Every Angle of Marcus Holman’s BTB Goal
By Sarah Griffin
Feb 28, 2023
Down 17-12 coming into the final quarter of the semifinals versus Chrome, the Archers needed to get back to their game plan of “stop and score” as Marcus Holman put it earlier in the week, and they needed to do it fast.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the fourth as the Archers chipped away to catch up with Chrome. With back-to-back goals from Grant Ament, suddenly the Archers were within two at 19-17 with a little over three minutes remaining on the clock. Justin Anderson quickly responded to give Chrome back one, and that’s when the pressure really set in.
Holman compared the fourth quarter of the game to the atmosphere of an NBA game. It was fast-paced, high-intensity, with an enthusiastic crowd, and just like in basketball, it was anyone’s game until the clock hit zero.
“The energy that the PLL created with this event - the venue, the fans, the music - it felt like you were in the NBA.”
The Archers needed a big moment in those remaining few minutes, and Holman delivered one along with the setup from Jeff Trainor for the goal of the tournament with a no look, behind-the-back goal from a behind-the-back assist.
With a little over two minutes remaining, it all started with another strong defensive stance by the Archers on the other end of the field as Jon Robbins knocked the ball out of Chrome LC’s Logan Wisnauskas stick for the caused turnover, then recovered by Jared Conners. The Archers have been strong in transition throughout the series, and this play was a perfect example of that as Conners found Trainor on the run right around the top of the arc.
Once the ball was in Trainor’s stick, that’s where poetry in motion began. Matched up 1-on-1 with Dylan Molloy, Trainor made the behind the back pass to a suddenly wide open Marcus Holman right at the crease. Sean Sconone stepped out of the crease to try and intercept the pass and Cole Williams rushed in to cover Holman, but it was too late.
With Sconone directly behind Holman out of the net and Williams directly in front of him, Holman gave it the old flick of the wrist behind the back to put the picture perfect finish on one beautiful play.
