The 2-pointer was Ratliff’s 100th career point. He is only the second LSM to achieve 100 career points, alongside Brodie Merrill, after whom the league's LSM of the Year award is named.

“I’m pumped for Scott,” said Archers attacker Marcus Holman. “I think he maybe flies under the radar, but he’s a top-two LSM in the world. I would take him any day of the week on my roster. I’m glad to have him on my team.” 

Along with Ghitelman’s three points, the Archers had four other players that finished with at least three points. Grant Ament led the team in points with six, while Marcus Holman led the way in goals with a hat trick. It was also a full-circle moment for Holman, who is a Baltimore native. 

“Lacrosse is in my blood,” Holman said. “I was born into the game, and my dad was an assistant coach (at Johns Hopkins) from 1998-2000. I was seven years old, in and out of the locker room and out on the sideline. I’ve seen 10,000 people out in this place. I idolized Kyle Harrison.  I idolized Paul Rabil….Homewood is definitely a special place for me… When you have 15-20 of your family members here in the crowd, you gotta put on a show a little bit.” 

The Archers were never down, but when the Waterdogs scored two goals in 30 seconds to cut the deficit to 11-7 in the third quarter, it looked like they would make a comeback. The Archers defense made sure it didn’t happen. They didn’t let the Waterdogs score a goal in the fourth quarter until the last 50 seconds. 

Although the fourth quarter was huge for the Archers defense, they were phenomenal the whole night. They held Ryan Brown, who had eight points in week two to just one point. Ryan Conrad and Zach Currier both led the way for the Waterdogs with two goals. 

Graeme Hossack also showed exactly why Archers head coach Chris Bates drafted him as the No. 2 pick in the 2021 Entry Draft. Hossack led the defense with three caused turnovers and three ground balls. 

The Archers are 33% done with their regular season, while the Waterdogs are 44% done with their regular season. With this win tonight, the Archers remain undefeated through three games and the Waterdogs drop to 2-2. 

Bates said through three games he’s learned this is a group that is starting to define itself. 

“It was back and forth and a tough, scrappy, physical game, and we didn’t back down for a second,” Bates said. “ Starting at the faceoff x and wing play. Everybody talks about the offense and the goals, but we’re shutting it down defensively and doing a really nice job on that end of the field. Frankly, we’re playing hard. We’re picking up ground balls...We will be in most games if we can do that, and that’s encouraging.”