The Archers have been considered one of the league’s top teams for the last three seasons, but
they have failed to find postseason success. With a lot of their key players getting older and
most of their key players entering free agency this offseason, yesterday’s loss against the Chaos may have been the last chance for this current Archers’ squad to get over the hump and win a PLL title.
This season has been a rollercoaster of a year for the Archers. They started their season
without their top scorer in Grant Ament, but were carried by Will Manny and Marcus Holman.
Some games the Archers looked unbeatable, but then other games the offense looked completely
lost. In most of their losses, they were able to claw back and have a chance to send a game to
overtime, but they just weren’t ever able to complete the comeback. It was difficult this year to know which version of the Archers were going to show up.
The Archers have been in the playoffs all four years of the PLL’s existence, but have yet to make
the championship game. They lost to the Redwoods in round one of the 2019 playoffs and have
had their championship hopes ended by the Chaos the last three postseasons. With all the talent
on the Archers, they have failed to live up to expectations once the postseason arrives. This season
seemed as good of a chance as ever to make the championship game, especially with a chance
for revenge against the same squad that had knocked them out of the playoffs the two seasons prior. However, the Archers were not able to overcome the Chaos yet again.
The clock has been ticking for this current group of players to win a PLL Championship. Key players
like Will Manny, Marcus Holman, and Tom Schreiber are all 30 years old. Even though those
players might not be near retirement just yet, Father Time is still undefeated and their
opportunities at a PLL Championship become slimmer and slimmer every year. Guys like Will Manny,
Scott Ratliff, and Adam Ghitelman are still chasing that illustrious professional lacrosse championship that is missing from their already decorated careers.
Not only are the Archers battling Father Time, but with PLL free agency coming this offseason,
every team in the league will most likely see some roster turnover and have players sign with other teams.
For the Archers, most of their core will be free agents after next week. Would some of their
older veterans choose to sign with a stronger championship contender? Or would Chris Bates
look to surround Grant Ament and Connor Desimone with some younger talent and try to
develop a new core for future seasons? It will be interesting to see what happens to this roster
in the offseason.
