Joe Nardella’s professional lacrosse career started with the Boston Cannons, and this Saturday, he’ll travel to Boston with the Maryland Whipsnakes for a must-win matchup against his former team — a game that will help decide which two teams clinch the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
The New York Atlas have already clinched one of the East’s three postseason berths, but the Whipsnakes, Cannons and Philadelphia Waterdogs are still in the hunt.
From the opening faceoff, the Whipsnakes need to be one step ahead of the Cannons, and that starts with Nardella.
“There’s a lot of things that can go wrong on the faceoff that cause you to lose and cause the other team to score goals and go on runs,” the veteran faceoff specialist said. “But you’re ultimately in the pros, the only guy out there the team can rely on to get them the ball.”
Nardella has a storied history with the Cannons, which is why it was fitting that his latest milestone happened against Boston — the team that launched his career a decade ago.
On June 21, Nardella became the fastest player in professional lacrosse history to reach 1,500 career faceoff wins. The mark put him in elite company with Greg Gurenlian and Anthony Kelly, two players whose names once felt miles out of reach.
“Honestly, no, and it’s kind of nuts,” Nardella said of being grouped with legends like Gurenlian and former Cannons teammate Brodie Merrill. “My first game, I split reps with Craig Bunker, who was an All-Star. … I was just trying to go out there and take it one faceoff at a time.”
That mindset — control what you can, win the next one — has defined Nardella’s career. And it’s carried him through more than just lacrosse games.
In his 11 pro seasons, the Whipsnakes veteran has torn both ACLs. The first came in the final game of the 2017 regular season with Boston. The second, in 2022, on the final day of U.S. national team tryouts, cost him the entire 2023 PLL season. But both setbacks became springboards.
“It definitely made me tougher and a lot more difficult to bother, which I think plays very well into the mindset you need as a faceoff guy,” Nardella said.
After recovering from his first ACL tear, Nardella made his way back to the Cannons for just four games in 2018, facing off at 54.5% and winning 34 ground balls, an improvement from his 52.6% percentage at the stripe before his injury the previous year.
But the Cannons then drafted specialist Trevor Baptiste with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. They traded Nardella to the Atlanta Blaze to make room for the University of Denver graduate.
Nardella joined his new roster with an added motivation. In nine games with Atlanta, he recorded a faceoff percentage of 59.1% and scooped up 76 ground balls, then joined head coach Jim Stagnitta and the Whips the following season.
In 2024, after his second tear, he returned as dominant as ever, leading the PLL in faceoff percentage (67.5%), ranking second in total wins (164) and helping power Maryland to a championship game appearance.
Now with 1,575 career faceoff wins through 103 games, Nardella has cemented his legacy, not only with the Whipsnakes but as a name to be respected across the league. And at this point in the season, no one has to respect Nardella more than the Cannons.
The Whipsnakes lead the league in faceoff percentage (61.1%) while the Cannons rank second-to-last at 42.5%.
Nardella won 14 of 23 faceoffs (60.9%) in his first matchup against Boston and Zac Tucci, who has reached 50% in just three games this season.
But numbers have never been the point.
“I always had fun with faceoffs because it was a one-on-one thing,” Nardella said. “I love the back and forth of trying to know what your opponent’s doing and strategizing and making adjustments. … That’s something that always excited me.”
Even as the wins and accolades mount — from 2020 Faceoff Specialist of the Year to All-Pro honors — Nardella’s drive has always been rooted in preparation, trust in his teammates and love for the process. That’s especially evident in his chemistry with his wing unit of Colin Squires and Adam Poitras.
“[Nardella] is unselfish,” Squires said. “He doesn’t care about his own ground balls. It’s just, how can we get the ball to the offense?”
“If we’re not going to pick it up, our job is to make sure our guy doesn’t pick it up,” Nardella added.
As he approaches Saturday’s matchup with the Cannons at Harvard Stadium, there’s more than nostalgia at stake. It’s a must-win for Maryland. The Whipsnakes (3-6) sit in last place in the Eastern Conference, only one spot behind the Cannons (4-4), who currently hold the East’s final playoff bid.
Philadelphia enters the weekend with an 81.4% chance of making the playoffs. It can clinch a spot with a win over New York on Friday night, a Maryland loss to Boston on Saturday, or if the Cannons go 0-2 on the weekend — losing to both the California Redwoods on Friday and Maryland on Saturday — with Philly holding the tiebreaker.
The Cannons sit just behind at 79.7% and can secure a playoff berth with either a win over the Redwoods, a win over the Whipsnakes, or if the Waterdogs lose to the Atlas and Boston wins a potential tiebreaker.
With the Waterdogs’ and the Cannons’ odds both sitting around 80% to make the postseason, the Whipsnakes have the chance to play spoiler to one of their Eastern Conference rivals.
Maryland’s postseason odds are currently at 38.9%, and it needs more help to have the chance to play lacrosse in late August. No matter what else, the Whipsnakes must take care of Boston on Saturday Night Lacrosse. They fell to the Cannons in Week 5 in Baltimore, so another loss would put them out of playoff contention.
But even with a win, the Whipsnakes need results to go their way Friday night. A Redwoods win over the Cannons, or a Waterdogs loss to the Atlas, would give Maryland the best odds to clinch a playoff spot, provided that the Whipsnakes can take care of business on Saturday night.
The Whipsnakes have never missed a postseason in the history of the club. For veterans like Matt Rambo, Jake Bernhardt, Matt Dunn, Tim Muller and Nardella — all key members of the 2019 championship team — the idea of watching the playoffs from the sidelines is unfamiliar. In each of their professional careers, every postseason since 2019 has come with the pads on and a Whipsnakes jersey across their chest, and this weekend, that streak hangs in the balance.
