Top takeaways from PLL Fairfield Weekend

Denver Outlaws 15, Philadelphia Waterdogs 13

Topher Adams: Pieces starting to come together for young Outlaws

After a dismal 17-4 loss to the New York Atlas, the Outlaws faced a reflection point. Early returns are showing they learned the right lessons from that defeat. The issues that plagued them against the Bulls hardly showed their head in Fairfield, and Denver moved about .500 on the year.

The offense has been inconsistent all year, but Friday showed what this offense can do when things are working. Brennan O’Neill scored a hat trick, and Graham Bundy ripped apart the Waterdogs with his outside shot. 

Those two are the foundational pieces of the offense, and when they play well, Denver plays well.

The biggest thing for the Outlaws to build on from this game is the supporting cast. After four weeks of chopping and changing, the pieces are starting to fit together. It starts with Eric Law, whose veteran savvy and off-ball prowess fit like a glove around the crease.

In midfield, undrafted rookie Dalton Young had a breakout game with two goals and three assists. He’s flashed promise all season, and he finally made good on his potential against Philadelphia.

When the ball is moving and the shooters are getting good looks, Denver is one of the scariest teams in the league. The Outlaws shot a season-high 31.6% from the field. Against New York, they shot 10.3%. Getting good shots and burying those opportunities is the difference for this team.

Up next for Denver: vs. Boston Cannons (Saturday, July 27, 5:30 p.m. ET)

Wyatt Miller: Deep ball plagues Waterdogs again as they fall to 1-5

Every time the Waterdogs have lost the two-point battle, they’ve lost the game. In each of those losses, the difference in two-point production matched or exceeded the scoring margin. That trend continued Friday, as the Outlaws hit three of their four two-point shots in the win. 

It started in the first quarter with Ryan Terefenko, of all people, who connected on his first career two-pointer in his fourth season as a two-way short-stick defensive midfielder. The assist came from fellow defender Mike Manley in transition, and it held up after review, which also wiped a Ben Randall pole goal off the board. That was a massive, three-point swing that gave Denver the momentum.

There was one major difference for the Waterdogs in this game, and that was the offensive two-point production. In the second quarter, Connor Kelly scored the second Waterdogs two-pointer of the season, and the first by an offensive player. But that wasn’t enough. The Waterdogs went scoreless in the final eight-and-a-half minutes and ended the game 2-for-7 (28.6%) from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, the Outlaws continued to pile on from deep. Bundy put on a shooting clinic with a pair of two-point goals and a one that Dogs head coach Bill Tierney believed should have been called a two, but the referees said he had a toe on the line. 

“It’s not like we weren’t prepared for Bundy,” Tierney said.

“We talked about it on last week’s team Zoom, we talked about it on this week’s team Zoom. … You've just got to know where these guys are. They’ve got a couple of big-time guys that do everything.”

The Outlaws shot the lights out against a Waterdogs team Tierney thought was “out of sync defensively.” Another tough outing from Dillon Ward against the two ball did nothing to help the Waterdogs’ offense, which once again was outmatched by its opponent's in terms of efficiency (24.4% compared to 31.6%). 

Now sitting at 1-5, it’s time to start thinking about the Waterdogs’ path to the playoffs, because it’s not as clear as it once was.

Up next for Philadelphia: vs. New York Atlas (Sunday, July 28, 3 p.m. ET)

Carolina Chaos 10, Maryland Whipsnakes 9 (OT)

Hayden Lewis: Blaze Riorden’s 18-save night paves path to Carolina’s overtime win

It hasn’t been a pretty year on the offensive side of the field for the Chaos, but one thing has remained consistent: excellent defense backed by stellar goaltending. 

Friday night was no different.

Blaze Riorden stole the show with an 18-save performance, helping hold the Whipsnakes to nine goals. Riorden’s success catapulted him to ninth on the all-time saves list (973).

“He’s like an alien in the cage,” head coach and general manager Andy Towers said “He’s consistent all the time at a position that is probably the hardest position in sports to be consistent at.”

Riorden’s magnificent play is the basis for all Carolina strategy. 

“We feel like getting to 12 goals is sort of the magic number for us considering that we have Blaze Riorden in the goal,” Towers said.

In this one, the Chaos only needed 10, with rookie Shane Knobloch providing the game-winner in overtime. With three straight conference matchups ahead, each game will become more intense as the playoffs approach, and the magic number 12 will be paramount. 

Up next for Carolina: vs. California Redwoods (Saturday, July 27, 3 p.m. ET)

Adam Lamberti: Whipsnakes on wrong end of overtime game

Long story short, the Whipsnakes ran into a red-hot Riorden in this game.

