PLL Week 3 Recap: Pannell, Stagnitta Make History for Whips

The Maryland Whipsnakes made the most of their homecoming weekend in Baltimore, winning both games and securing the top spot in the Premier Lacrosse League standings after three weeks. The Whipsnakes are currently the only team with a winning record in the Eastern Conference.

In the West, Denver moved into first place after defeating the defending champions, but Carolina remains close behind after also winning its second straight and improving to 2-1. At the bottom of the standings, Boston, Utah, New York and Philadelphia all sit 1-2 with the Cannons as the lone team to have a positive score differential despite a losing record.

WHIPSNAKES SURGE PAST CANNONS IN SPALLINA’S DEBUT

Score: Maryland Whipsnakes 17, Boston Cannons 10

Stat of the Game: Maryland recorded 11 assists, which is the most by the Whipsnakes since Aug. 1, 2020.

The Whipsnakes offense was alive Friday night, securing a 17-10 win over the Cannons in Maryland’s first game of its doubleheader. The story was third-overall pick Joey Spallina, who recorded two goals, three assists and zero turnovers in his pro debut. He joined Connor Shellenberger, Jackson Eicher, Chris Kavanagh and teammate TJ Malone as the only rookies to record five or more points in their PLL debut.

Spallina led the Whipsnakes in points, and his first career goal came in transition on an assist from former Syracuse teammate and best friend Billy Dwan III. He also connected with Rob Pannell on the veteran’s 335th career goal and 644th career point. The goal moved Pannell into second all-time in career points, passing John Grant Jr. in the professional field lacrosse record book.

“Rob’s probably the best attackman to ever play,” Spallina said. “[Playing with him] is a dream come true.”

Pannell discussed Spallina’s debut and returned the praise in an interview with ESPN’s Dana Boyle.

“I wasn’t surprised at all. … I told him just let the game come to you,” Pannell said. “You’ve prepared for this moment. It’s going to be a little faster, but you’re ready for it. Sure enough, he was.”

Maryland heads into a bye week, while Boston will look to get back on track with a rematch with Philadelphia next weekend.

DENVER DEFEATS NEW YORK IN CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH

Score: Denver Outlaws 16, New York Atlas 9

Stat of the Game: Logan Wisnauskas recorded a sock trick, scoring a career-high six goals on seven shots (85.7% shooting).

While it doesn’t completely avenge a championship game loss, the Outlaws earned a little bit of payback in a rematch of the 2025 PLL title game. Denver nearly doubled up New York with a 16-9 win. The Outlaws erased a two-goal deficit at halftime thanks in large part to a seven-goal run in the third quarter.

“I told them to take a deep breath,” Denver coach Tim Soudan said. “I emphasized that it’s about us, not about them, and to focus on that.”

Denver’s defense put the clamps on New York in the second half, with defenseman Ben Randall leading the charge with two caused turnovers and four ground balls. Soudan traded for Randall prior to the start of the season and said it was “the best third-round pick I ever spent” when asked about Randall’s impact.

Soudan also reiterated multiple times how important Ryan Terefenko’s return to the lineup was, not only in transition, but also “directing traffic at the top of the box” on defense. The Outlaws captain did it all for Denver, scooping up two ground balls, sealing off two defenders on a Justin Anderson goal and scoring a goal himself on a fast break.

Terefenko’s goal came from one of Logan McNaney’s nine clean saves. All but two of McNaney’s saves were clean, and his ability to convert them into fast break goals has played a pivotal part in both of Denver’s wins this season.

“We really kind of dialed in on what we wanted to do and were able to push a lot of transition in the second half … the ball was moving much faster,” Soudan said.

Soudan pointed to one transition goal that started with a runout win by Terefenko and saw five Denver players connect on four passes before Wisnauskas scored his sixth goal of the afternoon.

“I’m not surprised to see him have that kind of day,” Jared Bernhardt said. “Obviously, I saw it a lot at Maryland. … To have his family here and being a Baltimore guy, it’s huge for him. He’s not going to say it or emotionally show it, but I know he feels good.”

From the losing side, New York coach Mike Pressler also saw the transition game as the difference-maker.

“That’s two games in a row we’ve given up a really big run,” Pressler said. “A lot of poor shot selection led to transition the other way. Thank God we have Liam Entenmann. That game could’ve been a lot worse.”

