Lamberti’s Power Rankings: Has Bill Tierney turned the Waterdogs around?

The Denver Outlaws finally got one in the win column—but was it just a one-off? The Carolina Chaos are sitting at the bottom, but can Owen Hiltz elevate their offense? And what about the Philadelphia Waterdogs? Their offense took a step back, but it’s hard to imagine anyone keeping Michael Sowers quiet for long.

Three weeks into the season, the line between contenders and pretenders is still razor-thin. Every team has questions. Some just hide them better.

Here are my power rankings heading into Baltimore Weekend:

1. Utah Archers (2-1)

Somehow, with each passing week, things are getting less clear. Any team can beat any team on any given day, and that’s not a cliche. It feels true through the first three games of the season.

Here’s what I do know: When things are murky, I’m still trusting the team that has a championship pedigree and knows how to navigate the ups and downs of a season.

It starts with the best midfielder in the world, Tom Schreiber.

Not only did he score the game-winning goal against California in typical Schreiber fashion, but his hustle play to set up Sam King’s two-pointer with the shot clock running out was a championship-caliber play.

Having your best player sell out for plays like that trickles down to everyone else. Piper Bond and Brendan Lavelle had a few great hustle moments, as well.

But Schreiber even admitted postgame that the offense still “[doesn’t] have it all figured out,” which is a scary thought.

Mac O’Keefe only has one goal through three games despite putting 11 shots on goal; those will fall soon. Grant Ament is playing through a hamstring injury. Tre Leclaire, who had 23 points (21G, 2T) last season and is a huge piece of the puzzle offensively, is still on the PUP list.

So I’m confident the offense is still getting going, and defensively, they look as stout as ever.

Graeme Hossack and Lavelle impose their will immediately. Mason Woodward is a monster in the middle of the field. The short-stick defensive midfield unit is a known quantity, but I still come away wowed every week by its on-ball defense.

Not only are the back-to-back champions beating good teams, but they still play with a chip on their shoulder. I’m not losing faith in them any time soon.

2. Philadelphia Waterdogs (2-1)

The Waterdogs’ potent offense regressed a bit Saturday against Denver after a 14-goal outburst against the Boston Cannons on Friday. And it was because of a defensive game plan that seemed bound to happen: shutting off Sowers.

Sowers has been able to pick apart defenses after midfielders throw the ball through X or find passes after playing in the two-man game on the righty wing. So the Outlaws and JT Giles-Harris pressed out to Sowers early, trying to deny him the ball and daring someone else to beat them.

The result? Season lows in scores (seven), assists (two), assisted shots (13) and total shots (34) for the Waterdogs’ offense. Plus a season high in turnovers (18).

Teams will likely try this strategy again, but I’m confident Jack Hannah, Connor Kelly, Zach Currier and Thomas McConvey will be able to beat their man and score unassisted goals when teams are pressing out on Sowers. Keep in mind these midfielders were playing in a doubleheader.

As for the goalie battle, I think you have to ride with Matt DeLuca. He and Dillon Ward split games this weekend. While Ward got the win in his start, DeLuca (61.7% save percentage) has outplayed Ward (47.3%) so far in 2025.

Ward has been a Waterdogs staple, leading them to their 2022 title. But DeLuca is simply playing better lacrosse than him at the moment. He had an exceptional game against the Outlaws, including a kick save that was legitimately one of the best I’ve ever seen.

3. Boston Cannons (2-1)

The Cannons remain high in the power rankings because they are complete from top to bottom, and rookie attackman Coulter Mackesy adds a dynamic weapon on the lefty side that the team lacked last season.

I still need to see more from Asher Nolting. He’s shooting 10% with one goal on the season and is struggling to beat his matchup one-on-one. An MVP candidate in 2024, he needs to do more as the top option on his offense. Opposing defenses will put their top guy on Nolting and be slow to support; Nolting needs to win these battles.

The Cannons also have some figuring out to do in their midfield.

Matt Campbell and Ryan Drenner are staples. I’d like to see more of Mic Kelly as the season progresses. The second-round draft pick has a bounce to his step and could add another dodging element to the midfield that the Cannons lack at times.

Jonathan Donville and Graydon Hogg deserve midfield shifts, but for Boston, it’s about finding the right balance of dodging threats and off-ball threats on this unit.

Also, Owen Grant is a monster. Head coach and general manager Brian Holman made waves by trading the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft for Grant, who has been a terror in between the lines. He already has seven caused turnovers and five points (2T, 1A) and is well on his way to All-Star accolades.

4. California Redwoods (2-1)

They lost to the Archers, but it was a loss that actually made the Redwoods look better.

Going toe to toe with the back-to-back champions was more impressive than their first two wins, in my opinion.

