Being a dedicated lacrosse fan, I felt that enough time had passed to look back at the first-ever Premier Lacrosse League season. The 2019 PLL season was certainly a different game for professional lacrosse, and it added some fun to the revitalized platform of the game. Kicking off on June 1st at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, this league has thrilled every single fan of theirs by being a high-action and fast-moving game with an all-new twist on ordinary lacrosse.
Standings and Playoffs
The regular season standings were indicative of how competitive the league truly was. While the Chaos sat at the top with a 7-3 record, the Whipsnakes didn’t fall too far behind at 6-4. What sealed parity in the league more emphatically was that the Archers, Redwoods, and Atlas ended at a clip of 5-5, and then there was the Chrome limping home to an end of 2-8. In the playoffs, the Whipsnakes dominated the Chaos 15-7 in the semifinals, as the Redwoods were able to come away with an impressive 16-12 victory over the Archers. This pitted them against each other in a final that would be very close at the end, where the Whipsnakes just squeezed past the Redwoods 12-11 in overtime.
Championship Game
After the first quarter went 1-1, Whipsnakes asserted their dominance in the second with a 5-0 run. Then the Redwoods completed one of the greatest comebacks in PLL history, scoring six goals in the third to bring things back to within two at 10-8. They tied things up in the fourth and briefly took the lead, but Matt Rambo’s clutch performance, which included the game-tying goal with just 21.2 seconds left, pushed it into OT. He scored the winning goal in OT to claim the Championship MVP award.
Individual Achievements and Awards
- Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year: Matt Rambo, Whipsnakes
- Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year: Tom Schreiber, Archers
- Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year: Jarrod Neumann, Chaos
- Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year: Blaze Riorden, Chaos
- Brodie Merrill Long Stick Midfielder of the Year: Michael Ehrhardt, Whipsnakes
- PLL Rookie of the Year: Tim Troutner, Redwoods
- Dick Edell Coach of the Year: Andy Towers, Chaos
League Leaders
- Points Leader: Matt Rambo (Whipsnakes) with 42 points
- Goals Leader: Marcus Holman (Archers) with 23 goals
- Assists Leader: Matt Rambo (Whipsnakes) with 23 assists
- Save Percentage Leader: Drew Adams (Archers) with 65.3%
Conclusion
A first year of operation within the 2019 PLL season set up a promising and continued future for the league. The competitive nature and individual efforts displayed the professional and high-flying game of lacrosse in the right and most thrilling way. The 2019 season stays as a title season for the foresaid reasons and sets quite a high bar for seasons to come.
