Di Miller, PLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Courtesy of PLL
On Saturday June 15, 2024, the Utah Archers (2-1) went head-to-head against the Carolina Chaos (2-2) at Villanova Stadium in Philadelphia, PA. The Archers offense has been lacking over the previous two weeks as evidenced when they didn’t score for 20:22 in the final minutes of the game against the Waterdogs allowing a seven goal run and only won by one goal; then against the Outlaws, they allowed 11 points in the fourth quarter and lost in overtime. Tonight, their offense turned out to be just a bit better than the Chaos as they would shut them out in the fourth quarter with Tom Schreiber (2g, 2a) notching the final goal of the game with 15 seconds on the ticker. Final Score: Archers 9—Chaos 7.
The Chaos would win the opening draw and lost possession immediately and the Archers couldn’t capitalize on the early possession. But 2:31 in, Mac O’Keefe (2g, 1a) from the wing stepped down, used an overhand shot and nailed it far pipe and it was 1-0. It took less than two minutes for the Chaos to strike. Brian Minicus (1g) looking to get free, broke loose, rolled back and found a sliver on the near pipe at 4:08 for the equalizer and it was 1-1. It didn’t take long for Carolina to tally another. Eric Dobson (2g) ran straight to the rack, went underneath and bounced it five-hole 28 seconds later to tally his first career goal as a pro and they would take the lead 2-1. O’Keefe would, what fans thought was a score. With his defender draped all over him, made the one-handed catch and fired an around the world shot blowing it past Blaze Riorden. But the goal was reviewed after the Chaos challenge and O’Keefe’s foot was on the crease and it was called a “no goal”. Carolina would take full advantage of the momentum shift. Ian MacKay (1g) got the inside feed from Jules Heningburg, he was left all along out in front and put it over the shoulder of Brett Dobson 5:46 in and they had taken a 3-1 lead. The Archers would squander away back-to-back man up opportunities in the last five minutes but would still find a way to close the gap. Grant Ament (2g) used a head fake, changed directions, rolled back and yanked it far corner with 7.9 seconds in the first. Score at the end of one: Chaos 3—Archers 2.
It took 1:23 for the second to get going and it was a beauty. Riorden made the save, threw a one hop outlet pass to Josh Byrne (2g, a) down field, Byrne broke free headed to the cage, got his hands free, snapped his wrists and sent a laser far side doubling up the Archers 4-2. The teams would exchange possessions and at the 3:51 mark, multiple flags flew. It turned out the Archers would get hit with double penalties and fortunately for them it was on the same player, so they only went one man down for 60 seconds. It didn’t take long for the Chaos to strike. With 12 seconds left on the man up, E. Dobson stepped down and fired, the shot was deflected off the stick of Warren Jeffrey and it changed the trajectory enough that B. Dobson couldn’t make the save and it was 5-2 Carolina. But the Archers would go on a three-goal run to close out the half. Ryan Ambler (2g, 1a) used a couple of dodges, turned, came back underneath and used the turn to create some English, the ball could curve and found a spot down low for his first goal of the season with 6:28 left in the half. Ambler would tally another off the feed from Schreiber, he cut inside, changed directions, faked to one side, cut hard and used an overhand shot to put it far side with 2:11 remaining and it was 5-4. The final tally came from O’Keefe with 1:26 on the ticker. He used a quick catch and release, fired it in between two defenders and put it offside for the equalizer. Score at the end of two: Chaos 5—Archers 5.
At the end of the second half the stats were almost identical. The only differences were the shots with Archers 5-19 and Chaos 5-16; and the SOG favored Chaos 12 to Archers 10. The other stats were the same: Assists 3; Saves 5; TO 9; FO won 6-6.
The goal tally was equal with the teams’ exchanging goals in the third. Kyle Jackson set the pick allowing Byrne the straight-line dodge and he bounced it near side 3:41 in and it was 6-5. With 4:52 left in the third, the Archers would go man down, but the Chaos couldn’t find twine. Then the Chaos went man down with 3:01 left and Utah would capitalize. With 2:44 remaining, the Archers used the three-man rotation twice allowing Schreiber to get his hands free and he painted the corner for a power play equalizer 6-6. It took 59 seconds for the Chaos to strike back. Shane Knobloch (1g) headed down the alley, dropped his hands and went side arm beating Dobson down low five-hole 7-6 Chaos. Neither team was shooting well in the third with the Archers only 1-5 and the Chaos 2-12. The next goal was a bit questionable and probably should have been called a “no goal” allowing the challenge opportunity. With 38.2 seconds in the third, Ament on the run fired a side arm shot far side low. The ball hit the pipe and popped out with the men in yellow calling it a good goal. But after looking at the replay, it looked as though the pipe made the save but even Chaos Head Coach Andy Towers thought it was a goal and did not challenge. Score at the end of three: Chaos 7—Archers 7.
The Archers would shut out the Chaos in the fourth and only two goals would go on the board. The first was a Sports Center highlight goal. Connor Fields (1g, 1a) got the feed from Ambler and put a BTB shot over the shoulder far side 1:51 in for what turned out to be the GWG 8-7 Archers. For the next nine and change, each team would make a lot of wide and high shots with a track meet between the two teams. At the 4:10 mark, the Archers were on a three on two heading to the rack, and Riorden would make an amazing save keeping them out of net. The netminders and defense were stellar for the next seven as the offenses couldn’t get any good shots. After a couple of time outs on each side, the Archers would have possession and burned the game clock with perfection. With just over 15 seconds left in the contest, Schreiber recognized they were late in the shot clock, would weave through the defense, and with an underhand side arm shot fired on cage. The ball went under the arm of Riorden, he spun around, it went off the shaft of his stick, rolled and he yanked it into the goal. It was called a “no goal” because Fields was blocking the site line of the GLE referee. But after head referee Matt Palumb reviewed the play, it was overturned giving the Archers a two-goal lead with 15 seconds on the clock. After the ensuing face off and with 5 seconds on the clock, Chaos would call their final time out to try and set up the play. Riorden came in as a screen, Jack Rowlett stood on the end line, fired it down field, it was picked off by the Archers and they were turned away from a final attempt to put a two-point tally into the net. Final Score: Archers 9—Chaos 7.
Game Stats:
NEXT UP:
The PLL heads to Eagan, MN for Week Four.
The Utah Archers (2-1) will play host to the Boston Cannons (2-1) on Friday June 28, 2024, game time 9:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
The Carolina Chaos (2-2) will host the Philadelphia Waterdogs (0-2)** on Saturday June 29, 2024, game time 8:30 p.m. EST. This game will also be televised on ESPN+.
Di Miller, PLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
**Record at the time of the article.