PLL Championship Game Preview: Inside the Atlas-Outlaws Matchup

The Premier Lacrosse League championship game boasts the exact matchup PLL fans have been waiting for all season. The league’s two most explosive offenses will duel on the biggest stage on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J.

Three of the four MVP finalists — Connor Shellenberger (New York Atlas), Pat Kavanagh (Denver Outlaws) and Brennan O’Neill (Outlaws) will play in the game. The last time the sides met, the Outlaws beat the Atlas in a 13-12 overtime thriller.

It’s incredibly difficult to separate these teams. Both have world class goalies who get the ball into transition quickly. Long-stick midfielder Michael Grace and defensive midfielder Danny Logan headline that transition group for the Atlas, while defensive midfielder Ryan Terefenko and long-stick midfielder Jake Piseno will clash with them on the other side. Piseno leads all defensive midfielders and poles in points (12), while Grace trails him with 10 points. Terefenko leads all short-stick defensive midfielders with eight points.

Still, it’s the offensive talent that will be at the epicenter of the action. New York finished the regular season with the league’s highest-scoring offense (12 goals per game), while Dever finished second (11.3).

X-factor for New York: Connor Shellenberger

Is it low hanging fruit to call arguably New York’s best player an X-factor? Not for the championship. The Atlas will need their quarterback to be at his best. He’ll likely draw the matchup against Defensive Player of the Year finalist JT Giles-Harris. In their previous matchup, Shellenberger scored three goals with an assist, which tied Jared Bernhardt and Reid Bowering as the highest-scoring players during the game.

X-factor for Denver: Brennan O’Neill

Fittingly, two of the most-recruited attackmen of the past decade are facing off at the highest level. O’Neill and Shellenberger have been compared to each other since they were in high school, went toe-to-toe in the ACC and can now settle things at the professional level. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games, and O’Neill and Shellenberger fit that bill.

New York’s offense vs. Denver’s defense

The Atlas shot the ball 23 fewer times than the Outlaws in their previous tilt, but 77.5 percent of their shots were on frame — nearly 20 percent higher than Denver. That means that New York only had nine shots that missed the net. If there’s a takeaway from that game, it's that Denver’s defense needs to make the Atlas more uncomfortable, press out and force their elite passers to win with their feet and not their sticks.

That doesn't mean that Atlas won’t or can’t win in different ways, though. Shellenberger has tested every defender that has faced him this season, and Bowering has quickly joined his teammate, Xander Dickson, as one the smoothest off-ball scorers in the PLL.

Denver’s offense vs. New York’s defense

Even though Kavanagh finished the regular season as the league’s leader in touches, Denver’s offense can break down defenses in a multitude of ways. Midfielder Dalton Young came on strong as an off-ball scorer this season, and Bernhardt has added needed speed to the offense. Bernhardt’s success during inbounding possessions and as an inverted midfielder will pose problems for any defense, but on paper, New York has the personnel to neutralize him.

Reigning Long-stick Midfielder of the Year CJ Carpenter could be the best matchup for Bernhardt, but the Outlaws have done a great job setting razor picks to either slow down defenders or create another matchup.

Both teams encourage pushing transition as much as possible, but Denver has been slightly more effective in that area. New York’s defense has been one the league’s best in settled situations but the opposite in transition.

In their last matchup, Denver faceoff specialist Luke Wierman slightly beat out Trever Baptiste (14-13). Another solid performance by Wierman at the faceoff X will be essential for a Denver victory.

Score prediction: Denver wins 16-14