Michael Sowers has become, in the words of head coach Bill Tierney, “the centerpiece of the Waterdogs.”

The X-factor of Philadelphia’s offense stands on the podium with some of the top players in the league as he enters his prime at 27. Sower’s enhanced vision, quick feet and crease dive make him one of the PLL’s preeminent scorers and a main component of Tierney’s plan to return the Waterdogs to championship contention.

Just like a certain Super Bowl-winning running back in the local area is fearless with his backward hurdles, Sowers shows that same intuition with his crease dives.

Diving is as flashy of a highlight as it gets, but it also exposes a player to stick and body checks whenever he charges toward the net. Sowers’ body pays the price, as his increased involvement with every passing season means a higher hit count.

"I made it very clear to him from the beginning, I wanted Michael Sowers around for some years, not to win the first week of the PLL season,” Tierney said. 

The Philly native has progressed from 28.3 touches per game in 2022 to 34.4 (fourth-most in the league) last season. Sowers accounted for 13% of the Waterdogs’ total touches, with Kieran McArdle ranking second with 12.6%; no other player had more than 10%.

“It's just having other people around him who can take some of that load off him to make us better,” Tierney said.

Tierney understands it’s ”in Sowers’ DNA to crease dive,” but he wants his star attackman to stay healthy for the long term. The solution, outside of telling Sowers he can’t dive, is to add a bruiser to the attack.

Saquon Barkley doesn’t get to the second level to make spectacular plays without his lead blockers.

Adding a physical dodger who dishes out and absorbs contact for Sowers to run free and not take as many hits every week – essentially, lacrosse’s version of a fullback – would relieve Tierney’s concern.

So, who can fill this role?

McArdle has been that player for Sowers in the past, but the soon-to-be 33-year-old is in his 12th season and won’t be around forever. The purple and white need a long-term option.

The Waterdogs traded for Zed Williams, who fit the description perfectly as a physical bruiser with one of the best dodges in the game. However, his offseason injury put the front office back at square one.

“When we lost Zed, that was a big heartache,” Tierney said. “Because if we draft someone on one wing, Zed on another wing, Michael and McArdle could fool around behind … whether it was Zed, Michael or someone else running out of the box, it was going to be a formidable matchup problem for the other team. One of those four was going to have to be covered by a short stick, and good luck with that.”

Though Williams will be unavailable for the Waterdogs this season, they’ll soon have a chance to add a standout rookie to their attack unit. Philadelphia owns the No. 1 pick in the 2025 College Draft presented by Q-Collar and is widely expected to use it on Cornell’s CJ Kirst.

Kirst is a young and versatile player who can fill in anywhere on the field, whether it’s off-ball or as a true ball-carrier. He can play physically down low and score off a dodge, cut or step-down from anywhere within range.

A scoring machine, Kirst should immediately help out a Waterdogs team that lost five one-goal games last season. Kirst is a fresh body to take risky plays and another lefty in an offense that wasn’t afraid to run two during its 2022 championship run. 

Defenses would split their resources trying to guard two of the league's top-five point scorers and the NCAA’s all-time leading goal-scorer on every possession. Sowers would benefit the most from getting a more spread-out defensive look while he quarterbacks the offense. 

Philadelphia could add more help for Sowers after the first pick, too. Sam King (Harvard), Jake Taylor (Notre Dame) and Matt Traynor (Penn State) all are possible second-round targets for Tierney.

Adding two more assets to its roster would help Philly divert hits and defenders’ attention away from Sowers, allowing him to pick his spots in a more open field. Drafting a young bruiser also would set the team up well for the future.

The one-man show isn’t sustainable in today’s game, and the Waterdogs need No. 22 healthy if they plan on rebounding from their last-place finish in 2024.