Registering 18 saves, including a fabulous save on Mike Chanenchuk in overtime, the Whipsnakes had no answers for the Chaos goaltender.

It was pretty surprising the Whipsnakes were even in this game early on. They shot a dreadful 4-for-21 (19%) in the first half and relied on their stout defense to stay in the game.

Matt Dunn had his best game of the year guarding Josh Byrne and holding him to one goal, while Brendan Krebs had another solid outing with 13 saves and Joe Nardella won faceoffs at a 68% clip.

The story of this game was the lack of offensive production.

While Riorden was exceptional in this one, the Whipsnakes still had 19 turnovers and settled for the first shot, not necessarily the best shot.

"The two things we have to do is be better shooters, and we have to cut down on the turnovers,” head coach Jim Stagnitta said in the postgame press conference.

If they do those two things, we’ve seen what this Whipsnakes team is capable of.

Up next for Maryland: vs. California Redwoods (Sunday, July 28, 5:30 p.m. ET)

Boston Cannons 17, New York Atlas 12

Sarah Griffin: Business is “booming” as Cannons take down the No. 1 New York

In their most complete and cohesive game through a full four quarters, the Cannons “cut the head of the snake off,” as head coach Brian Holman put it, on Saturday afternoon in Fairfield. 

Boston got goals from eight different players in its highest-scoring game of the year thus far. 

As expected, Marcus Holman led the charge for his team with five points (3G, 1T, 1A). But as a true testament to just how well-rounded this roster is, it was short-stick defensive midfielder Jeff Trainor who followed up closely with four points of his own (3G, 1T). 

“The biggest thing is our guys were feeling it,” Coach Holman remarked. “We’ve had some consistency in the lineup as of late. Now that we know Donny [Jonathan Donville] is not going to play, and Pat [Kavanagh] has been out, guys have started to get comfortable in what they’re supposed to do.”

Of course, that’s not to say the team is better off without either of those players. But their absence has unlocked opportunities for guys like Trainor to stay more involved in the offense. The Cannons do not have one specific prototype of an offensive versus defensive player -- they’re so successful because they’re a threat from anywhere on the field. 

Even with Trevor Baptiste dominating at the faceoff stripe for the Atlas, giving them opportunity after opportunity for possessions, Boston’s defense showed why it's the league’s best unit against its biggest test yet. 

New York tied its worst offensive output of the season with 12 goals (previously held to 12 by the Maryland Whipsnakes in Minneapolis on June 28). In an almost Uno reverse of the first time the Cannons and Atlas met in Albany (Atlas won 19-12 on Opening Weekend), Garrett Epple, Bryce Young and Cade van Raaphorst came together to silence the Bulls the best they could.

Jeff Teat and Connor Shellenberger were both held scoreless, and Xander Dickson accounted for just one goal on three shots. 

“Any time you play a team twice, they’re going to make adjustments, especially with a big gap in the middle,” said Teat, who finished with two assists. “They’re a different team than they were that weekend, and so are we. [The Cannons defense] did a pretty good job of clogging up the middle and causing us to force it at times, and we didn’t shoot the ball well, so credit to that defense and [goalie Colin] Kirst.”

The Atlas still reign supreme in the East at No. 1 due to their 23-point score differential, but the Cannons now are tied for the best record at 5-2. If the Cannons continue to play like they did Saturday for the remainder of the season, it’s tough to see anyone stopping them. 

Up next for Boston: vs. Denver Outlaws (Saturday, July 27, 5:30 p.m. ET)

Lauren Merola: Jeff Teat breaks PLL single-season point record despite down day

Teat is now the single greatest point producer in the PLL’s five-year history after notching point No. 45 in the second quarter of Saturday's loss. But that doesn’t matter when the Atlas lose 17-12.

“Apologies to be short and sweet here, but it doesn’t mean anything,” Teat said of his new record postgame.

Teat’s milestone is where the praise for the Atlas offense stops on the day, and where it begins for the Cannons defense. Boston clogged the middle of the field, otherwise known as Teat, Shellenberger and Dickson’s playground, especially when it came to shots and assists in close. 

“We couldn’t really get through to the middle and were maybe forcing it at times,” Teat said. “On top of that, I don’t think we shot the ball well at all. Credit that defense, but we look back on our opportunities and we had a ton of them.”

The Atlas shot 30% and turned the ball over a season-worst 20 times. Turnovers needed to be a point of emphasis heading into a matchup against a tough defense, but the Atlas offense often looked rushed and overwhelmed.

