For the first time in five games, there was no end-of-game magic or fourth-quarter comeback. There was no juice goal that ignited the offense or need for a heroic last-minute save from the goalie. The California Redwoods’ 2025 season ended unceremoniously in the semifinals against the Denver Outlaws, 12-7.
The immediate mood after was a somber one. TD Ierlan crouched on the field, staring at the ground that had stained his compression pants. Chris Kavanagh walked slowly up the steps at Subaru Park into the locker room with his head down. Romar Dennis sat in the locker room with his head in his hands, looking off into the distance.
It wasn’t more than 30 minutes after, however, that short-stick defensive midfielder and co-captain Brian Tevlin was already turning the page and looking forward to the future with optimism.
“I’m really looking forward to next year and getting back to work,” he said. “We’re going to be back next year. We’re going to be better next year. We’re going to be more mature. Hopefully that shows when we’re eventually back in this situation and we have our best stuff instead of our worst stuff.”
In order to even get to the semifinals, the Redwoods had to overcome plenty of adversity, which started immediately in training camp. Not only did they put two talented, veteran players – Jack Kelly and Wes Berg – on the physically unable to perform list (neither would play in 2025), but they also had to figure out how a group with so many new faces could come together quickly. There was a new head coach and offensive coordinator, and 15 players in training camp weren’t on the team the previous year.
Then, after a hot start that included winning their first two games in come-from-behind fashion, the Redwoods faced a brutal five-game losing streak that had them at the bottom of the standings. What made that losing streak so challenging wasn’t just the losses but how they lost; in all five games, the team was either winning or within a goal of the opponent going into the fourth quarter, only to get outscored by a combined score of 23-9.
Postgame, head coach Anthony Kelly often said the team caused self-inflicted wounds, making critical mistakes at the worst times, but that it was a byproduct of young players learning how to win at the professional level. Eight players earned their first appearances in a PLL regular-season game for the Redwoods this season.
Despite the struggles, Tevlin said the players never lost belief in themselves, and the team won its final three regular-season games to clinch both a playoff berth and a spot in February’s Championship Series as one of the top four teams in the league.
A big reason for the team’s turnaround was the play of its first-year players.
Kavanagh finished tied for fourth in the league in points (37) and was an All-Star and finalist for Rookie of the Year. Andrew McAdorey finished in the top 20 in the league in points, was also an All-Star and was a finalist for Midfielder of the Year. Cole Kastner became an immediate impact player when he moved to close defense and caused seven turnovers in six games. They also got contributions from Aiden Danenza (9G) and Josh Balcarcel (7G, 2A) on the scoresheet and as pieces that helped the offense with strong off-ball movement and impact picks.
“The production out of our rookies – if they’re not technically a rookie, they’re young players – was out of this world,” Tevlin said.
The roster construction, led by new general manager Joe Spallina, was frequently praised by the broadcast booth throughout the season, but it wasn’t just the rookies that shined. The Redwoods made arguably the best addition out of any team in the offseason when they signed Dylan Molloy.
The Redwoods needed some experienced, proven point production, and Molloy delivered. He led the league in scoring points (27), total goals (26) and one-point goals (25) while finishing ninth in points (32). He earned his first All-Star selection since 2019 and was a finalist for the new Comeback Player of the Year Award.
“So many guys on this team look up to him,” Kelly said. “What he’s been able to do over the course of his career as a college player, pro player, he really sets a calming presence on our offense. The days he’s been able to go off and score some goals, everybody seems to follow.”
“I’m really proud of him for what he did for this team and what he means to this organization,” he added.
Though the Redwoods offense was markedly improved from the 2024 season, there still were some issues that need to be worked through heading into 2026.
For the second consecutive season, California finished last in the league in power play percentage and last in the league in assists; broadcasters Ryan Boyle and Paul Carcaterra often pointed out on the broadcasts that California would benefit from having someone who could swing the ball and force the defense to have to rotate as well as punish defenses for sliding.
Both statistics were much higher in the final three games of the regular season – California had nearly 40% of its assists during the final three games of the year, and the power play was 11 percentage points better than its season average during that time – but the offense stalled in the third quarter of the semifinals, when California was outscored 3-0 and committed seven turnovers while taking just three shots.
“We did some sloppy things,” Kelly said. “We really struggled to kind of find a rhythm up front on the offensive end.”
Defensively, the team finished seventh in the league in scores against average (13.0) and last in save percentage (49.6%). Still, Kelly was bullish about the individuals on the defensive side of the ball.
Kelly said Kastner and Chris Fake would be eventual superstars in the league while praising the group as a whole.
“I don’t think our defense gets much credit,” Kelly said. “If you guys really dive into some film and watch our guys, our defense is very, very good. It’s a young group, and that’s a scary thought, those guys coming back and what we’re going to build on with this team.”
Kelly was also complimentary of Chayse Ierlan’s progress throughout the year.
After tallying only two games with a save percentage at or above 50% in the first five games of the season, Ierlan had four of those games in the second half of the year, including a 66.7% save percentage performance in a victory over the Utah Archers that began the team’s three-game winning streak. In the regular-season finale, his point-blank save in the final seconds against the Boston Cannons secured the victory and a playoff berth.
He continued his strong play in the playoffs, making 18 saves against the Carolina Chaos in the quarterfinals and another 16 against the Outlaws in the semifinals.
Ierlan’s growth over the season was similar to the trajectory the entire team experienced. While their inexperience resulted in mistakes and an inability to close out games, they fought through the challenges, learned from their mistakes and got hot at the perfect time of the season.
“We’re the one team that continued to get better every week as the season ended,” Kelly said. “People kept saying, ‘I can’t believe they won. I can’t believe they won. I can’t believe they won.’ It’s like, we were getting better every week. I think people failed to realize. They looked past the good things that we were doing and just continued to focus on the fact they thought we shouldn’t be there.”
Now that the first year of California’s rebuild is complete, the team has work to do to improve on its semifinal finish. To start, the Redwoods have 15 players with expiring contracts that Spallina and Kelly will have to make decisions on. That includes co-captains Ryder Garnsey and Tevlin, as well as other starters such as Molloy, Fake, Chris Conlin and Charlie Bertrand.
Though Spallina has never been adverse to making changes, Tevlin and Kelly shared how proud they were of what this group of players was able to accomplish, and the Redwoods will likely try to retain a larger core from this year’s roster compared to the previous offseason.
“At this point last season, the feeling was a lot different,” Tevlin said. “I think coming off this field, as terrible as the feeling is losing in the semifinals, there’s a ton to build off of, and there’s a ton to be really excited about.
“Say what you want about this group, but they don’t quit,” Kelly added. “They play hard. We’re going to continue to build on it. These guys earned every bit of where they got to, and we just fell short.”
