Giles-Harris locks down Lyle in Chrome’s 11-9 victory over Cannons
By Lauren Merola | Aug 14, 2022
Justin Anderson beat Matt Rahill and Brodie Merrill wide to sink Chrome’s 10th and winning goal in the 11-9 victory over the Cannons on Saturday.
“You don’t get better placement than that.”
— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) August 13, 2022
The @PLLChrome score short handed! pic.twitter.com/do2EsQZpCs
With the win, Chrome is in contention for the No. 2 playoff seed. The Cannons’ playoff hopes survive Week 10, and, sitting at 1-8, they’ll make one final push in Seattle for a postseason spot.
For the Cannons, Lyle Thompson (2G, 1A), Stephen Rehfuss (1G, 2A) and Asher Nolting (1G, 2A) all posted three points.
JT Giles-Harris was tasked with locking down Lyle for the second time this season. The two first met in Week 4, when Chrome ousted the Cannons 12-11.
“JT was shutting me out the whole game and it was sort of up to me to demand the ball and work hard for the ball,” Lyle said. “It was definitely a good defensive plan on their side. It disrupted the offense.”
Giles-Harris’ defense kept the ball from Lyle and forced him to take low-percentage shots, but as one of the best stick handlers in the world, Lyle found ways to meet twine.
Lyle Thompson is doing Lyle Thompson things. pic.twitter.com/6b1Eq2OBFQ
— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) August 13, 2022
“JT’s really steady and a student of the game. He does a lot of work preparing for his matchups,” Jordan MacIntosh said. “The Cannons do a nice job of bringing picks to Lyle to change those matchups and Lyle has amazing vision off-ball and it’s really difficult to keep him in check. JT did a nice job of that.”
At the stripe, Stephen Kelly won 11-of-22 faceoffs and grabbed five ground balls. Connor Farrell won 12-of-23 faceoffs on 52%. He grabbed eight ground balls.
Sean Sconone stole shots back all game. He ended the day with 16 saves on 64%. Nick Marrocco came up with 10 stops on 48%.
Absolute robbery! pic.twitter.com/YacMYUrIgE
— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) August 13, 2022
“I look at Farrell, JT and Sean, those three were the MVPs of the day for us,” Ryan Terefenko said. “They all played a crucial role.”
The Cannons eliminated Chrome from 2021 playoff contention, which Chrome coach Tim Soudan said the team remembered going into this matchup. One year later, there’s been one main change.
“From a performance standpoint, we got younger,” Soudan said. “You look at the teams that have turned it around in the last couple of years and it’s been like a youth movement. We have a lot of young legs. We have a lot of IQ guys. Defensively, I couldn’t be happier with the defense. With JT, for his first season here in the PLL, he’s proven he can guard anybody.”
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Chrome looks to secure that No. 2 playoff spot with a win against the Redwoods. The Cannons try to keep their season alive against the first-place Whipsnakes.
