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Atlas defense tames fiery Archers offense to win 10-9

By Lauren Merola | Jun 26, 2022

In a back-and-forth battle, with 12 seconds left to play, Atlas’ defense shut down the Archers, forcing Matt Moore to miss a game-tying goal wide left, to edge them out 10-9.

“The whole game Atlas was pressing out on adjacents and we were a little clogged trying to get Tom [Schreiber] the ball there and they were locking Tom off,” Moore said. “The last play, they were pressing adjacent. I know they trusted their poles up top, so I tried to make a move and it didn’t work out my way. There was more time on the clock than I thought, so I got to get my lacrosse IQ up there but with these one-goal games, it’s good to get comfortable in these with the nerves and atmosphere.”

With the win, Atlas moves into third place (3-1) and the Archers into fourth (2-2).

“I saw Schreiber dodge and Moore [dodge in the final minute of play], and those two guys are about as good of dodgers as there are,” Atlas coach Ben Rubeor said. “It was nice to get a stop and to get a really quality win. That’s a tough team.”

The Archers and Atlas’ defenses were ready, holding two of the highest-scoring teams in the league, each averaging around 15 goals per game, to 10 and 9 goals, respectively. 

“Atlas did a nice job all game of pressing out and making us a little uncomfortable,” Archers coach Chris Bates said.

Atlas grabbed 30 groundballs compared to the Archers’ 19. 

“I thought our guys battled,” Rubeor said. “The Archers are a team that put up 20 points [in Week 3]. They have extremely good players. It starts in the cage with us and I thought Jack Concannon played great. We asked our shorties to do a lot. We brought a short stick down low and double-poled a little bit. That’s no easy task.”

Concannon made 11 saves and Adam Ghitelman made 10.

Trevor Baptiste was consistent at the stripe, winning 19-of-22 faceoffs (86%) and grabbing 15 ground balls. Even with the possession advantage, Atlas took only four more shots on goal than the Archers.

For the Archers, Moore posted his third hat trick in three games. Schreiber added two goals while Ryan Ambler, Jeff Trainor, Connor DeSimone and Marcus Holman put in one.

With the goal, Holman moves into tenth place on the all-time points list with 386.

In the back-and-forth battle, there were seven lead changes. 

Jeff Teat and Eric Law posted hat tricks for Atlas. Peter Dearth, Dox Aitken, Trevor Baptiste and John Crawley each scored one.

In the first period, Atlas won more faceoffs, grabbed more groundballs and took more shots on goal. Still, the Archers’ offensive efficiency kept them in the game and up by one (5-4) after 15 minutes of play, but Atlas held the Archers scoreless in the second period and put in two goals of their own to take the 6-4 lead at the half.

Heading into Week 5, the Archers go up against the Redwoods and Atlas takes on an undefeated Chrome team, pinning Baptiste against Connor Farrell at the stripe.