PLL Championship Review
Well, another PLL season is in the books. How do we all feel? Was it the best season of the PLL yet? I think, if we really wanted to knit pick at it, we could definitely identify what worked and what didn’t. There were some winners, some losers, and some definite “to be determines” when contemplating the road for this league moving forward. I’ll give my final two cents for free before refocusing back on what’s really important (of course I’m referring to College Men’s Lacrosse).
The Winners:
The Utah Archers
The Archers are undoubtedly the heroes here in this, the sixth chapter of the book that is the PLL. Completing the repeat, and defending their title from the previous year, the Archers are on pace to do what I alluded to last week, become a true dynasty in the league. They have a great mix of young upstarts, key role players, and veteran leadership that all seems to work with their system and team culture they have created. The cherry on the top of this victory is they were able to reach the top of the mountain for the second year in a row, but this time, without the help of the best player in the world, Tom Schreiber (yes I said it). This not only goes to show how much the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, or however the old saying goes, but how a team can truly rally around a leader, whose contributions shifted from a star playing role, to a supporting cast member helping from behind the curtain. But I am happy for the team. I have always been a Chris Bates fan. He is an upstate guy, of which of course I will always have some inherent bias, but he really is a great coach. He is one of the pioneers of the pairs system of offense, which is widely used in the current field game at all levels of play. He has made some very big contributions to the sport. His career and personal life has been filled with some highs and lows, so to see him succeed is very fulfilling and uplifting. Also a big fan of some of their stars like Ryan Ambler, Tom Schreiber, Grant Ament, and Mac O’Keefe, who I think is the best shooter in the game today. I like Sisselberger, the grinder at the dot for them as well. This team should be poised for another run at another title in 2025 with this cast of characters and their coaching staff at the helm.
MAAC Goalies
It’s funny, I actually just had the conversation with one of my players the other day. Now, it may come as a shock to some when they find out that the two goaltenders that faced off in a Professional Lacrosse championship game didn’t come from an ACC or Big Ten powerhouse, but rather St Bonaventure and Manhattan College. I played Division 1 Lacrosse at Mount Saint Mary’s University back right around the time smart phones were invented (2007-2011). I would be lying if I told you that I went to the Mount because I wanted to win a National Championship. The Mount is a school roughly the same size of the current Division III school I work at, about 2,000 students. We weren’t big, we weren’t a top academic destination, and we certainly weren’t nationally known. No, I always saw the Mount as more of a DIII school. I went for the experience more than the promise of Lacrosse glory. I would think most other players that choose a smaller school would feel similar. As a MAAC Conference school back in those days, our team didn’t have the biggest guys, the most skilled guys, or the most athletic guys either. There was one constant that I was able to see amongst all the smaller Division I teams, however. They goalie play was top notch. Can’t tell you what to attribute that to. But the guys I have seen throughout the years have been top notch ball stoppers. Guys like Brent Herbst for Sienna, Erik Hotaling for Saint Joes, and more recently Dylan Furnback from my alma mater, Mount Saint Mary’s. When I played, our goalie was T.C. DiBartolo. T.C. was an All-American in 2010, which was pretty rare coming from a small conference like the MAAC. T.C. had some serious ability, and when looking at the types of schools he was competing against regularly (UVA, Hopkins, Maryland, Navy, Towson, Loyola), he routinely would be over 50% with multiple games the saves in the high teens and low twenties. He could have rostered for a lot of teams. After college he played for the old school Bayhawks in the MLL for a couple years. Dave Cottle actually started him a handful of times over other goalies on the roster. T.C.’s impact in the net was so significant that Dom Starsia even mentioned him as on of his favorite college goalies in his autobiography. That is some serious high praise. So, when I see Brett Dobson and Brenden Krebs start for these two teams, in this high stakes game, it’s for sure is cool to see, but you can best believe it is well deserved. These two are legit contenders. Brett Dobson might be the best goalie in the world after these last couple weeks. Holding the last two teams he played to a total of 9 goals, and combining for 35 saves, he at least better be in the conversation.
The People of Utah
I don’t know how the Ute’s ultimately feel about finally having a championship sports franchise, but until the Jazz can get one, they better rally behind the one successful franchise they currently have. It’s also a great thing for Lacrosse out west to have a championship franchise outside the east coast, or traditional Lacrosse hotbed.
Social Media
Lacrosse social media will be buzzing I would imagine. There will for sure be some championship festivities and celebration in need of media coverage, and during the hype of football season, I’m sure that will be at a premium. Jason Kelce and Flava flav getting in on the action as well is fun to see. It’s good to see our sport appealing to the masses.
