking passers in lacrosse; a legacy stat that has its faults. The metric ignores the opportunities passers create that do not result in a goal. Shooters in the PLL missed 992 assisted shots last season; historically the passer who set up these shots had not been credited.
The advanced stat, assist opportunities, aims to shine light on those who create offense. AOs are a better indicator of playmaking ability than traditional assists.
10 . Joe Walters
Teammates converted on 11 of Walters’ 36 assist opportunities (29%).
Joe Walters dodges down the alley and throws a pull pass across his body to Brent Adams.@jwalters1 @BDAdams_8 @PLLRedwoods pic.twitter.com/aLsYcbnKnE
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 24, 2020
9 (Tied). Paul Rabil
The Bulls netted 13 of Rabil’s 38 assist opportunities (34%).
Paul Rabil draws a slide and hits Kieran McArdle with a pull pass.@PaulRabil @kieranmcardle6 pic.twitter.com/pTIyyqVFrm
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 25, 2020
9 (Tied) . Justin Guterding
Guterding had 16 assists on 38 assist opportunities (42%).
Justin Guterding gets Jordan Wolf’s man to hedge after tripping up his defender with a finalizer at X.@guterball14 @TheBigBadWolf31 @PLLChrome pic.twitter.com/zlGxR3EKdg
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 25, 2020
7 (tied). Kieran McArdle
McArdle’s teammates finished 14 of his 41 assist opportunities (34%).
Kieran McArdle finds Ryan Brown on the inside, who got open thanks to a rub screen by Eric Law.@kieranmcardle6 @rbrownie04 @elaw_15 pic.twitter.com/MTqfZYlx1O
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 24, 2020
7 (tied). Eric Law
Shooter’s scored on 11 of Law’s 41 assist opportunities (27%).
Eric Law inverts against a short-stick defender and finds Paul Rabil cutting for the goal.@elaw_15 @PaulRabil @PLLAtlas pic.twitter.com/zHMwC8IcZ9
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 25, 2020
5. Will Manny
The Archers found the bullseye on 13 of Manny’s 46 assist opportunities (28%).
Ryan Ambler ➡️ Tom Schreiber ➡️ Will Manny ➡️ Christian Cuccinello@ryan_ambler @TomSchreiber26 @WillManny_1 @CUCCI_MANE30 pic.twitter.com/jNhx3F5b9h
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 24, 2020
4. Jordan Wolf
Wolf created 55 assist opportunities, Chrome shooters finished 16 (29%).
Jordan Wolf runs off the razor pick, gets physical at the island, bounces from the slide to free his hands, and finds Matt Danowski for the time-and-room shot.@TheBigBadWolf31 @mattdanowski @PLLChrome pic.twitter.com/VZniOujZ7F
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 25, 2020
3. Connor Fields
We can expect Fields’ assist numbers (13) to go up in 2020. Teammates only finished 23% of his 56 assist opportunities.
Connor Fields bounces away from his man and the slide so he can feed Miles Thompson who releases before the two slide arrives.@connorfields05 @miles2thompson @PLLChaos pic.twitter.com/gil2YgxzLj
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 25, 2020
2. Matt Rambo
Rambo had the luxury of teammates who finished more often than most. Whipsnake teammates converted on 26 of Rambo’s 59 assist opportunities (44%).
Matt Rambo draws a switch off the razor pick and finds Drew Snider for the game-winning goal in OT.@rattmambo @dsnides23 pic.twitter.com/bHfog5O1b1
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 25, 2020
1. Tom Schreiber
Schreiber led the league with 61 assist opportunities. The Archers scored 20 goals on those passes (33%).
Tom Schreiber drops his stick to thread this through pass to Will Manny.@TomSchreiber26 @WillManny_1 @PLLArchers pic.twitter.com/29NnXIJI8b
— PLL Highlights (@PLLHighlight) March 25, 2020