When the PLL heads to Albany to close its 2021 regular season, it could be the best weekend of the league’s season.
Seeing a game at Casey Stadium at Albany should be on your lacrosse bucket list. Scott Marr and the Great Danes have really turned the Capital Region into a lacrosse hotbed over the last few years. Lacrosse has become so well attended that games have routinely been moved from Fallon Field over to the football stadium.
It’s a great venue for the PLL to finish out its regular season, and what more could you ask for with Lyle Thompson and the Cannons playing an elimination game on the same field he ran around on as an undergraduate. The storylines are everywhere, and this weekend should be a great showcase of lacrosse!
PLL Heads to Albany to Close 2021 Regular Season
Redwoods (4-3) vs. Whipsnakes (4-3) – Friday, Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. EST (Peacock)
What a way to end the PLL regular season.
This is a big game for both sides with playoff seeding on the line. With three teams stuck at 4-3 heading into the weekend, it’s going to come down to the wire in this one.
Per usual, faceoffs will be a huge factor. It always seems that games between these two come down to one possession. The Whipsnakes have been a little unlucky as of late, and let’s hope that the extra rest will give them some life going into this PLL weekend.
Archers (4-3) vs. Chaos (3-4) – Friday, Aug. 13 at 8:30 p.m. EST (NBCSN, Peacock)
The one thing that has plagued the Chaos this season is their inconsistency from week to week. Which Chaos team will we get this week? Most would point to history and say that this is where we’ll see the famous Andy Towers playoff run. If he gives a repeat performance of his locker room pump-up speech, then I think we’ll see a Chaos team ready to give the Archers all they can handles.
Blaze Riorden is the X-factor here. If he plays well, then the Chaos have a chance to steal this one away from the high-flying Archers in Albany on the final regular season weekend of the 2021 PLL campaign.
Atlas (6-2) vs. Waterdogs (5-3) – Saturday, Aug. 14 at 4:15 p.m. EST (Peacock)
Of course, you would put the top-two teams in the standings on Peacock and not NBCSN. I get it, the nightcap with Lyle and the Cannons is definitely a huge game, but c’mon now. These two teams are surging!
The Waterdogs are using the combined coaching inspiration of Barstool Big Cat and Andy Copelan and are putting themselves in a position to make a run at a title. The faceoff X will be huge in this one, but what’s more intriguing is the Michael Sowers versus Jeff Teat battle. The two best college players are now facing off in the pros, and it should make for an exciting game.
Cannons (2-6) vs. Chrome (2-6) – Saturday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. EST (NBCSN, Peacock)
Lyle back at Albany with a chance to help put his team in the playoffs on the last weekend of the 2021 PLL regular season. Could this be Paul Rabil’s final game? Probably not, but if this was last year, most of you would be saying yes. The potential is there for this to be John Galloway and Joel White’s last games as well, so there is extra motivation for the Chrome.
The addition of Dylan Molloy gives the Chrome another option for the Cannons to worry about. Connor Farrell will be a factor in this game. We know he can win the draw, but can he give the Chrome possessions? That question will be answered.
LOSER GOES HOME. Enough said.
Chaos (3-4) vs. Redwoods (4-3) – Sunday, Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. EST (NBCSN, Peacock)
With both of these teams are in the playoffs already, this game will give us better clarity on playoff seeding. Depending on how things shake out this weekend, there’s an opportunity to see the PLL standings completely shaken up.
The battle here will be the freewheeling offense of the Chaos against the fundamentally-sound Redwoods defense.
Archers (4-3) vs. Whipsnakes (4-3) – Sunday, Aug. 15 at 4:45 p.m. EST (Peacock)
Going into the playoffs, this is an extremely tough weekend for the Whipsnakes. Having to play the Redwoods and Archers in the same weekend is definitely a tall task. We’ve seen all season that teams typically play better in that second game, so expect to see high-level lacrosse on both sides.
It’ll come down to a battle between the goalies. Adam Ghitelman has been excellent all season. Both of these teams need the momentum heading into the playoffs to make a run at the title, so expect intensity in Albany for the last contest of the 2021 PLL regular season.
