Rob Pannell made history on Friday night, passing PLL co-founder Paul Rabil for the all-time career points record in professional lacrosse as the Maryland Whipsnakes rolled to a 20–7 victory over the Redwoods in Week 9 action.
Pannell entered the game with 654 career professional points — four away from the record Rabil set across 13 combined seasons in the MLL and PLL. The Cornell product needed barely a half to get there. With his fifth goal of the game, Pannell surpassed the mark set by the man who co-founded the league, finishing the night with 5 goals and an assist for 6 points and a career total of 660 — three clear of Rabil.
The rest of the Whipsnakes backed Pannell up completely. Goalkeeper Emmett Carroll was the story of the night on the defensive end, stopping 18 of 25 shots for a 72 percent save percentage. The Whipsnakes generated 45 shots and converted at a 42.2 percent clip, more than double the Redwoods' 18.9 percent efficiency on 37 attempts.
Maryland (5-3) controlled the game from the opening draw, never trailed, and gradually extended the margin in each quarter. The Redwoods were unable to string together sustained possessions against a Whipsnakes defense that held them to one-point goals exclusively. Sam English led California with 2 goals and an assist. TD Ierlan won 17 of 28 faceoffs for the Redwoods at 60.7 percent, but the possession advantage had no bearing on the outcome given Maryland's efficiency.
Petey LaSalla went 13 of 28 at the faceoff X for the Whipsnakes.