PLL Week 10 Recap: Western Conference Playoff Hunt Tightens After Big Upsets

The Premier Lacrosse League playoff race got more interesting this weekend as every Western Conference team is now within a game of each other.

Boston upset Utah, dropping the Archers to 6-5. They still have the best record in the West and a significant score differential advantage, but the door is now open for another team to steal the first-round bye.

A depleted Denver upset Maryland, and both California and Carolina each split their doubleheaders. The Outlaws and Redwoods are now both 5-5, while the Chaos are 5-6.

The Eastern Conference playoff picture is now clearer with Philadelphia securing a playoff berth and improving its chances of having a first-round bye to 85 percent. New York was all but eliminated, falling to 3-7 and a minus-29 score differential that makes a playoff berth this season next to impossible.

CHAOS FEND OFF REDWOODS

Score: Carolina Chaos 12, California Redwoods 10

Stat of the Game: Carolina collectively shot 40.7 percent — its highest team shooting percentage so far this season. Despite being outpossessed by California by nearly nine minutes, the Chaos made the most of its possessions and scoring chances.

Recap: The Chaos secured a critical 12-10 win over the Redwoods on Friday thanks to an efficient evening from their offense and strong performance from goaltender Blaze Riorden. Riorden made 17 saves and stopped more than 60 percent of the shots he saw for the fourth time this year. Seven different Carolina players had multiple points, with Shane Knobloch and Ross Scott leading the way with three points each.

“Everyone got involved, and we shot the ball really well. It’s definitely the best shooting performance we’ve had all season,” Knobloch said. “We trusted that we were going to get the ball back in good situations and it worked out for us.”

Carolina’s win was particularly impressive given they opted not to use a faceoff specialist, allowing California’s TD Ierlan to win all 24 faceoffs and give the Redwoods a major possession advantage. California struggled to capitalize on the extra possessions, only scoring on five of their 24 total 32-second possessions.

“TD’s is a fantastic faceoff guy and one of the best in the league. Going in and not dressing a faceoff guy, we knew we had to think defensively,” Carolina coach Steven Brooks explained. “They’re the best team in the league in the 32-second offense, I believe… They got hot, and we just settled back in.”

“I don't think we took advantage of the 32-second shot clock as much as we should have. We had possession for most of the game,” Chris Kavanagh said. “We just have to keep pushing forward. You can't point fingers."

It was the third straight game where Carolina had to deal with a mid-game injury. The game was tied 4-4 in the second quarter and appeared like it was going to stay that way heading into halftime, but Ross Scott connected with defender Henry Bard on a fast break, and Bard scored a 2-point goal to give Carolina a 6-4 lead at the half.

It was a big momentum swing for Carolina, but Bard, who up until that point had held Kavanagh scoreless, was ruled out of the game with a rib injury shortly after.

Carolina eventually took a 12-7 lead, but California stormed back and scored three goals within 71 seconds midway through the fourth quarter. Yet, the Chaos didn’t relent and held on to their 12-10 lead for the final five minutes and secured their fifth win of the season.

“It was the third week in a row losing a player going into the second half. The adversity that these guys have faced the last three weeks, they’ve never flinched,” Brooks said. “All those guys came together. They bonded. They weld together every time that we meet adversity. There’s no better group that I want to go to war with than these guys.”

CANNONS UPSET ARCHERS

Score: Boston Cannons 11, Utah Archers 7

Stat of the Game: Coulter Mackesy led the charge with five points on a career-high 51 touches. Mackesy had three goals, including a 2-pointer, and an assist in the Boston win.

Recap: The battle between the PLL's best offense and best defense ended with a 11-7 Boston win and the Cannons' 10th consecutive game scoring 10 goals or more. Boston ended Utah’s four-game win streak and secured their fourth win in its last five games.

Along with Mackesy’s five points, Brian Kelly scored a career-high four goals and Mikey Weisshaar, Graydon Hogg and Marcus Holman each contributed two points as well.

“We told each other to just shoot the blank out of the ball and just let it fly,” Mackesy said following the win.

On the defensive end, JC Higginbotham made his first pro start for Boston, making 11 saves at 61.1 percent.

