Atlas Hold Off Chaos, Redwoods Win in Anthony Kelly's PLL Coaching Debut

The start to the Roy Colsey era for the Carolina Chaos looked bleak after the New York Atlas’ high-octane offense scored four-straight goals in the first quarter of Friday night’s season-opening matchup in Albany, N.Y.

The Chaos rallied, scoring four-straight goals despite losing 85 percent of the faceoffs in the first half. Carolina’s defense, led by defensive coordinator Stephen Brooks, held New York to a scoring drought spanning 19 minutes after a goal from Brett Maker with 7:24 left in the first quarter. 

The reigning Jim Brown MVP, attackman Jeff Teat, scored just one goal, but it was a big one that sparked a 4-1 run that led the Atlas to a 10-8 win. Attackman Xander Dickson was held scoreless for the first time since his rookie season.

Chaos long-stick midfielder Troy Reh was tasked with guarding the crafty off-ball finisher who finished fourth in the Premier Lacrosse League with 24 goals last season.

“Covering Xander Dickson is a nightmare,” Colsey said. “It may not be the same as matching up against a guy physically, but he is a tireless cutter … and one of the best off-ball guys I’ve ever seen in the game, and Troy did an incredible job staying with him.”

The Atlas led 6-5 at halftime, as both teams were tied with 14 shots on goal. Rookie attackman Jackson Eicher, who went undrafted out of Army despite being a Tewaaraton Award finalist this season, notched his first career hat trick after scoring the second half’s first two goals. He finished with five points.

After Eicher’s second goal at the 9:46 mark of the third quarter, Atlas head coach Mike Pressler challenged a shot from Bryan Costabile that bounced off the crossbar on the goal line. As play continued with the challenge flag sitting on the field, defensive midfielder Payton Rezanka scored during a fast break. But since the flag was thrown before the goal and Costabile’s shot did not cross the line, the play was disavowed and the score remained tied at 6.

Teat, who struggled to separate against All-Star defenseman Jack Rowlett, scored his goal off an assist from Connor Shellenberger with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter. Shellenberger fed a wide-open Teat from X, who got his hands free from a Costabile off-ball pick.

After rookie midfielder Matt Traynor scored his second career goal with 9:46 left in the game, Carolina’s best chance to tie it came after a timeout with 1:53 left. Eicher wasn’t able to get his hands free against defenseman Michael Rexrode as the shot clock expired, and Costabile buried his third goal to clinch the Atlas’ win.

Atlas goalie Liam Entenmann was his typical outstanding self, stopping over 70 percent of shots faced for the second time in his professional career. His 16 saves outpaced future Hall of Famer Blaze Riorden’s 12.

After the game, Colsey said he “doesn’t like moral victories,” but his roster, which was almost completely redone, went toe-to-toe with arguably the PLL’s best team on paper. The Chaos’ three young attackmen, which was their most unproven unit, showed an abundance of flash on Friday. The trio of Josh Zawada, JJ Sillstrop and Eicher combined for 10 points with an average age of 24 years old.

Carolina’s midfield line was also decimated with 2024 first-round pick Shane Knobloch on the PUP list and Chris Aslanian leaving the game with an upper-body injury.

REDWOODS WIN FIRST GAME UNDER KELLY

Rookie California Redwoods’ attackman Chris Kavanagh got the best of the Denver Outlaws on Friday in his first tilt against his brother, Pat, since the two competed in their backyard in Rockville Centre, N.Y.

Chris Kavanagh led the game with four goals and an assist in his PLL debut, while Pat Kavanagh notched two goals. The sides traded goals for the entire first quarter and neither team led by more than three goals until Redwoods faceoff ace TD Ierlan fired a shot past Outlaws’ goalie Owen McElroy with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.

Redwoods head coach Anthony Kelly walked off the field with a wide grin as he soaked in California’s 15-12 win in his first game as a coach in the PLL. Ironically, Kelly won a Major League Lacrosse championship with the Outlaws in 2014 as one of the league’s best FOGOs and is the team’s record holder in faceoff winning efficiency.

The matchup was fast-paced and close for the majority of the game, but the Redwoods’ four-goal run from the 2:41 mark of the third quarter to the 11:21 mark of the fourth was too much for the Outlaws to overcome.

Veteran attackman Dylan Molloy already looked like he was in midseason form. The physical dodger notched a hat trick and led the Redwoods in shots with eight. He also added an assist to Chris Kavanagh that the hot rookie rang off the iron with 6:07 left in the third quarter.

To continue with the theme of rookies in great form, the No. 2-overall pick in this year’s draft, Andrew McAdorey, netted both of his shot attempts. McAdorey and Kavanagh’s speed complement Molloy and midfielder Charlie Bertrand’s physicality to a tee.

The former Blue Devil also played both ways on Friday, and expect the elite athlete to be a major threat during the 32-second shot clock off the faceoff throughout the season. First-year general manager Joe Spallina’s new-look Redwood’s offense looked dangerous, and the team still has crafty finisher Wes Berg and former 2022 Rookie of the Year Brendan Nichtern on the roster, though both didn’t suit up.

Berg is on the PUP list, while Nichtern was moved to the protected roster for this weekend’s game.

For the Outlaws, Logan Wisnauskas led with a hat trick, while Brendan O’Neill scored twice. O’Neill shot just 22 percent, part of a team-wide issue for Denver. The Redwoods doubled the Outlaws 20-percent shooting efficiency.