Doorstep of a Dynasty: Schreiber’s Return Boosts Utah’s Chances

When the Utah Archers take the field for the Western Conference championship game on Labor Day, they’ll be joined by 2023 Premier Lacrosse League MVP Tom Schreiber. The Archers added their captain to the active roster on Tuesday — and he’s “been training all week to play” in Utah’s semifinal.

It’s been a long time coming for the 12-year pro, who suffered a torn meniscus at Zion’s Bank Field in Salt Lake City at the end of last season. This Monday will mark 409 days since Schreiber’s last professional lacrosse game, and his return will be at the very field where that injury cost him the rest of his season — and nearly his career.

“I've been battling,” Schreiber said. “I've been barely scraping by for probably the last two or three years, but I’ve been able to get up for game day. I took some time right after the [latest] injury, but eventually decided that I wanted to do whatever I could to come back and play.”

Schreiber underwent surgery on both knees, repairing the torn meniscus he suffered in 2025 and a pre-existing PCL injury that he had been dealing with since 2018. He hoped to be healthy enough to join the Toronto Rock in January for the 2025-26 NLL season, but when December came and he wasn’t close to being ready, he shifted his focus to the 2026 PLL season.

After another setback led to Schreiber starting on injured reserve, he contemplated retirement.

“I started to feel like, ‘I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to play again,’ he said. “I'm 34. I know this isn't going to last forever, but it started to look pretty likely that this season was going to be out, and then I didn't really know how to feel beyond that. Once I crossed the year mark, it started to feel like this might just be what it is. If I'm not able to play at a high level, then it might be it.”

Yet Schreiber experienced a breakthrough just a few weeks ago.

“I made some shifts mentally. … I was looking for answers and trying to figure anything out that I could, and I was almost reinforcing being injured from a mental standpoint,” Schreiber said. “The difference came when I stopped looking for answers and returned to some of the things that I've done over the years to train, like getting the stick in my hands. I started feeling like a lacrosse player again.”

Ahead of Utah’s final game of the regular season, Schreiber saw an opportunity to suit up for practice for the first time since his injury. He then participated again last week during Utah’s bye week practice.

The fact that the Archers are still alive was added motivation for his return.

“With the team playing as well as they were and being around the guys, I realized that at some point, I’m not going to have all of this,” Schreiber said. “To have that staring you in the face, and then being a part of the team meals, being in the team huddles and the film sessions … that really brought me back.”

While Schreiber has yet to make an impact on the field, his presence on the sideline has played a larger part in Utah’s success. Utah assistant coach Brian Kavanagh said Schreiber has led a segment of the team’s film room called “what it takes” plays, which spotlight hustle plays or key moments that don't show up on the score sheet.

“He’s the unquestioned leader of this team and really this franchise,” Kavanagh said. “You can't put a number on his value behind the scenes. … If he wants to be a coach one day, he’ll be a pretty damn good one.”

While recovering from injury, Schreiber acted as a fourth coach on a staff that has remained the same since the league’s inception in 2019. Connor Fields is excited to have Schreiber’s presence back on the field.

“He just adds another element to our offense,” Fields said. “He’s so easy to play with.It could be your first game with him, and you feel like you’ve played with him for 10 years. I think that's the ultimate compliment to a player.”

ARCHERS EVOLVE

Schreiber’s return is a welcomed one, but head coach Chris Bates tasked the Archers with evolving during his absence. With the top pick in the 2026 PLL Draft, Utah selected short-stick defensive midfielder Aidan Maguire (Duke) with the intention of playing four short sticks.

“With Tom out, we felt like we needed to be different and be creative because we probably were going to have some trouble winning matchups and creating offense,” Bates said. “We felt like we were going to need to score goals and put pressure on teams in a different way. The commitment to playing four short-stick defensive midfielders was certainly a defensively focused idea, but it allowed us to think about playing faster, thinking about playing more early offense, think about keeping those guys on the field.”

Bates emphasized that the shift in roster construction was made possible by the versatility of his four SSDMs.

“Aidan jumped off the page for us in terms of grading out. He’s the best at his position, and when we realized maybe the best fit, we thought, ‘If we bring him in, what does that look like for us?’” Bates said. “Having seen Piper [Bond], Beau [Pederson] and Connor [Maher], and then evaluating Aidan in college, we knew these guys could handle their business on offense.”

With Schreiber, Grant Ament and Matt Moore all dealing with injuries, Utah still needed more depth on the right side of the offense. To fill that need, Bates drafted Utah graduate Ryan Stines.

“We were very impressed with [Stines] and what he was able to accomplish throughout his college career,” Bates said. “And he's been better than even we anticipated. He goes at his matchups. He's comfortable coming out of the box. … He can play above goal, be two-handed and shoot on the run.”

