PLL Championship Series Final Recap
The dominance of the Philadelphia Waterdogs throughout the PLL Championship Series is not surprising. They have more “SSDMs” listed on their roster than any other team. They also have one of the best all-around players the PLL and NCAA has ever seen in Ryan Conrad. Their strategy is to run their offense through two of the most skilled players in the league with Michael Sowers and Kieran McCardle while subbing them off the field to get their defensive players on the field as much as possible. This allowed Sowers and McCardle to be fresh for every offensive set.
Waterdogs are just DOGS! Christian Scarpello, Jake Higgins, and Charlie Hayes are on the field running up and down, making plays all game. The only time they take reps “off” is on the offensive end when Conrad, Sowers, and McCardle are doing their thing. Not to mention, Jake Carraway is one of the best shooters in the PLL. The dogs have dominated on both ends of the field in every single game.
Boston’s Cannons showed their toughness in the semi-final against the Redwoods after a demoralizing loss to the Waterdogs the night before. With a different style of play, the Cannons have been able to produce through three fantastic offensive players in Holman, Nolting, and Campell. Not to mention another highly skilled player, Drenner.
Appropriately named, the Cannons have relied on their offense. They have the shooters to score goals, but when it comes to beating your man, this offense struggled against the Waterdogs in their first meeting.
This all changed in the final when the Waterdogs’ Michael Sowers was hit early in the first quarter. This was a high, helmet to helmet hit that resulted in Sowers getting a concussion. The Cannons set the tone with physical play that some would call dirty and cheap. While the hit on Sowers was not called a penalty, there were several more hard hits that were called on the Cannons. With Sowers out, the dynamic of the game completely changed. The Waterdogs’ gameplan had to change in an instant. The Cannons defense no longer had to work as hard as there was one less major threat on the field. This kept the Cannons fresh and able to compete in the late parts of the game.
The Cannons ultimately won.
While this game may have gone the other way with Sowers on the field, the Cannons and Waterdogs gave us an entertaining OT championship game. It was a frenetic game that gave us highlight reel goals, hard hits, and a thrilling finish.
What more could we ask for?
WAY MORE!
The Redwoods may have had a different story with Romar Dennis hitting more 2pt shots and not sustaining injuries throughout the tournament. Also, imagine if Ryder Garnsey or Wes Berg were playing?!?!?
The Archers were also down players that could have helped dramatically… Tom Schreiber, Grant Ament, Tre LeClaire?!?!?!?
I’d love to see the entire PLL participate in this at some point with all of their best guys. With so many NLL guys playing and NCAA coaches coaching in February, it begs the question… Could the PLL Championship series be even more exciting?
MARK STAPOR
Mark is the CEO of DEFY Lacrosse. He loves this sport and the people in it. If you want to get educated he is your man!.