Parity continued to be the theme in Minnesota, where the Cannons pulled off an unlikely upset of the Archers through an unbelievable Nick Marrocco save, the Waterdogs went 2-0 to move near the top of the standings, and Redwoods moved atop the league standings.
Nick Marrocco Marvels in Minnesota, Tr on Top
Game Recaps
Waterdogs (19) vs Cannons (7)
Jake Withers and Dillon Ward gave Waterdogs all of the extra possessions they could and ultimately a lot of time on offense. The ‘Dogs then took advantage of those possessions with 10 different scorers finding the scoresheet. The Cannons struggled to get anything going, actually resorting to pulling goalie Nick Marrocco before putting him back in later.
Ultimately, the many runs and depth of scoring from the Waterdogs was too much for the Cannons to overcome.
Redwoods (13) vs Whipsnakes (7)
A depleted Whipsnakes roster just didn’t feel the same on Saturday as it struggled to replace the offensive presence of Matt Rambo. Kyle Bernlohr had issues in net and was ultimately replaced by veteran Brian Phipps.
On the back of Tim Troutner, Redwoods was able to play much better defense than it has of late and dominated shot percentage, 30% to 15%. The Whips will certainly bounce back, but the Redwoods secured a much-needed win against their biggest rival.
Atlas (16) vs Chaos (10)
The Atlas are a certified wagon fueled by a few savvy vets and a host of young talent. Jeff Teat continued to show why he was the No. 1 pick, while Craig Chick and Danny Logan dominated the middle of the field. Trevor Baptiste won an absurd 70% of faceoffs, and JD Colarusso came in and played extremely well in net (53%).
The Chaos continue to suffer from a lack of offensive possessions, which leads to lower shooting volume. If the Chaos can creep towards 50% on faceoffs, they can be competitive in every single game.
Chrome (6) vs Waterdogs (12)
I won’t sugar coat this: Chrome just didn’t look good, at all. It wasn’t even that the Waterdogs played extremely well, the Chrome just couldn’t get anything meaningful going.
Nevertheless, the ‘Dogs were able to go 2-0 on the weekend and move into second place.
Cannons (13) vs Archers (12)
This is the contest that convinced me that we need Sunday night lacrosse all summer long.
The game went back and forth, and the Archers noticeably missed their usual faceoff stud Stephen Kelly. The real beauty of this game was in the final minutes where Nick Marrocco made a few insane saves only for his team to turn the ball over or commit a penalty and give possession right back to the Archers.
The Cannons have proven throughout the year that when they play well, they can hang with anyone, and this was the perfect example of that. It also doesn’t hurt when Lyle Thompson puts up an absurd nine-point game.
5 Best Performances of PLL Week 4
Lyle Thompson, Cannons attack: nine points (five goals, four assists).
Eli Gobrecht, Waterdogs defense: five CT and five ground balls.
Jeff Teat, Atlas attack: four goals and four assists.
Tim Troutner, Redwoods goalie: 71% save percentage.
Jake Withers, Waterdogs FOS: 77% with 12 ground balls and two points.
Updated Standings