The Announcers
PLL should keep Ryan Boyle. More bias coming through. I know Ryan and used to work for his company, Trilogy Lacrosse a long time ago. He is a great steward of the game and one of the finest people you would ever want to meet. Having said that, I love the passion he brings to the game. I like his delivery as well. I think I referred to him once as the “Tony Romo” of our sport. If not, I’m doing it now. I don’t know about anyone else but I get enough of Quint and Paul during the spring college season, and the sound of another voice is, we’ll say….refreshing. Movin’ on.
PLL Rookies
One thing I’ll say for this season was this has got to be the best class of rookie players since the PLL started. Or at least the one where they contributed the most. So much young talent on display. When you think about Pat Kavanagh, Brennan O’Neill, Connor Shellenberger, Ajax Zappitello, and Graham Bundy just to name a few. The real winner is TJ Malone. When thinking about Rookie of the year, I don’t think anyone would have thought TJ Malone would’ve fit that bill at the beginning of the year with the aforementioned list on display. His performance this year was great for this league and great for the rest of the rookies. Gotta keep your head on a swivel and never rest on your past achievements.
The Losers:
The Maryland Whipsnakes
Here to state the obvious. They were not the better team after watching the game. To be honest, going into it I really didn’t know how it was going to go. Like I said last week, if I was in Vegas, it would be very hard to ever want to bet against the Whips this time of year. But time still revealed that they were clearly outmatched. I think the best team in the league won this year, which is ok. I think this win was very important for the Whipsnake’s young legacy. They are a proud bunch that competes hard and wants to succeed every time they step on the field. But never count them out. Wouldn’t shock me in the slightest to see them bounce back next year.
The Rest of the League
I think the rest of the league each has their own sob story headline for the 2024 campaign. One that reads, “Underachievers” could go to the Cannons and Outlaws. “Legacy Tarnished” would be a moniker fit for the Chaos and Whipsnakes, for continuing to get close to past glory but coming up short. “Never took off,” would for sure describe the Redwoods, for a team that is usually hovering towards the top mustering up a sad 3-7 record this season. Lastly, I’m thinking “Over Hyped, and Under-delivered” for the Atlas and Waterdogs. Atlas, coming out so hot and losing steam almost as fast. And the Waterdogs, what a conundrum. Winning the league in 2022, coming up just short in 2023, and the only team to not make the playoffs in 2024.
The Midwest
I think the fans of the sport need a Midwest team. There are huge hubs here that house a lot of Lacrosse Enthusiasts between Indianapolis, Detroit, Louisville, Milwaukee, St Louis, and Kansas City. The two most obvious are Chicago and the Twin Cities. Each one I think would provide great fan bases, and support a PLL team, if one should ever find its way to America’s Heartland.
The Fans
I hate calling fans losers, but I do think we all lost something this summer. And again, this is just one man’s opinion. I am just a dude with a laptop, sitting in his recliner, talking about stuff. I am not deep diving and fact checking. My research, if done at all, is minimal and with the help of my friend, the google machine. If anyone disagrees with me, that is ok. But I feel like the fans are getting short changed. I think the games can be longer and more exciting. Some small rule changes could go a long way. I think playoffs on Sundays are a mistake. I think viewership will ultimately suffer this time of year. I think having some early season games on Friday and Saturday, and later in the year games are Saturday/Sunday, and even one game on Labor Day Monday is confusing. I actually liked how the old MLL would have midweek games every once and a while, at night televised. I think huge segments of the population are being left out, as previously stated. I think there can be more games, more teams, and just more consistency and transparency. And again, none of this is supported by anything. I don’t have the statistics or balance sheet at my disposal. Maybe game attendance has never been higher. Maybe viewership has never been better. Maybe market research told Paul Rabil not to put playoff games on Saturdays because families will be out on Saturdays, but Sundays are days where families stay in to watch the NFL, and the PLL will benefit more from that sort of parasitic relationship. That would actually kinda make sense, now that I am working through this. Maybe the league is profitable and not in the red. I have no clue! I’m sure I’ll find out eventually, but my point is this is all through my lens. I think there is some good moments, but for the most part the product fails to live up to that of NCAA Division I. It fails to live up to the rest of the professional sports associations. And guess what, that’s ok! The PLL just finished their 6 year. I don’t know a lot, but I can bet that when the NFL was in their sixth year, they may have been counting their pennies, along with their blessings, as the future was probably uncertain. Timing is everything, and you need people to support your efforts. I think enough people support the PLL at this point that it will ultimately last. I just have my own bias. Like I have said, I want nothing more for than this league to succeed. I am excited to see what will come in the next couple years. As College players continue to get better, the league will probably follow suit. I may be a little harsh on the PLL at times, but at least I’m watching. It’s just like Howard Stern. You don’t have to like him or agree with him, you just want to hear what he is going to say next.
KASEY BURST
The HC at the University of Dubuque, Kasey brings all things college lacrosse to your inbox.