PLL takeaways from Denver: Archers, Waterdogs sweep; Outlaws flop at home

Boston Cannons: Comeback ends in overtime heartbreak

Boston’s three-game win streak came to an end Saturday afternoon as the Cannons fell 13-12 to the Carolina Chaos in overtime.

A turnover on Boston’s opening overtime possession set up Teddy Malone’s game-winner. Despite controlling possessions behind Andrew McMeekin at the faceoff stripe, the Cannons went nearly 15 minutes without a second-half goal.

Blaze Riorden anchored Carolina’s defense with a series of timely saves. Coulter Mackesy, who entered the weekend leading the league in points, was held off the scoresheet.

Marcus Holman’s late two-pointer forced overtime, but Boston’s comeback ultimately fell short. – Noel D’Amico

Carolina Chaos: Teddy Malone, Blaze Riorden help snap a three-game skid

Carolina earned its first win since June 6, thanks to a career-high six-point performance from rookie attackman Malone (4G, 2A), and a season-high 20-save outing from Riorden to complete a season sweep of the Cannons.

Malone scored the game-winning golden goal just 14 seconds into overtime, and Riorden became the sixth player in professional lacrosse history to eclipse 1,300 career saves.

Though the Chaos still sit in last place in the Western Conference, they now have much-needed momentum heading into a doubleheader in Columbus this weekend. They will take on the California Redwoods on Friday and the Philadelphia Waterdogs on Saturday. – Miles Jordan

Denver Outlaws: Outlaws reckon with disastrous weekend

Homecoming Weekend could not have gone worse for the Outlaws. Instead of springing a championship contender to the top of the West, two blowout losses have Denver fighting just to keep a playoff spot.

The offense struggled for form across the board, while the defense turned in two of the worst showings in modern club history. To add injury to the insult, Brennan O’Neill and Jared Bernhardt went down with injuries heading into a must-win showdown with Boston next weekend in Columbus. – Topher Adams

Maryland Whipsnakes: Scorching hot offense comes back down to earth

The Whipsnakes’ offense looked unstoppable heading into this week, scoring 37 goals across their last two games. Then they faced the Utah Archers’ defense and goalie Brett Dobson, who brought Maryland to a screeching halt.

Jim Stagnitta’s squad had a chance to establish itself as title favorites, but the Whips were outmatched by Utah. TJ Malone finished with just one point after recording 12 in the previous two games, while Rob Pannell and Aidan Carroll had just two points.

If the Whipsnakes want to win a championship, their offense can’t have days like this. – Zak Wolf

New York Atlas: Defending champs’ slide continues

Seventeen Liam Entenmann saves weren’t enough to save the Atlas from what Connor Shellenberger called a “really, really tough loss” to the Waterdogs.

New York put just 10 scores past rookie goalie Sean Byrne, who was making his first professional start, and Philadelphia closed the game on a 3-0 run to win 11-10. It was the third straight defeat for the 3-6 Atlas, who now own the league’s worst record and score differential (minus-21).

While Entenmann stood tall in net, two of the Atlas’ other All-Stars struggled. Reigning Jim Brown MVP Shellenberger managed one goal on two shots, and 2022 MVP Trevor Baptiste won just 33.3% of his faceoffs, his third-lowest mark ever in a PLL game.

Philadelphia Waterdogs: Best weekend of the Tierney era?

The Waterdogs earned two critical wins in vastly different ways this weekend.

On Friday, the Dogs leaned on faceoff dominance and a few late stops from Byrne against the Atlas to secure their fourth one-goal win of the year.

Nineteen hours later, Philly silenced any worries about its offensive midfield production, routing the Outlaws with a season-high 18 goals. Ten different Waterdogs scored off of aggressive passing and a new look around the crease, with rookie Silas Richmond and veteran Kieran McArdle rotating at attack and midfield.

The Dogs walked into the weekend third in the East; they’re now riding high in the top spot. – Micheal Bolger

Utah Archers: Defense dominates again in sweep

Two games, two wins, 19 total scores allowed.

Led by Dobson and its league-best defense, Utah convincingly swept its weekend doubleheader, dominating the Outlaws and Whipsnakes to seize first place in the Western Conference. Neither game was close; the Archers’ win probability never dropped below 99% in the fourth quarter of either.

Up front, Tre Leclaire continued his heater with six points against Denver (3G, 1T, 2A), and Connor Fields and rookie standout Ryan Stines both tallied hat tricks in the win over Maryland.

The Archers, who sat at 2-4 at the end of June, have now won four straight.