Dickson, Shellenberger 'Telepathy' Have Atlas Ready for PLL Title Game

Connor Shellenberger found Xander Dickson circling around the cage for the 12th goal in the New York Atlas’ 13-11 win over the Philadelphia Waterdogs in the Premier Lacrosse League semifinals on September 1.

It was the 10th such connection between the two in 2025. Shellenberger assisted nine of Dickson’s goals during the regular season, more than any other combination in the league.

“It’s almost like telepathy,” Atlas head coach Mike Pressler said. “They have such a great feel for each other in reading body language, they read space, they read matchups without saying a word. I think that innate chemistry they have for each other, it’s off the charts.”

Pressler also sees the two communicating what they’re seeing and making in-game adjustments better than many others. Combine a great feeder with a great off-ball cutter and finisher, and it’s bound to pay off. And it has, both individually and team-wide.

Shellenberger is an MVP finalist after splitting perfectly 46 points on 23 goals and 23 assists. Dickson is a two-time PLL All-Star who registered 22 goals this year.

And the Atlas are playing for a PLL title on Sunday.

Who gets the credit for their successful combo is up for debate.

“You could have anybody back there feeding Xander, and he would make them look amazing,” Shellenberger said. “Some of the passes that I’ve been throwing him are probably bad passes and he comes out and catches and finishes them, goes behind the back or whatever. I’m just fortunate that I get to play with him, and he makes me look good.”

Dickson, of course, gave his running mate all the praise. That chemistry they built at Virginia during their college days has both players fully familiar with the role of the other.

“We both like what we do. We both don’t want to do the other person’s job, and I would not be nearly as good as him at his job, and he’d probably be great at my job,” Dickson said. “He’s amazing.”

Limiting their combination is one of the tasks facing the Denver Outlaws when they take on the Atlas in the championship game at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J. Denver was a 13-12 overtime winner when they met Aug. 2 in Denver with Shellenberger having a hat trick and an assist. Dickson was held to one goal.

This is the Atlas’ first title game appearance.

“Our locker room was just devastated after last year, losing and coming up short in the semis,” Dickson said.

The championship game is the first of two huge opportunities on the horizon for the duo. Dickson and Shellenberger are also part of the 12-member U.S. sixes roster that will compete at the Atlas Cup at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md., from Sept. 26-28.

The Atlas Cup will feature the men’s and women’s sixes teams of the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Haudenosaunee playing in the format that will be used in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

You can purchase tickets to the event here.

The U.S. will hold a training camp Sept. 23-24 to get into sixes mode. Dickson is looking forward to playing in the newest lacrosse format with Shellenberger, who will see his first international sixes competition.

Shellenberger was the youngest player invited to an evaluation camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., in 2021. That’s the last time the played sixes because he sat out last year’s USA Lacrosse Experience in Indianapolis while recovering from surgery.

The two have talked excitedly about having more space and how sixes lends itself to their strengths.

“Just the fact there’s no poles out there, the fact that it’s so quick I think lends itself to the fast style pace we played at Virginia … so hopefully we can do some damage out there,” Shellenberger said.

Dickson and Shellenberger won an NCAA title together in 2021, but that was before their connection really took off. Over their three seasons together in Charlottesville, Dickson moved positions. But in his final year, as an attackman, he became the first Hoos player to score 60 goals in a season.

Twice that season Shellenberger and Dickson combined for four goals in a game. Twenty-one of Dickson’s 60 goals came off feeds from Shellenberger, who was then a junior.

“You achieve an elite level only through endless hours of intentional training and repetition,” Virginia head coach Lars Tiffany said. “What happens when you combine a ludicrously talented feeder with the softest hands, quickest release shooter, and then put them in the UVA lacrosse Petri dish? After hundreds of practices and reps, these two are arguably better than peanut butter and jelly.”

Dickson doesn’t remember an immediate connection. He first had to embrace not being the attackman quarterback that he played at Brunswick School (Conn.), then he had to find how to excel in new spots.

“When I made the move down to attack my final year, I think things really took off just with more time on the field together, more time talking and watching film together and just talking Xs and Os with each other,” Dickson said. “I think our chemistry really started to grow there.”

Accepting his role also played into another of Dickson’s strengths — his off-ball movement. He makes feeders’ jobs easier by constantly looking to set up the defense and find space to cut.

Shellenberger’s long history with Dickson helps him understand better where he can set him up best. The two communicate constantly in timeouts and remind each other of plays that have worked in the past.

“He’s so smart with the timing of his cuts and where he flashes this stick and all these little things that he does,” Shellenberger said. “I feel like my eyes have been trained to look for certain spots that I know he’s going to be at in certain times.”

That seemingly telepathic connection has continued to evolve as they’ve learned to play together at a faster pace in the pros. The shorter shot clock they’ll see in the Atlas Cup is similar to that of the PLL, which has forced them to adapt to more unscripted play than they had at Virginia.

“We still connect in a lot of the same areas and ways in the PLL but the hecticness and speed of the game brings out a little bit of different areas of the field that he finds himself in or I do,” Shellenberger said. “But I think it’s honestly more fun just because the game is so fast, and you kind of kind of just play freely out there.”

Dickson and Shellenberger are great friends and were thrilled to be reunited when the Atlas drafted Shellenberger last year. They picked up where they left off in college and continue to cultivate one of the most dynamic combinations in the game.

“There’s a bunch of different motivations,” Shellenberger said. “At the end of the day, it’s been such a fun summer, and we have such a great group that I think it would be so fun to win it together.”