Five Atlas-Outlaws stats to know before U.S. Bank Championship

A championship will be won, legacies will be defined and a fantastic season of lacrosse will come to a climax on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Here are five stats to prepare you for the 2025 PLL U.S. Bank Championship between the New York Atlas and Denver Outlaws:

-7.4: How many fewer touches Gavin Adler’s assignments average against him

Gavin Adler starts playing defense the second his assignment steps off the bus.

Adler is a Defensive Player of the Year finalist for a reason. He doesn’t just make life hard for ball-carriers; he makes sure they never get the ball in the first place. His latest victim was Michael Sowers, whom Adler held to three first-half touches and just 16 for the game in the semifinals — Sowers’ season low.

This has been a theme all season long. Adler takes away the opposing team’s top option, which makes it very difficult for their offense to flow. Adler’s primary assignments averaged 31.8 touches per game this season; when they play him, that number plummets to 24.4.

That includes the league’s most ball-dominant attackman, Pat Kavanagh, whom Adler held to zero points on 39 touches in the last meeting between the Atlas and Outlaws.

Denver’s offense relies heavily on the ball going through Kavanagh. He’s averaging 44.7 touches per game, about seven more than anyone else. Unlike most lead attackmen who lean on favorite targets, Kavanagh distributes evenly and keeps everyone involved. If Kavanagh isn’t touching the ball, then the trickle-down effect on everyone else’s touches can stall the Outlaws’ offense.

He’s the only player to complete 50 passes to five different teammates. Over 25% of Graham Bundy’s, Dalton Young’s and Justin Anderson’s touches have come from Kavanagh passes. If Adler locks off Kavanagh, he won’t just erase one player — he’ll collapse the entire Outlaws offense.

63.6%: Luke Wierman’s clutch FO percentage

Luke Wierman is the only faceoff specialist who improves against Trevor Baptiste.

His faceoff percentage jumps from 51.5% overall to 54.4% when facing the five-time Faceoff Player of the Year.

Wierman is built for the big moments. Maryland’s all-time leader in faceoffs won and ground balls went 13-for-20 (65.0%) in the 2022 National Championship and 17-for-24 (70.8%) in the Terrapins’ 2024 title game loss. Wierman stepped up for the Outlaws in the semifinal, going 9-for-17 (52.9%) against Paul Cantabene Award favorite TD Ierlan.  It was just the fourth time all season a player went over 50% against Ierlan, and Wierman accounts for two of them.

Since being drafted, his clutch FO% (fourth quarter of one-possession games) is 63.6% — the highest in the league. Wierman has always thrived in big moments, and none is bigger than a PLL Championship against arguably the greatest faceoff specialist ever.

34.5%: Denver’s assist rate

The most isolation-heavy offense in PLL history will play against the most isolation-heavy defense in PLL history.

Only 34.5% of the Outlaws’ shots have been assisted. Only 35.5% of shots against Atlas have been assisted. Both marks are the lowest rates ever recorded in the PLL.

The two teams embody opposite philosophies. Denver wins by attacking one-on-one matchups offensively. New York wins by trusting its guys when those matchups happen.

It’s easy to play like Denver when you have guys like Brennan O’Neill and Jared Bernhardt dodging. O’Neill led the league in unassisted goals for the second straight year with 21, while Bernhardt ranked third with 15.

On the other side, the Atlas’ defenders excel in isolation. Adler, Danny Logan and Tyler Carpenter were all in the top five at their positions in unassisted shooting percentage against, holding opponents to just 15.8%, 12.5%, and 16.7% shooting, respectively.

Daring the Outlaws of all teams to win one-on-one is a bold play. I trust New York’s aforementioned defenders to hold their own, but any other matchups could leave them in trouble.

40.2%: New York’s assisted shooting percentage

While Denver thrives on isolations, New York’s offense relies on ball movement and punishing early slides. Its 40.2% assisted shooting percentage is the best mark in league history.

The Outlaws, conversely, make sure their own offensive style can’t beat them. 46.0% of the shots they allow are assisted, second-most in the league, behind only Philadelphia (46.6%). The Atlas carved up that Waterdogs weakness three different times in 2025, including assisting on nine of their 13 goals in the semifinals against Philly.

Jeff Teat and Connor Shellenberger love getting double-teamed and finding the open man. Their 101 combined assists over the last two seasons dwarf the next closest duo, Sowers and Kieran McArdle, at 72. When a double team comes their way, their flurry of off-ball specialists feast.

Reid Bowering and Xander Dickson are two of only three players this season whose average shot was within seven yards and who were assisted on more than 70% of attempts. Dickson leads the league in assisted shot rate at 86.9%, while Bowering takes the closest shots on average at just 5.7 yards. In his story on the intricacies of Dickson and the Atlas’ off-ball movement, Zach Carey described Bowering and Jake Stevens as Dickson’s “partners in crime on the inside,” describing how they constantly open passing lanes and create space for one another.

Denver’s slide-happy defense was on full display in its semifinal game. Dylan Molloy scored three unassisted goals in the first half, and Denver refused to let it happen again. The Outlaws flew to every California dodge in the second half and held the Redwoods to just one goal and four shots on goal the rest of the way.

They bet correctly that California couldn’t make the extra pass to beat them, but New York definitely can. The question is whether Denver adjusts or sticks to its identity.

60.8%: Logan McNaney’s clean save percentage

The Outlaws have the best clearing unit in the PLL, while the Atlas have the best riding unit.

Denver clears in under 10 seconds on 63.8% of attempts — the highest rate in the PLL. New York forces opponents over the 10-second mark 48.1% of the time — also a league best.

New York this season has caused the most turnovers on the ride since tracking began in 2022, with 13. Four came from Dickson and another four from Bryan Costabile.

Denver turns clears into quick offense, averaging 2.1 fast-break goals per game — second in the PLL. Much of that success has been fueled by Logan McNaney’s clean saves. His 60.8% clean save percentage is by far the highest we’ve ever seen. Denver has used quick clears to fuel transition and get into its sets faster. New York will look to limit those opportunities, as it has all season.