There were nothing but clear skies and sunshine at James M. Shuart Stadium as fans filled the stadium for the long-anticipated wait of Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) weekend on Long Island. From broken sticks to scuffles, and a filled-to-the-brim stadium, it was nothing but a jam-packed weekend of doubleheaders.
Starting the weekend strong was the Chrome, who was fired up early in the first with a huge save by goalie Matt Deluca. Chrome’s offensive output was ubiquitous, with The Army product Brendan Nichtern having his best night as a pro to date, finishing with six points and four goals. His first quarter goal broke the Waterdogs’ hearts, as the rookie scored on a broken play with just six seconds left in a tie game. Considering they had let up seven of their last eight goals, one of which was a Ryan Brown two-point goal, Chrome was hunting for answers with only 6:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. In a matter of minutes, Tim Soudan’s team went from a 10-6 lead to a 14-11 deficit. Chrome, on the other hand, showed no signs of distress. With the clock against them, they reeled off six straight of their own to win 17-14 and remain undefeated in 2022.
Connor Farrell dictated possessions against Zac Tucci, but the Waterdogs were able to keep the game tight for the remainder of the night.
Waterdogs will be looking for their first win of 2022 when they meet Chaos on June 24, and Chrome will have a chance to win their fourth consecutive game when they face the Cannons on June 25.
Following the Chrome vs. Waterdogs matchup, the Whipsnakes handed Atlas their first season setback. However, the Whipsnakes maintained their perfect record intact, advancing to 3-0 on the season, thanks to an offensive-heavy second half, three two-point goals and a fantastic performance in the cage by Kyle Bernlohr.
The showdown at the faceoff between Trevor Baptiste and Joe Nardella was one of the hottest topics heading into the game, as the two are near the top of the league’s faceoff statistics. However, while Baptiste had a 71% faceoff percentage in the first half, Bernlohr and the Whipsnakes’ defense were able to keep the Atlas offense under control.
Bernlohr made seven saves in the first half and only surrendered four goals. In his return to Hofstra University, Jack Concannon had a solid first half for the Atlas, making 13 saves for an astounding 87% save rate.
The Atlas got on the board with Koby Smith’s first professional two-point goal, giving the Bulls a 2-0 lead. Soon after, Justin Guterding scored a two-point goal for the Whipsnakes, cutting the Atlas’ advantage to 3-2. Dan Bucaro scored minutes later, but the Atlas would only achieve one more in the half, with a goal from Jeff Teat in the second quarter.
Matt Rambo also scored late in the second quarter, and with the score at 4-3, it made for a game with a different story for both teams as a defensive battle unfolded.
The Whipsnakes entered the third quarter fired up, scoring four unanswered goals to go up 8-4. Heading into week four, the Whipsnakes remain undefeated and will face The Redwoods (2-1).
For day two of PLL weekend on Long Island, the Archers defeated the Cannons by a large margin of 20-9, scoring hat tricks upon hat tricks thanks to their versatile offense, having nine different goal scorers on the day.
With eight points, Will Manny led the Archers (five goals and three assists) to victory with contributions from Matt Moore (a hat trick and three assists) and Tom Schreiber who also had hat tricks. The Archers demonstrated the synchrony of their offense by showcasing textbook lacrosse, spacing themselves evenly, and moving the ball expeditiously.
Hofstra alum Ryan Tierney scored his first goal of the day at the 2:40 mark late in the second quarter. Immediately after, Franky Labetty took off from the faceoff with a goal at the 2:34 mark for his first goal of the day.
The Cannons struggled through the first half, trailing 9-6 going into the third quarter. The Archers are 2-1 coming into Week 4 against Atlas.
Things got off to a bit of a slow start for the Redwoods and the Chaos game. The Redwoods offense was shooting with a 9% success rate, going 2-for-23, by halftime. Blaze Riorden, the three-time Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year, could not be stopped, with 16 saves on the day. With the score at halftime being 3-2, Chaos, who had the league’s most settled offense in 2021, was on the verge of falling 0-3 until a third-quarter eruption.
Nakeie Montgomery drew a slip and threw it back to Matt Kavanagh, who found Ryder Garnsey for a stepdown goal in 24 seconds. Rob Pannell scored on a big-little with Garnsey. Then Myles Jones added a right-handed high-to-high jumper.
Even though most of the Redwood’s goals didn’t come until the third quarter, they executed a massive amount of energy for 48 minutes. Pannell and Kavanagh both forced turnovers during the Chaos ride despite its dodge-first players and lefty-righty imbalance. Those high-octane performances set the tone for the rest of the team. The team will face off on Friday, June 24. Viewers can catch the action at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Photo Courtesy of Premier Lacrosse League Instagram
