Lacrosse Replaces Break Dancing in 2028 LA Olympic Games – PLL Playoffs Are Next. 

Robust crowds showed up in Salt Lake City for the final week of the regular season that played out without major plot twists. After squinting at the sun glare the PLL bracket is set for postseason lacrosse. 

Philadelphia is toast. They’ve been dead meat for a month. Veteran lefty Kieran McArdle headlines the 13 free agents whose contracts are set to expire following their final game in Salt Lake. 

Waterdog Free Agents 

• Alec Stathakis
• Ben Randall
• Charlie Hayes
• Chris Sabia
• Christian Scarpello 
• Connor Kelly
• Jake Carraway 
• Jake Higgins
• Jake Richard
• Kieran McArdle
• Matt DeLuca
• Matt Whitcher
• Ryland Rees 

I would surely re-sign Randall, Kelly, and Whitcher. The others I might slow play — wait and see. Coach Bill Tierney will want to remodel his roster. PLL coaches are GM’s. Philadelphia owns the first pick in the 2025 collegiate draft which could be Cornell’s CJ Kirst. The 2025 draft is not deep. 

Archers

Philly never quit. It helped that Atlas (7-3) committed 29 turnovers in dropping the finale 13-12. The Waterdogs finally won a one-goal game after losing five of them during the summer to finish at (2-8). New York was playing for nothing, and it showed. Rookie Peyton Cormier buried a handful of goals. His five goals in a game are the most by an undrafted rookie in his 1st year in PLL history. Ryder Garnsey also scored five, but he did that in his 3rd year. Connor Shellenberger was held out for NY with a foot ailment. 30 rookies have scored for a total of 223 points

Whipsnakes

Maryland (6-4) watched the SLC weekend while enjoying a bye. Righty Zed Williams shot 29% in the first five games and then 40% (16-40) during the final five game win streak. During the stretch, the Snakes have nearly doubled their 32-second shot clock efficiency from 14.3% to 27.4%. Joe Nardella has been dominating draws. 

Redwoods

California’s tying 12-12 desperation two-pointer at the buzzer was accomplished with 7 players on offense. It was a clear violation and hard to believe the officials missed it. Regardless, Utah won 13-12 in overtime setting up Saturday night’s league title game with Denver. 

California (3-7) does not qualify for the playoffs. They must find quality midfielders in the offseason. Their draft, personnel decisions and roster management on the offensive side of the ball have been poor. Redwoods pick second in the 2025 PLL draft.

Cannons

Boston (7-3) won the Friday nightcap in overtime. Carolina (4-6) goalie Blaze Riorden got pegged in the grapes and was forced to tap out. This game was a beat down. Carolina can’t pass. Boston’s offense is reliant on two-pointers and doesn’t have many penetrators. Chaos defense is the best in the league. The two teams meet again on September 2 in the quarters in Foxboro. 

Outlaws

Think back to week two when rookie Brennan O’Neil went off in Charlotte, triggering a Denver (5-5) comeback. Critical  that evening was that Utah defender Graeme Hossack was not dressed for the Archers. On Saturday night, Hossack controlled the O’Neil matchup as the lefty shot 0-13 in the Utah 13-9 win. Down 6-4 the Archers caught fire with a 6-0 run. Denver shot 1-28 at this juncture. The victory on home soil in front of a large and exuberant fan base gives Utah the western championship and a bye into the semifinals. The conga line was electric. Coach Chris Bates and Co. did it without midfielder Tom Schreiber who is done for the season with an upper body injury. Schreiber is the best passing midfielder in the sport, but the Archers have ample weapons with Mac OKeefe, Grant Ament, Connor Fields and Tre LeClaire. 

56% of the offense in Denver has come from rookies in the summer of 2024. Hoya alum Graham Bundy Jr. wrapped up his rookie regular season with six two-point goals, the most for a first-year player in PLL history. Youth is the primary reason why Denver is inconsistent. 

Salt Lake City

The crowd images from Salt Lake City were amazing – on display was passion, excitement and growth. The Utah valley is booming. If you build it, they will come. And the folks in Utah had a great time watching the PLL. The enthusiasm this summer in Boston, Denver and Salt Lake City is notable – non hot bed areas are hungry for elite lacrosse. 

Athletes Unlimited

Meanwhile nobody seems to be talking about Athletes Unlimited. The Women’s pro event in Sparks, MD once again generated little or no buzz outside of hardcore devotees. 

This women’s lacrosse product is world class. The women are talented and charismatic. The game has skill and energy. But the event format, location and marketing need upgrades. Women’s pro lacrosse has got to be packaged better. The USA Lacrosse location is stagnant. Take women’s lacrosse on the road across the country to the young fans. Make it a traveling carnival. Take the games to the cities. Get the players out in front of new fans in Boston, Salt Lake, New York, Charlotte, San Diego and Denver. You can’t sit still and expect growth. 

I would love to see the PLL sign 40 women, divide them into two teams and play a weekly game on existing PLL tour stops. I would love to see AU move to a unique location each weekend. The pro women’s game needs to spread its wings. AU has been a firm foundation, professional, organized and with the highest of intentions. They deserve tons of credit. I just think it’s time for women’s lacrosse to hit the road. 

Righty goal scorer Charlotte North from BC finished in second place behind Sam Apuzzo and put together a fascinating final stat line from AU 2024: 

• 12 games played 
• 50 goals 
• 4 assists
• 109 shots
• 46% shooting
• 16 turnovers 
• 5 ground balls 

North set an AU record with 8 goals in a game on August 4 while hitting 8-14 from the field. She reached 92mph on the radar gun at the PLL All-Star game skills completion. If you’re finishing +45% of your shots, keep shooting. No reason to stop. 

There are no pro games this week. College football week 0 begins for me in Atlanta with the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on ABC. I have Colorado’s home opener on Thursday August 29. 

PLL Quarterfinals

The two PLL quarterfinal games will be played on Labor Day, September 2 at Gillette Stadium (E+). Carolina and Boston (-200) play at 4pm. Maryland (-130) and Denver face-off at 6:30pm. The two teams that receive byes (Utah and NY) will be on the grounds at Patriot Place for practices, to stay sharp and connected during their bye week. 

DraftKings PLL Title Odds

• NY +185
• Utah +240
• Boston +475
• Maryland +650
• Denver +850
• Carolina +1100

The semifinals will be hosted by Hofstra on Saturday September 7 (E+). The PLL final can be seen on Sunday September 15 at 3pm on ABC from Subaru Park in Chester, PA. 

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