Atlas Thwart Cannons, 'Watershed' Victory for Waterdogs

EVANSTON, Ill. — New York Atlas coach Mike Pressler pulled aside attackman Connor Shellenberger moments before Friday night’s Eastern Conference clash with the Boston Cannons in Martin Stadium.

The Atlas (4-2) had fallen to the Cannons (3-3) in five of their previous six meetings, but with conference standing superiority and potential postseason implications at play, Pressler knew his second-year superstar was up for the challenge.

“I told him pregame, ‘Today’s your night; they can’t cover you tonight,’” Pressler said.

Shellenberger unleashed an offensive barrage from all angles, scoring a career-high five goals as New York defeated Boston 17-11.

The former Virginia star said his coach’s belief bred significant confidence heading into a high-stakes Chicago weekend matchup.

“People throw around the word loyalty, and nobody personifies that more than Coach Pressler,” Shellenberger said. “The amount of confidence he gets in everybody is pretty cool to be a part of.”

The win marked the Atlas’ third consecutive victory and avenged a 16-12 loss to the Cannons on May 31. Four New York players recorded at least three points, with attackman Jeff Teat posting a game-best four assists.

Shellenberger said the attack’s collective faith in goalkeeper Liam Entenmann, faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste and the Atlas defense opened up the team’s offensive plan. With 17 faceoff wins Friday night to reach the 1,200 mark, Baptiste moved into fourth on the all-time professional lacrosse leaderboard.

“You feel the intensity our team brought to practice last night,” Shellenberger said. “Having Trev at the X and [Entenmann] in goal frees up our offense so much. When you play with that freedom, with the guys we have on offense, it’s usually a good recipe for success.”

New York, which began the game on a 4-0 run, built an 11-3 advantage at halftime. Entenmann denied six of the nine shots on goal he faced in the first half, while Boston struggled to slow the dynamic Atlas attack.

“They were on fire,” Cannons coach Brian Holman said of New York. “They played like a team that hadn’t beaten us in a long time. … I thought we were ready. But I don’t think we were ready for what they threw at us.”

While the Cannons outscored the Atlas 8-6 in the second half, the first-half hole proved far too significant to grapple with. Shellenberger’s fifth and final gave New York its loftiest lead of the night at 16-7 early in the final quarter. The Cannons ended the game on a 4-1 run, but the final result left much to be desired as the Atlas solidified their spot atop the conference.

“We worked hard, strung a few good minutes together there, but we just didn’t play a full game,” Boston defenseman Jack Kielty said. “We [have] a lot of room to improve, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

The Atlas will look to extend their winning streak against the California Redwoods on July 18 at Fairfield, while the Cannons will take on the Denver Outlaws the next day.

PHILLY DEFEATS TWO-TIME DEFENDING CHAMPS

Fifty-six seconds remained in the first quarter of Friday night’s late affair between the Philadelphia Waterdogs and the Utah Archers. The Waterdogs held a one-goal advantage as rookie long-stick midfielder Ben Wayer stepped into a shot from beyond the two-point arc.

Wayer buried his bounce shot, helping fuel Philadelphia’s torrid first-half run. Although Utah displayed tremendous resilience to battle back into contention after trailing by as much as nine goals, the Waterdogs (4-2) held on to defeat the two-time defending champions 16-11.

“This was a watershed victory for us,” Waterdogs coach Bill Tierney said. “It could have gone the same old way. These guys dug in, they concentrated all week. … Our older guys led the younger guys tonight, and that’s a heck of a lacrosse team we beat.”

Attackman Michael Sowers paced the Waterdog offense with four points, as nine different Philadelphia players recorded goals. Veteran Waterdog attackman Kieran McArdle eclipsed the 500-point mark for his career with two goals and an assist Friday night.

“You don’t play this game for the accolades, but when you reach a milestone like that and you look at the other names on the list, it’s pretty surreal,” McArdle said.

With just under four minutes remaining in the first half, Philadelphia faceoff specialist Alec Stathakis — who won 22 of his 27 faceoffs in the victory — scored to give the Waterdogs an 11-2 advantage.

While his team fortified a sizable cushion, Tierney knew the Archers wouldn’t retreat quietly into the night.

“We knew the Archers were going to make a run,” Tierney said. “If there’s too much emotion on a team, you can get rocky. They can get up and down.”

The expected Utah comeback push arrived with a vengeance between the second quarter’s waning moments and the bulk of the third period. Archers attackman Tre Leclaire converted a pair of goals to end the first half, and rookie attackman Sam King put forth a herculean effort to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 10:25 remaining in the contest.

As a downpour arrived just outside of Chicago, a potential inclement weather stoppage appeared as the only respite from Utah’s attacking onslaught. But the Waterdogs withstood the momentum shift and lightning held off as Philadelphia ended the game on a 3-1 run.

“We started off slow and just couldn’t dig ourselves out of that hole,” said King, who scored four goals Friday night. “[We] punched back a little bit in the third quarter, but it was just hard to come back from that deficit in the first half.”

The Archers will face the Carolina Chaos on July 18, while the Waterdogs will return to action July 19 against the Maryland Whipsnakes.