Atlas ousts Chrome, 29-20, on 11 two-pointers
By Lauren Merola | Feb 24, 2023
Atlas came out firing on all cylinders, or rather, the long side of the 13-yard arc.
Romar Dennis nailed four two-point shots and posted two assists to lead Atlas to a 29-20 victory over Chrome and a 2-0 record in the Championship Series on Thursday at The St. James in Springfield, Va.
Atlas attackman Chris Gray matched Dennis’ 10 points with three two-bombs, one goal and three assists. Righty sniper Jake Carraway followed close behind, adding six points to the board on two-pointers — one being a step-back rip — alone.
“That just kind of happened out of nowhere,” Carraway said of his highlight two-pointer. “But if you’re giving me the first step-back two in PLL Champ Series history, I’ll take that.”
With Atlas’ win, the Bulls tie the Archers’ record and play them on Friday (5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+/ESPN2) for the No. 1 seed in Saturday’s semifinals.
Jake Carraway is 4-for-4 from 2-point range this week. And he's hitting STEPBACK TWOS... pic.twitter.com/eaDLKE49oU
— Joe (BC WLAX 2-1) Keegan (@joekeegs) February 24, 2023
Atlas ended the first quarter with five two-point goals and a 14-5 lead. In the first three minutes of play, there were already 10 points on the board. The firing squad picked up where it left off in the second quarter as Dennis hit Atlas’ sixth and seventh two-point goals consecutively to give the Bulls the 20-6 lead. Through its first nine two-point attempts, Atlas hit seven (77.8% shooting).
“There’s a lot of chemistry. This format is backyard lacrosse,” Carraway said. “Just come in, be an athlete, be a pro lacrosse player. Pass the ball, dodge, shoot, have fun.”
Halfway through the second quarter, Chrome stopped the bleeding, scoring six-straight goals to close the gap to eight points, but not before Carraway squeaked in the final two-bomb of the first half to give Atlas the 22-12 edge.
“I don’t think any lead is ever safe,” Atlas head coach Steven Brooks said. “You saw it yesterday when the Archers, in the third quarter, put up ten goals that evidently helped them get back into the game.”
Atlas midfielder Bryan Costabile opened up the second half with — two guessed it — a goal beyond the arc. For the entirety of the second half, Atlas held a comfortable lead as Chrome tried, but never succeeded, to claw its way back.
As good as the Bulls are at sinking two-point goals, they’re equally as good at defending them in the short-field format. Chrome hit just three shots from behind the arc, two of which came from midfielder Kevin Rogers.
“We’re really focused on putting up goals as a team and making stops,” Dennis said on the field postgame. “There’s not a lot of stops in general in this whole thing.”
Chrome midfielders Justin Anderson added five points (1G, 1T, 2A) and Cole Williams put up four (3G, 1A).
In goal, Atlas’ two netminders made 13 saves compared to the Chrome goalies’ 10. The Bulls played normal starter Jack Concannon and newly-signed Drake Porter, who had another impressive showing in his Premier Lacrosse League debut. For Chrome, Sean Sconone saw most of the reps, making nine saves, and Owen McElroy stole one.
“This is a different style of lacrosse,” Rogers said. “We’re learning as it comes. We have to keep our heads high. We have another good opponent [Friday].”
After the loss, Chrome sits in third place with a score differential of -10. Chrome plays the fourth-placed Whipsnakes on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Atlas takes on the Archers for first place at 5:30 p.m. ET.