The Atlas look to rebound next week with a game against the Redwoods, while the Outlaws face the Chaos in Carolina’s second game of its doubleheader in Charlotte.

STAGNITTA MAKES HISTORY AS MARYLAND DEFEATS UTAH

Score: Maryland Whipsnakes 8, Utah Archers 5

Stat of the Game: Emmet Carroll saved 72.2 percent of the shots he faced, which was his third time stopping more than 70 percent in just 12 career games.

The Whipsnakes secured their second win of the weekend in a much different fashion than their Friday night victory, defeating Utah 8-5. Carroll made 13 saves and allowed just five goals — the fewest he’s allowed in his young career. The result was Maryland coach Jim Stagnitta’s 96th career win, breaking BJ O’Hara’s record for most wins in MLL/PLL history.

“I’ve been doing it a long time, but haven’t won a game alone,” a teary-eyed Stagnitta said in his postgame interview with Dana Boyle. “I haven't scored a goal. I haven't made a stop. I haven't won a faceoff. I've just been fortunate enough to have great guys around me.”

The Whipsnakes now sit alone at the top with a 3-1 record heading into the bye. Despite opening with the longest odds to win the title and finish with the top seed among Eastern Conference teams before the start of the season, they are now the co-favorites to win the title along with the Outlaws.

As for Utah, it was the Archers’ second time failing to score more than five goals in three games. The Archers have been experimenting with different attack and midfield lines as they wait for both Grant Ament and Tom Schreiber to return from injury. With Schreiber himself confirming that he’s still “a ways away” from returning, Utah coach Chris Bates has been creative with his lineup.

The Archers have dressed four short-stick defensive midfielders each game, with the plan of having defensive middies “stay and play” on offense more. Beau Pederson had two points in Utah’s win over Denver, and Piper Bond scored on a nice feed from Connor Fields in the loss to Maryland. While the offensive production has not been ideal, Bates isn’t ready to abandon the approach.

“It’s not going to happen immediately, but we feel like keeping a guy on and being able to operate in that structure is going to serve us well,” Bates said.

The personnel decision has also greatly benefited the defense, which hasn’t allowed more than nine goals this season, averaging a league-best eight scores allowed despite a 1-2 record. The ability to draft Duke’s Aidan Maguire first overall was one of the main reasons for Utah’s shift in roster construction and the rookie impressed in his pro debut.

“He was dominant on-ball and made great plays all game, locking his matchup down,” Bates said. “You’re going to see him continue to evolve.”

Utah will look to rebound against the rival Chaos in Carolina’s first game of a back-to-back.

CAROLINA OUTLASTS PHILADELPHIA

Score: Carolina Chaos 10, Philadelphia Waterdogs 8

Stat of the Game: After scoring four goals in the opening quarter, Philadelphia shot just 4-for-38 in the final three quarters.

The “championship bump” was real for a few players to start the game. 2026 national champion and former Princeton attackman Chad Palumbo started his pro career with a behind-the-back assist to Ross Scott to open the scoring for Carolina, and recent NLL champions CJ Kirst and Owen Hiltz had a hand in four of the six goals that followed. Palumbo (two goals, one assist) and Kirst (three goals, two assists) both led their teams in points.

Palumbo recounted his first career point after the game.

"I just tried to rely on my instincts," Palumbo said. "My hands were tied up, so that was the only way I could get my hands free to get that in there [to Ross Scott.]"

Both offenses started hot before the shooting started to cool off. Starting goaltenders Blaze Riorden and Matt DeLuca each finished the game with 14 saves. Philadelphia coach Bill Tierney credited Riorden with several key saves down the stretch and even quipped during an in-game interview that his solution to getting more offense out of his group would be to “remove Blaze from their goal.”

"You run into a brick wall sometimes in the sport of lacrosse," Tierney said after the game. "I just thought Blaze was the difference this time. We just couldn't hit some of the easy ones that we had."

With the win, Carolina moved to 2-1 and second in the West ahead of their Week 4 homecoming doubleheader in Charlotte. Meanwhile, the Waterdogs dropped to 1-2 and find themselves at the bottom of the standings thanks to a minus-14 score differential.