Epple locked down Teat, limiting him to two assists and nearly 10 fewer touches than his season average. He had five turnovers.

Together, Teat, Dickson and Shellenberger combined for one goal.

“There’s an old saying, you try to cut the head of the snake off,” Brian Holman said. “Try your best to limit what they do well. Our guys took that challenge, and we did.”

Up next for New York: vs. Philadelphia Waterdogs (Sunday, July 28, 3 p.m. ET)

Utah Archers 15, California Redwoods 8

Zach Carey: The Archers’ offense is back to its best

There are few offenses in lacrosse history as entertaining to watch as the Archers’ when it's really clicking. 

The group’s highlight-prone nature, diversity of talent and seamless chemistry are a lethal combination. With Matt Moore (3G, 1T, 2A) and Tom Schreiber (2G, 3A) piecing together their best performances of the season, the offense hummed its way to a seven-point win over the Redwoods. 

In a vintage Schreiber showing, he notched his 200th career assist, 200th career goal and 400th career point against the Woods in style. 

Schreiber is now seventh all-time in assists, 22nd in goals and 13th in points. He’s just the sixth player in the 200-goal, 200-assist club. After shooting 18.2% in the first half of the season, his dominance against California was a welcome return to form for the three-time MVP.

"He's an all-timer," Utah head coach Chris Bates said. "Generations down the line are going to look back and say this is one of the best."

Meanwhile, Moore has officially found his rhythm. After he didn’t score a goal for the first four games of the season, he’s notched six scoring points in the last two contests. California simply couldn’t handle his physical brand of dodging, which provides the perfect thundering complement to Grant Ament’s lightning-fast attack. 

Speaking of Ament, he continued to abuse short-stick matchups against the Woods with two goals while Connor Fields (3G) and Ryan Ambler (2G) each pitched in multiple points, as well. 

The Archers’ defense still has California’s number. The matchup with Rob Pannell aside, the Redwoods generated very few legitimate scoring opportunities against Brett Dobson and the Utah defense. 

With a comfortable victory and its first consecutive win of the season, 4-2 Utah maintained first place in the Western Conference ahead of the 3-3 Carolina Chaos and 3-2 Denver Outlaws in the race for a bye to the semifinals. 

Importantly, with the blowout win, the Archers also stretched their scoring differential advantage to +9 relative to the Chaos’ -2 and the Outlaws’ -10. Ahead of rematches with both those squads in the final four games, that advantage will be huge for potential tiebreakers at the conclusion of the regular season. 

Up next for Utah: Bye week

Jerome Taylor: Redwoods face playoff uncertainty after crushing defeat

The Redwoods were thoroughly overmatched in their matchup against the Archers. At every position, Utah outperformed the Woods. 

You know it was a bad day when TD Ierlan, who has probably been California's best performer this season, goes 8-for-24 (33%) from the stripe. 

On attack, Pannell had his best game of the season with a five-point outing (4G, 1A) on his quest to 600 career points. But in a lot of ways, that felt like he was doing it out of necessity as nothing else was working.  

Besides RP3, it’s pretty hard to find a bright spot in this Woods loss. 

One of the stories of the season so far has been the lack of production from the Redwoods midfield, and that continued Saturday. The group went 2-for-18 shooting, as Charlie Bertrand registered the unit’s only points (2G). 

Before the All-Star Game, it seemed like the Woods were starting to gel a bit on offense. But with Chris Gray out this week, the whole group seemed to take several steps back, and five games into the season, it doesn’t seem like this unit has an identity. 

Last year, the midfield struggled, but at least the attack was phenomenal and seemed a lot more aggressive. On Saturday, however, Ryder Garnsey was once again held in check by Graeme Hossack, finishing with two assists and going 0-for-3 shooting. 

“We’ve got to take a long, hard look at what we’re doing, what we’re asking of guys and what they’re willing to do,” Redwoods head coach Nat St. Laurent said. 

Defensively, growing pains were expected, and it's tough to give a fair judgment of the group because it's playing on such slim margins if the offense is only going to score eight points. 

That said, seven different Archers scored goals, nine registered points and it felt like they were getting whatever they wanted. If it wasn’t for some self-inflicted mistakes on Utah’s end, the rout could’ve been worse.

Heading into the Redwoods' Homecoming, the vibes haven’t been lower, and depending on how things shake out around the league next weekend, it could be the 1-4 Woods' final push for the playoffs.

“We definitely need to take some time to reflect," St. Laurent said, "because what we’re doing clearly isn’t working, and we have to get better here quickly."

Up next for California: vs. Maryland Whipsnakes (Sunday, July 28, 5:30 p.m. ET)