“His performance was outstanding,” Boston coach Brian Holman said about Higginbotham’s debut. “This was not easy. Colin Kirst is a Boston Cannon through and through… But at the end of the day, my job is to help these guys be in the best position they could possibly be to compete for a championship.”

The Cannons never trailed in the game, and rookie faceoff specialist Andrew McMeekin’s 15-for-21 performance at the faceoff prevented Utah’s offense from ever getting in rhythm. Both teams also spent a considerable amount of time in the penalty box, with Boston serving seven minutes and Utah penalized for nearly 10 minutes. Utah coach Chris Bates felt the faceoff disparity and penalties played a large part in the team’s struggles.

“We took too many penalties. We lost our composure a little bit. That’s uncharacteristic,” Bates said. “I thought we compounded our issues by taking some bad [penalties]. That’s not a recipe for success.”

A Brett Dobson penalty, which landed him in the penalty box for three minutes, was particularly key in swinging the momentum in Boston’s favor. Dobson started a scrum with the Cannons following a crease dive attempt by Brian Kelly. Boston scored a power play goal to take a 9-4 lead shortly after.

“I credit Mic [Kelly] for going in there and standing up for his teammate,” Holman said after the game. “That’s who we are. We’re a gritty bunch… We continued to focus on the next play. Whether you’re man down or man up, just focus on that next play.”

Thanks to another Atlas loss, the Cannons are poised to make the playoffs and can secure their spot with just one more win during their upcoming doubleheader in Boston.

“It was a disappointing loss last week. We felt we let the game slip away. Credit to the whole team for rebounding,” Mackesy said. “We’re in a similar position as last season where we control our own destiny, and to come out of this weekend with a win and get one step closer was our goal.”

OUTLAWS COME BACK

Score: Denver Outlaws 14, Maryland Whipsnakes 13

Stat of the Game: Brennan O’Neill recorded six points in Denver’s win over Maryland on four goals, including a 2-pointer, and an assist. It was his sixth game with six points or more, and his 15 shots tied a single-game high.

Recap: The Outlaws snapped their two-game losing streak with a 14-12 win over the Whipsnakes, despite missing Jared Bernhardt and Pat Kavanagh due to injury. In their absence, O’Neill and Dalton Young led the team in points with six and five, respectively.

Young took Kavanagh’s place on attack, and his five goals were a career high. With Maryland opting not to dress a faceoff specialist, Luke Wierman went 25-of-28 at the stripe and had two assists off the draw.

On the defensive side, goalie Owen McIlroy saved four shots and held Maryland to just three goals in the second half after relieving starter Logan McNaney. Denver coach Tim Soudan confirmed that McNaney pulled himself out of the game and has been dealing with injuries.

“McNaney’s working through some medical things that he wasn’t quite right with. He thought he was going to be OK today, but came to us at halftime,” Soudan said. “O-Mac is always on ‘ready five.’ He’s the man.”

The Outlaws’ comeback had plenty of twists and turns. Maryland led for most of the first half, holding a 10-4 lead late in the first half. Yet, a 7-0 Denver run gave the Outlaws a 12-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Whipsnakes ended a scoring drought that lasted more than 20 minutes by scoring three straight and reclaiming the lead, 13-12. Denver appeared to tie the game on a Zach Geddes transition goal, but a premature timeout kept the goal off the board. Rookie Evan Plunkett made up for it by tying the game with a minute left on the ensuing possession.

“I think it was the right thing to do despite the outcome,” Soudan said when asked about calling the timeout right before Geddes scored. “It was absolutely crushing when it first happened… I was hands on knees, shaking my head at myself. Then good things happened after that. I’m happy it turned out the way it did.”

The Whipsnakes had a chance to win the game on what was looking like the final possession in regulation, but a blocked shot by JT Giles-Harris gave the Outlaws one final transition chance.

After a chaotic fast break, former Ohio State star Ryan Terefenko took a shot with seconds left, and it appeared to bounce off the goal post. However, the shot was reviewed, and the replay confirmed that the ball crossed the goal line before ricocheting out.

Terefenko’s goal gave Denver a critical win in what has become a crowded Western Conference.

