The Utah Archers are looking to three-peat in the 2025 PLL season after securing the league championship in back-to-back years. Chris Bates has done an excellent job building a roster for long-term success, balancing young, up-and-coming talent with veterans who can still make an impact. He’s consistently been one of the best coaches in the league on draft day, and that’s helped lead the Archers to where they are today. The offense has always been the heart of this team’s identity, with the defense being serviceable enough to win a championship. However, as we head into Week Four of the PLL season, Utah’s offense currently sits in last when it comes to scoring, while the defense ranks number one.
With such a small sample size, it’s tough to say if this will be a long-term issue for the Utah Archers. The team went 6–4 last year and still managed to win a PLL championship. And with the way playoffs are formatted in the Premier Lacrosse League, almost anyone can make a run and find themselves on the podium come September. That said, with three games under their belt, the Archers have a clear offensive problem. Scoring just 9.3 goals per game puts them last among all eight teams. They’re averaging only 34 shots per game, again, at the bottom of the league. Their shooting percentage is respectable at 26.5%, which actually ranks fourth. For reference, last year’s team averaged 41.3 shots per game at a 29.5% clip.
So where’s the drop-off really coming from? It starts with their inability to consistently win dodges. Despite only minor changes, this Archers squad has a slightly different identity due to offseason moves and injuries early in 2025. From a midfield perspective, the only returning players who have contributed so far are Tom Schreiber, Ryan Ambler, and Dyson Williams.
Grant Ament has carried over from last year, but he’s been dealing with injuries and has only appeared in two games, one of which he exited early. Tre Leclaire has yet to make his 2025 debut after putting up 23 points last season, and that’s a huge loss. Leclaire consistently drew a short stick and won his matchups at a high rate. During the offseason, the Archers also parted ways with Jack VanOverbeke and Ryan Aughavin. At the time, the decision made sense, it created more opportunity for Dyson Williams and helped manage the salary cap. But their absence has been felt more than ever. Both VanOverbeke and Aughavin brought a level of chemistry that’s clearly missing right now. The current midfield rotation consists of an aging Schreiber, a developing rookie in Sam King, a second-year pro in Williams, and a role player in Ambler. Without Leclaire and Ament, and without the familiarity of VanOverbeke and Aughavin, this midfield just doesn’t have the same cohesion.
When it comes to the attack line, there’s been a major issue there too. It’s not Connor Fields. It’s not Matt Moore. But Mac O’Keefe has been pretty much invisible this season. With just one goal, no assists, and a brutal 7.1% shooting percentage through three games, you could argue the Archers are playing a man down on offense. That’s a drastic fall from last season, when O’Keefe put up 24 points on 19 goals at 26.7%. There’s still time for him to figure it out, but in a 10-game regular season, starting with just one point through three games is a red flag. With the midfield struggling to get into rhythm, the attack line needs to pick up the slack. In the PLL, a successful attack unit needs all three guys firing. Fields and Moore are doing their part with a combined 14 points, but O’Keefe is dragging that group down.
The saving grace for the Archers is their elite defense. The unit is giving up just nine scores per game, best in the league, and Brett Dobson is currently tied with Blaze Riorden at a 62.7% save percentage, reinforcing his case as one of the top goalies in the world. The Utah Archers have won and loss all three games by just one goal, largely thanks to the defense stepping up and bailing out an offense that still hasn’t found its rhythm.
There’s still plenty of time left in the PLL season, and Chris Bates is the best at what he does. The return of Ament and Leclaire could bring things back to normal, but until then, the Utah Archers need to find answers on offense if they want to win the West and secure better playoff positioning.
