The PLL train rolled through Charlotte with big wins, highlight goals, and a couple of teams starting to separate from the pack. Through two weeks, we’re already seeing who’s got juice and who’s still stuck in neutral.
1) Boston Cannons
Princeton rookie Coulter Mackesy made his debut in Charlotte, which shipped Will Manny to the pine. Veteran Marcus Holman’s dive shot at the buzzer gave Boston (2-0) a 9-8 win over Utah. Cannon Colin Kirst and Utah’s Brett Dobson staged the goalie battle of the week, the duo putting on a show, both north of 60%. Goalie play has improved with the new neon ball. Better optics. Offense, across the league, is not where it needs to be. Offensive flow takes time to develop. Not enough teams are pushing transition.
Rookie SSDM Ben Ramsey, the bagpiper from Notre Dame, had three caused turnovers in his first game in Albany and scored his first PLL goal against the Archers. In South Bend, Dickie V’s grandson, Ryan Sforzo, is the new pied piper for the Irish.
2) Utah Archers
Firepower lacking in a Saturday loss to Boston. Middie Tom Schreiber uncharacteristically committed costly mistakes at crunch time—tossing the ball away high in the offensive zone which led to a transition goal. Then Boston’s LSM Owen Grant stripped him on the next possession that led to the Marcus Holman drama. Look for Schreiber to bounce back with a big game following this setback. That’s how the greats react.
Connor Fields, the hero of week one, had just two shots on 25 touches. Goalie Brett Dobson, who’s fighting an ankle injury, was 68% in the Maryland win week one and again stellar in defeat, showcasing his high arc. Grant Ament tweaked his left hamstring. His availability is questionable.
3) New York Atlas
Charlotte was a bye week for the Bulls, not ideal when you’re trying to build continuity and solidify a lineup. NY split their two games as the host in Albany, defeating Carolina 10-8 and falling to Boston 16-12. Atlas passing offense not clicking this summer like in 2024, held scoreless for 17:38 against the Chaos. Trevor Baptiste (74%) face-off wins have not been parlayed into grade A scoring chances in the :32 second shot clock. Opponents have shut off Xander Dickson on the crease and he has shot 22% in the first two games on just 37 touches. Boston put a pole on lefty midfielder Kyle Jackson to deter two-man games with Jeff Teat. Carolina was slow to slide, making NY score unassisted goals. OC Stevens Brooks must come up with schematic answers in order to adapt, react, evolve and succeed. If teams are hesitant to slide, run some clear outs for dodgers. Use Dickson in the pick game. Activate Connor Shellenberger. Meanwhile, goalie Liam Entenmann (57%) was razor sharp in Albany. He was in mid-season form.
Rookie Matt Traynor contributed 4 goals and looked the part from the midfield. Myles Jones (4 assists) had his eyes up as a ball handler. Veteran LSM CJ Costabile found the net on Friday, although he was the only rope member to collect a point. Atlas will be well served to run upfield with intent off of Entenmann clean saves. New York plays Maryland on June 14 at Villanova.
4) Philadelphia Waterdogs
Tale of two halves for goalie Matt Deluca. First half he made 7 saves with 11 scores against, then in the second half he made 8 saves with only 2 scores allowed. After trailing 11-8 at half, Philly outscored Maryland 8-1 in 2nd half to grab their first win of the summer. Good start for Coach Bill Tierney. Catalyst Michael Sowers reminded us that he’s an MVP candidate with 7 assists. His quicks and vision were too much for Maryland. Sowers is an outlier. That’s one short of the PLL record (Matt Rambo had 8 in 2020). Dogs ran Sowers off razor picks and picks at X to keep MD on their heels. He fed the crease for layups.
5) Maryland Whipsnakes
Shot 7 of 41 (17%) in a week one loss to Utah. TJ Malone went 3 of 7 and the rest shot less than 12%. This weekend in Charlotte they hit three 2-pt goals in first half. One by rookie Scott Smith and two by midfielder Brad Smith and then the offense hit the wall. Whips didn’t finish. They missed their last 9 shots of game, going 1-16 in the final 24:00. Lefty Matt Rambo was held scoreless for second straight game. He is 0-6 after two games. Rambo was yanked by coach Jim Stagnitta in the fourth quarter. Is Rob Pannell next? Father Time is undefeated.
Is that the last time we will see Matt Rambo in a Whips uniform? With the PLL coming to his hometown Philadelphia this weekend, the league should celebrate Matt Rambo Night to honor his career. Parade Rambo around the stadium holding a giant QR code that unlocks free hot dogs from Wawa.
6) California Redwoods
11 of 15 goals in a week one win came from newly acquired talent. In week two, California turned a four-goal early deficit into a lopsided 16-10 win over Carolina. Woods took 58 shots, a PLL record. I love the diversification with seven unique goal scorers and six different players having an assist. Carolina goalie Blaze took himself out early, because he was getting pummeled. Woods took 50 shots thru three quarters. If it were a fight, the towel would have been thrown.
This California team has the magic, no doubt, but I’m not believing the hype. Viral circus goals by Chris Kavanagh and Ryder Garnsey are coming to your timeline this week. Woods are (2-0) only because they’ve faced the two worst teams in the PLL. Let’s talk after the Woods play a real contender.
7) Carolina Chaos
Defense is elite. Offense not so much with midfield scoring sold separately. Carolina split games as the host—beating Denver and losing to California. Lefty goalie Blaze Riorden made 25 saves on Friday night, nine in the first quarter. That’s a new PLL record. Carolina outscored Denver 7-2 after trailing 6-5 at half. They ran out of steam in game two, giving up a record 58 shots in defeat. Their SSDM’s got scratched like my poison ivy. Saturday’s collapse is a notable trend for double header home teams playing in their second game in 24 hours. Fast starts. Slow finishes. Two games back-to-back is a competitive disadvantage.
8) Denver Outlaws
Added Jared Bernhardt to their roster late last Monday night, joining older brother Jesse as an Outlaw. Jesse (Maryland 2013) and Jared (2021) have never played together. Jared went 0-5 shooting with no points in his Charlotte debut. The rust was notable and expected off a multi-year layoff but if you watch closely, you’ll see movement skills that are rare. According to Paul Carcaterra of ESPN, “Bernhardt will be a problem for PLL defenses.” The Outlaws have assembled four Tewaaraton winners (Bernhardt 21, Wisnauskas 22, O’Neill 23, Pat Kavanagh 24). Sometimes talent doesn’t equate to chemistry. Sometimes the ingredients don’t complement each other. And sometimes the chef is to blame. I don’t love the orbital energy of their electrons.
Friday night loss featured a second half 2-22 shooting performance. Brennan O’Neill hit on 3 of 5 shots in first half. Then he quieted to an 0-5 performance in second half. Wisnauskas, Jack Vanoverbeke and Justin Anderson have not produced to their prior levels. Dalton Young finally woke up. Graham Bundy Jr hit a deuce. Midfielder Sam Handley did not dress. This ensemble is a work in progress.
The PLL shifts to Philadelphia this week, with games on the campus of Villanova University on Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14. The New York vs Maryland matchup on Saturday at 1 PM will air on ABC. Saturday Night Lacrosse features Denver and Philadelphia. All PLL games are available on ESPN+. For tickets, visit PLL.com.
Quint Kessenich covers lacrosse for the ESPN family of networks and writes for LaxAllStars. Listen to his podcast in our media section. Anish Shroff, the lyrical poet of lacrosse, was this week’s guest.
