Rain, rain, go away. Ruin lacrosse some other day. The only thing that worked out about the weather delay and the PLL Championship Series format was not losing all lacrosse because of a little lightning.
While the first game on the docket got moved to super late on Wednesday night, we still got to experience a showdown between Atlas and Archers that went all the way down to the line. It was the tale of two rookies that captivated the audience of Monday Night Lacrosse.
PLL Championship Series Standings
|
Team |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
|
Chrome |
1 |
0 |
13 |
9 |
|
Whipsnakes |
1 |
0 |
13 |
9 |
|
Archers |
1 |
0 |
11 |
10 |
|
Atlas |
1 |
1 |
21 |
21 |
|
Waterdogs |
0 |
1 |
10 |
11 |
|
Redwoods |
0 |
1 |
9 |
13 |
|
Chaos |
0 |
1 |
9 |
13 |
Big Stats Guys
- Grant Ament (Archers) 3G, 1A
- Matt McMahon (Archers) 3CT, 2GB
- Bryan Costabile (Atlas) 3G, 1 2G
- Cade Van Raaphorst (Atlas) 2CT, 3GB
- Craig Chick (Atlas) 2CT, 3GB
Chaos vs Redwoods – Postponed
Moved to Wednesday, July 9th at 11 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
Thunder and lightning got the best of this one, but the storms were able to pass before the next game. The PLL made the decision the move the game to Wednesday, the pre-planned off-day, for a late start, 11 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. in Utah.
Archers 11, Atlas 10
One thing rookies have going for them when going pro in the summer is their incredible peak-season fitness and game speed, typically rolling right into the circuit after finishing their senior season’s playoff run. This year was a lot different. Guys haven’t been able to play lacrosse for months. Some of the rookies only played a handful of games before their season’s were cancelled and that was in March. There was speculation on whether who teams should take in the draft and which guys to bet on.
Archers and Atlas hit the jackpot with the No. 1 and No. 2 picks overall.
Grant Ament was the stud his teammates warned us about before the season started. He just fits. Archers have an energy about them that is unique from any team and Ament just gels so perfectly, even saying things like “loosey-goosey” in his post-game interview.
A hat-trick in his debut, he started in the second quarter by blowing bast Kevin Unterstein, pushing out to try to deny him the ball, with a beautiful wide open catch and release at the goalie’s legs. Then he absolutely dusted Kyle Hartzell as soon as he caught the ball at X, leaving his defender behind as he was once again left with just the goalie. The next goal came through Ament’s stick as well, finding the ball on a fast break and connecting on a rope to Will Manny for a laser fast tap-in. To close the half, it was Ament getting the rock in the back corner and running straight into a pick on the crease with such speed that the sheer timing to switch or recover did not exist for Atlas and the rookie was three deep by the mid point.
.@GrantAment has a hat trick…in his first game as a pro…in the first half. 🏹 pic.twitter.com/WrBTiRaOhi
— Archers Lacrosse Club (@PLLArchers) July 28, 2020
It’s a shame for the five goal effort Bryan Costabile put together on Monday night, that very few of his teammates had anything to match. The Notre Dame product accounted for half of the entire Atlas score, a team laden with so many proven stars. This kid has range. His first goal of the game was a step down missile from beyond the arc. Trying to get back to his left hand, Costabile committed to his right as he wrapped the crease and went airborne up through the crease and tucking the ball in for his second of the night. Then he went back to distance, dodging up to his right hand and knocking down a beautiful midrange jumper.
His fifth and final of the game was probably the most telling. Costabile was being pulled out of the game defensively to take rest for going back out when Atlas got the ball back. Any time Costabile could take a run on defense it looked like he went for it and he showed the signs of being one of the best lockdown short-sticks in the PLL if they will let him. After exerting every bit of his being on each goal, each shift, each defensive stand, Costabile still took a clear nearly end to end, catching Tom Scheiber off guard at the last possible second to burn one down the alley. This man is ready-ready.
"If they're not going to respect me enough to slide to that, then I'm going to shoot that all day" – @bryan_costabile
THAT'S OUR ROOKIE 👏😩 pic.twitter.com/tM6DxcOvmD
— Atlas Lacrosse Club (@PLLAtlas) July 28, 2020
Archers had no problem getting started, Schreiber sweeping one in on the run on their very first possession. They were just a bit jittery on their debut in comparison to an Atlas team that won on NBC the afternoon prior. The game really came together and by the final stretch, there was only guessing as to who would pull away. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter didn’t carry the same scoring excitement as the first half, with only one goal registered for each compared to the 14 combined in the first and second frames.
Inside the @PLLArchers locker room. pic.twitter.com/Uz1kYvrP4q
— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) July 28, 2020
It’s weird how played out this way too. It’s not like Atlas looked any different physically than game one. The looks and opportunities were there. Some guys just appear cursed not to score right now. Rob Pannell had one goal one 10 shots and Paul Rabil is 0-of-12 shooting over the past two games. There’s no way this doesn’t change, but it’s a lot of spent rubber at this point. Both teams only had six contributors to the goal column, but the frequency of the Archers’ scorers made all the difference.
A fairly tame game across the board, the two clubs settled in and played lacrosse. An even match in the specialists categories, there was only a two win advantage by Trevor Baptiste’s crew, an equal 59 percent average for both net-minders. When it came to the possession, it was actually Atlas winning the ground ball battle, 26-to-20, caused turnovers, 7-to-4, and finishing 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. There was just so little scoring at the end of the game you had to question if we reached bed time. Atlas finally put together a late push and scored with 35 second left. While they kept firing, even to the final horn, the Atlas just had a way about not-scoring, that just doesn’t seem possible to maintain moving forward.
Monday’s Games
- Archers vs Waterdogs 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
- Redwoods vs Chrome 9:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
In the first game, we have the Waterdogs who really controlled most of their first game against the Atlas, but dropped the very end. The Archers on the other hand were down early on to the Atlas, but put together a big scoring streak to take the lead. The game still game down to the wire, including need to stop a literal last second shot.
The big question for these teams: who can win the second half? There’s only a combined five second half points between them. For the amount of firepower they both have, someone needs to figure out their halftime mojo.
In the nightcap, we have the Chrome who are the surprise of the Championship Series so far. They’ll be facing the Redwoods, who had a disappointing result to the opening day Championship rematch. Seeing how the Chrome defense matches up with the Redwoods attack will be the most critical battle on the field and where the Redwoods have perhaps the biggest advantage.
Another question mark will be in the face-off department. Connor Farrell was dominant in his debut while the Redwoods had no ability to deal with Joe Nardella. If they can’t get the ball to their attack consistently, it could be a long day.
PickUp Props of the Day