Rookie Leo Johnson has also been a key asset on the Archers offense.

“Leo generates shots, which is important in this game. He loosens up a defense. He's hard to short-stick,” Bates said. “We decided not to draft him in the third round and take Will Schaller, which we're thrilled about. So, when Leo was still there in the fourth round, we were excited.”


Second-year pro Sam King has also been a consistent contributor, ranking second on the team with 33 points.

When we saw Sam King on day one in training camp last year, you're like, ‘Alright, this dude's got no fear.’ He's a spark of energy,” Bates said. “It feels like anytime we have a lead and the other team scores, one of those dudes has a timely goal.”

The speed of the pro game certainly hasn’t slowed them down.

“Those guys have been playing like they’ve been in the league for 10 years already,” Fields said. “It's awesome to see how comfortable they are.”

Fields also credited Utah’s success to the defense.

“When you have a defense that’s as good as ours, it allows you to be more relaxed,” Fields said. “You're not gripping your stick too tight. You're not worried about making a mistake because you know those guys back there are going to get the next stop.”

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

While the offense has evolved, Utah’s defense has largely remained the same, even as personnel has changed. This year, Utah has held its opponents to an average of 9.4 goals. That’s the second-best mark in PLL history behind only the 2020 Whipsnakes and is the best mark across seasons in which teams played nine games or more.

The Archers also remain the only PLL team to never allow a goals against average greater than 12 in a season.

Defensive coordinator Tony Resch has a lot to do with the consistency. The National Lacrosse Hall of Famer, who goaltender Brett Dobson called the “Phil Jackson of lacrosse,” has won 13 professional championships throughout his time as a player and coach in the PLL, NLL and Major League Lacrosse.

“He’s a timeless coach who's able to coach in any discipline and at any level,” Kavanagh said. “He's such an effective communicator. I'm pretty sure he could coach anything. He could pick up a sport that he knows nothing about, learn it and be a high-level coach.”

Dobson, who’s having a career year, has been another staple of the unit. After taking home the 2026 NLL MVP award, Dobson is poised to win his first PLL goaltender of the year award. Described as a “lacrosse rat” by many, Dobson has already led the Archers to two titles in his young career.

“He has the goal to be the best in the world, and he's got a high standard for himself,” Bates said. “He's also just a phenomenal teammate. He's a guy people want to play in front of. He keeps things light, but he's also as competitive as can be, so it's a great balance of all that.”

Dobson finished his second straight season saving at least 50-percent of shots in each game. Dobson, Blaze Riorden and Jordan Burke are the only pro field lacrosse goalies to accomplish that feat, with Dobson and Riorden both doing it twice.

“Staying above 50 percent is great, but I’ve played probably one or two [games this season] where I really felt like I’ve taken over that game, and that speaks volumes to the guys in front of me.” Dobson said, “Personally, I don't think I’ve had my best games yet. … We want to peak at the right time, and I still don’t think we’ve played a complete 48-minute game.”

DOORSTEP OF A DYNASTY

The Archers have a chance to become the first PLL team to win three championships and the third professional field lacrosse team to win three titles in four years. The only others to do so were the Philadelphia Barrage and Chesapeake Bayhawks.

Not coincidentally, Resch was the head coach for Philadelphia’s 2006 and 2007 titles and an assistant for Chesapeake’s 2012 and 2013 championships.

Resch reserved judgment when asked how the 2026 Utah team compares to the past championship teams that he’s coached, emphasizing that the “end result” of this season has to be factored in.

He pointed out that those past champions all had a consistent presence in net, referencing long-time Barrage goaltender Brian Dougherty in particular.

“Having a really good goalie is a fundamental piece, and we have that in Brett Dobson,” Resch said.

Monday’s game will also mark the Archers’ fourth semifinals appearance in five years, with a chance to make their fourth championship appearance at stake. Utah missed the postseason entirely last year, and that’s motivated the team this season.

“I'll be straight up with you. It f—ing sucked,” Dobson said when discussing the premature end to Utah’s 2025 season. “You're done the first week of August. That's the longest time I've had off in my lacrosse career since maybe COVID. So, I think that when you have that much time off, you have a long time to look in the mirror and you really get to appreciate the little things, like winning two championships the year before.”

Schreiber sees this season as another opportunity to not only add to his own trophy case, but also a chance for Utah’s young players to be part of their first pro championship.

“When you've been there, and accomplished it, you want it again,” Schreiber said. “There are guys on our team who were part of both championships, there's part of the team that were there for the second one only, and then there's guys who are major contributors to the makeup of who we are now that haven’t won. So, I want them to experience that.”