Thanks to his eight-point, four-goal, four-assist performance in the quarterfinals, Michael Sowers has been voted by the fans as this week’s Champion Player of the Week.
Sowers dominated the Maryland Whipsnakes defense alongside his fellow attackmen Kieran McArdle (6G) and CJ Kirst (4G, 1A). In fact, the Philadelphia attack line scored all 14 of the Waterdogs’ goals in the 14-12 victory over the Whipsnakes.
After McArdle scored the go-ahead goal with 2:12 left in the fourth quarter, Sowers assisted his veteran teammate for an insurance goal with :36 left on the clock. That sealed Philly’s spot in the semifinals.
Sowers always performs in the postseason. He’s first among active players in points per game in the playoffs and is second all-time. He’s also second all-time in both goals per game and assists per game in the postseason, underscoring how balanced a scorer he is.
The MVP finalist punished the Maryland defense for not sliding to him early in the game, scoring three first quarter goals before he became more of a facilitator for the remainder of the contest as the Whipsnakes started to rotate towards him.
The Philly native put on a show in Minneapolis while sporting a new mustache that he’s grown out specifically for the U.S. Bank Playoffs.
“I do got to credit the mustache,” Sowers joked postgame. “I started growing it and I’ve never grown a mustache before. It takes me a while to get one going and I don’t know if I can shave it.”
“We call it the caterpillar,” head coach Bill Tierney chimed in.
On Labor Day, Sowers will head home to Philadelphia to take on the New York Atlas and three-time Champion Player of the Week Connor Shellenberger. Whether he’ll still be sporting his new mustache or not, he’ll be due for another big day with a U.S. Bank Championship berth on the line.