“If you look at the standings, it’s super tight. We knew we had to get this going in the right direction,” Terefenko said. “So, it was obviously important to get a win here and build up to Boston.”

WATERDOGS Surge IN STANDINGS

Score: Philadelphia Waterdogs 13, Carolina Chaos 6

Stat of the Game: Philadelphia goaltender Sean Byrne made 11 saves and recorded a career-high 73.3% save percentage, allowing just four goals to Carolina.

Recap: The Waterdogs became the first team to secure a playoff berth by defeating the Chaos, 13-6. The win gave Philly the top spot in the standings at 7-3, and they’re now in the driver’s seat for a first-round bye in the playoffs. It was also back-to-back games in which the Waterdogs held their opponent to eight goals or fewer.

“Our guys developed, bought into the game plan and really did a great job. And when they didn’t, Sean [Byrne] stopped them cold,” Philadelphia coach Bill Tierney said. “For a team that supposedly has all these offensive superstars, it was nice to get a defensive win as well.”

Eight different Waterdogs scored, with Michael Sowers leading the way with five points and his fifth straight hat trick. Sowers now has 21 goals and 21 assists, reaching 40 points through 10 games for the second consecutive season.

CJ Kirst was held to just one goal, but it was enough to tie Marcus Holman’s single-season goals record of 30. He’ll have a chance to break the record during Philadelphia’s homecoming doubleheader in two weeks.

Kirst’s quiet day and Sowers’ consistently strong performances in recent weeks have boosted the latter’s case for MVP. Sportsbooks now have Sowers listed as the MVP favorite at -115 with Kirst close behind at +150. Kirst and Sowers are currently the only players who are averaging more than four points per game.

“They recognize how they can use the skills and talent that the other guy has to not only enhance the team, but each other as well,” Tierney said about the duo of Kirst and Sowers. “The beauty of them as a pair is they genuinely only care about the team first, and if it means the other guy’s having a great day, so be it.”

For Carolina, the loss dropped the team’s record to 5-6 and its score differential to minus-19. With one game remaining, the Chaos will likely need not only to win their final game against the Archers next week, but win by a healthy margin as well.

“Our backs are against the wall, and we have one more game ahead of us,” Brooks said after the loss. “We put ourselves in this position and have to find a way to climb our way out of it.”

REDWOODS SET RECORD IN BLOWOUT

Score: California Redwoods 21, New York Atlas 13

Stat of the Game: The California Redwoods scored 21 goals against New York, which is a PLL regular season record. The only team to score more in a single game was the 2019 Archers in their 26-7 win over the Atlas during a consolation game that determined the first overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Recap: The Redwoods rebounded from Friday's loss with a record-setting 21-13 win over the Atlas. Chris Kavanagh led the way with seven points, including a career-high five goals. Josh Balcarcel also set career highs across the board with six points on three goals and three assists.

“Going into the game, [coach Anthony Kelly] was harping on just enjoying it, being where your feet are,” Balcarcel said. ”[Compared to our game on Friday], it was more of just, be together, find that love in the locker room and just have fun… Remember why you love the game of lacrosse.”

Despite the final score, New York hung around for most of the game. The Atlas secured an early 5-1 lead, and the Redwoods only led at halftime by a score of 9-8. Both teams traded goals with the Atlas for much of the third quarter, and it was still just a one-possession game with under two minutes remaining before a Jared Conners goal opened up the floodgates.

California scored twice more in the final minute of the third quarter to take an 18-13 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back. The Redwoods held the Atlas scoreless for the final frame and added three more goals to set the new regular season record for scores by a single team.

“It’s good to see the offense turn a corner,” Kelly said. “We knew what we were capable of. We played around with some pieces and figured things out.”

It was another disappointing outing for the New York offense. The Atlas were missing 2025 PLL MVP Connor Shellenberger, who was ruled out with a hip flexor strain. It was the latest injury that New York has dealt with.

“Our season was kind of hanging in the balance there,” New York’s Danny Logan said. “We started the game really hot, but our errors, mental mistakes and lack of grit in some areas came back to haunt us.”

The Atlas will have plenty of questions to answer this offseason, but right now the biggest one is starting to look like it will be who they take No. 1 overall in the 2027 PLL draft.