The standings matter most as the PLL finishes up the regular season this weekend in Salt Lake City.
East
New York (7-2) took a gigantic step towards the top seed with a 15-11 win over Utah on Saturday in Denver. Jeff Teat continued his assault on the PLL points record, he’s been putting out fire with gasoline.
Maryland (6-4) ruined the Outlaws party with a 16-9 win Friday night. It was their fourth-straight win. They have a bye week to end the regular season. TJ Malone is dodging like a door dash driver and dishing the ball – now planting himself squarely in the mix for Rookie of the Year. It’s a three-way race between Connor Shellenberger, Brennan O’Neil and Malone with TJ in front. Atlas rookies Liam Entenmann and LSM Tyler Carpenter may also receive some votes.
Boston (6-3) regrouped after a loss in Baltimore and a bye week. Asher Nolting didn’t seem like himself last Sunday in Baltimore. I’m not sure whether it was the intense heat or an injury. Boston has relied on the two-point shot, hitting at about a 21% clip while nailing 16 from beyond the arc.
Philadelphia (1-8) bought a one-way ticket to nowhere, losers of five one-goal games and owners of the first draft pick in 2025. That’ll likely be playmaker CJ Kirst of Cornell. Coach Bill Tierney traded midfielder Ryan Conrad and will continue to tinker and tweak his personnel with an eye on the future. Time is our most scarce commodity and Philly is out of time.
West
Denver (5-4) is now (4-1) when Brennan O’Neil has more than 30 touches per game. With the score 3-3 they delivered a 5-0 run to win a 10-4 rock fight against Carolina on Saturday night. Eric Law scored four times. Defender Greg Weyl (Mercyhurst) left the game on Saturday late with an upper body injury. Defensive captain Jesse Bernhardt is already on IR and coach Tim Soudan is running out of bodies down low.
Utah (4-4), the losers of two straight with a suddenly porous defense returns home this weekend. Defenders are jumping at every shadow. The Archers host California and Denver on August 16 and 17. Attackman Matt Moore did not play in Denver after hurting his shoulder in Baltimore. Turnovers plagued Utah and they were outscored 5-1 to end the loss to NY.
Carolina (4-5) can’t pass, averaging less than five assists per game. Without Josh Byrne, the offense was hard to watch in the Mile High City, falling 10-4 to Denver in a game for first place in the West. The good news is that the Chaos defense ranks #1 in many categories. Carolina plays Boston on Friday in a game infused with post season implications.
California (3-6) prevailed over Philly in overtime on Friday and finishes with Utah in Salt Lake City. With a -31 scoring differential, even with another win and at (4-6) the Woods get rolled in a tiebreaker. So, they are toast. But both California and Philly deserve credit for continuing to play hard, as evidenced by Friday’s tussle at DU. Play like a pro. Behave like a pro. Bring energy to everything you do. They did. Charlie Bertrand, Wes Berg and their midfield defenders made the difference in the 12-11 OT win over the Water Dogs.
Notes:
Johns Hopkins and Syracuse have no four-year recruits/players actively playing in the PLL. Chayse Ierlan, Alex Mazzone, Jake Stevens and Cole Kirst all took a graduate year at JHU or SU before entering the pro league. JHU 2024 Garrett Degnon is on the California roster but hasn’t been activated in months. How is this possible? Simple answer. Poor recruiting and personnel decisions combined with the lack of player development sends you in this direction. The inadequacies of the past show up loud and clear in the pro league devoid of Orange and Blue Jay alums.
Hopkins went all in on “early recruiting” and that proved to be a catastrophic mistake. Both programs dipped and are now under new leadership.
The pair of historical programs seemingly have taken steps to fix the problems that led to a sinking trajectory. Syracuse is very much a candidate for Champ weekend in 2025. Hopkins looks good again, although perhaps not great. At the D1 level, 2025 is a wide-open year that promises to be unlike any we’ve ever seen. There is no clear-cut favorite, and the pack of contenders is the deepest I’ve ever seen.
Chris Cotter, Paul Carcaterra and Dana Boyle have the television call this week from Zions Bank Stadium in SLC. Saturday night’s game can be seen on ESPN2. All games are available on E+.