Dylan Molloy is having a fantastic year as a starter, and his physical dodging style matches the craftiness of Ryder Garnsey and Chris Kavanagh so well. Andrew McAdorey’s speed out of the box gets the offense going, and he’s drawing the pole already as a rookie.

I also love the potential of new acquisition Sam Handley.

The 2022 No. 4 overall draft pick never panned out for Denver, but he could have a renaissance after being traded to California for a 2026 third-round pick. He possesses a strong outside shot and physical dodging style, and even though he took some ill-advised shots in his Redwoods debut, I like his fit in this offense.

I’m confident No. 3 overall pick Sam English’s impact will soon be felt all over the field, and Charlie Bertrand and Josh Balcarcel keep providing secondary scoring.

McAdorey, English and long-stick midfielders Jared Conners and BJ Farrare provide insane speed off the wings while TD Ierlan is winning 62.2% of his faceoffs with five points already (3G, 2A).

The worry with this team is defensively.

Their best SSDM, Chris Merle, is done for the season after suffering a non-contact knee injury. Brian Tevlin and Carter Rice will be leaned on heavily, but also expect English, McAdorey or Farrare to take some more SSDM shifts, as well.

Although I thought the Redwoods might struggle between the pipes, Chayse Ierlan has been steady. And at close defense, they’ve been fine.

But is it a championship-winning defense? My answer right now would be no, but let’s see.

5. Denver Outlaws (1-2)

It felt like Denver needed its win Saturday night over Philadelphia, or the season could go off the rails.

I’m probably higher than most on the Outlaws because I love their offensive talent and believe it’ll click soon.

The worry with this team is at offensive midfield. Outside of Dalton Young’s four goals, the Outlaws only have two other goals from that unit. Justin Anderson and Jack VanOverbeke have combined for just one point after Anderson tallied 19 points last season.

That being said, I’m calling a Jared Bernhardt breakout game soon, and Graham Bundy Jr. can heat up just like that with his outside shooting.

Jake Piseno, Ryan Terefenko and Zach Geddes make up the best offensive-minded rope unit in the league, but the real game-changer for me has been the insertion of second-round pick Logan McNaney between the pipes.

In his first game, McNaney had 14 saves for a save percentage of 66.7%. He looks so comfortable out there already, and he in particular feels like he could fuel a Denver surge.

6. Maryland Whipsnakes (1-2)

I don’t think anyone believed the Whipsnakes had enough offensive firepower to come back from an 8-1 deficit, but they did.

The offensive midfield was the star of the weekend as four players (Adam Poitras, Aidan Carroll, Colin Heacock and Brad Smith) had three-plus points while TJ Malone led the way with five points (3G, 2A).

After going down 8-1 after 15 minutes of play, Maryland’s defense let up just four goals over the final 33 minutes.

And it was Matt Dunn who set the tone defensively. He held Jeff Teat, the 2024 MVP, to just one point for the third time in Teat’s career.

“Part of the key with [Teat] is to not let him make everybody else better,” head coach Jim Stagnitta said postgame.

While other Atlas players got theirs, the Whips were able to limit Teat’s impact on the game, which prevented him from elevating his teammates.

After looking shaky early, Brendan Krebs ended up with 12 saves, including this one in the fourth quarter that, if it went in, could have changed the course of the game:

But can the Whipsnakes score 16 per game? Probably not.

One wrinkle I’d like to see: Put Carroll at attack with Rob Pannell at X and Malone on the left.

The Whipsnakes already took Matt Rambo out of the starting lineup against New York and tested Matt Brandau, who had zero points. I think Carroll is more capable of beating a pole than Brandau is. The first-round draft pick had 50 goals for Georgetown in his senior season and could provide a much-needed boost on a struggling attack line.

7. New York Atlas (1-2)

Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to be putting New York this low in the power rankings when the season started, but I just have to.

Early on, it felt like New York was going to blow the doors off of Maryland.

But for the second time this season, the Atlas stalled offensively and gave their opponent life, just as they did against the Carolina Chaos on Opening Weekend. This time, their opponent completed the comeback.

You just can’t go scoreless for long periods of time in the PLL, and it’s even more unacceptable when you have the offensive talent that New York does. This concerning trend dates back to last postseason, when the top-seeded Atlas went cold in the semifinals against the Whipsnakes.

My biggest concern is Teat. He has three career one-point games, and two of them have come this season.

It’s nice to have another quarterback at attack with Connor Shellenberger, who had a terrific game against the Whipsnakes, but New York needs more out of last year’s MVP.

Get Teat working in the two-man game more with Kyle Jackson on the lefty wing. Or perhaps give Cole Williams, the 6-foot-5 midfielder, a chance to play with Teat on the lefty wing as a more physical option.

Even still, I think the Atlas can turn it around in the blink of an eye and be raising the trophy at the end of the season.

8. Carolina Chaos (1-2)

The Chaos are last in the power rankings, but like I said earlier, I believe they could beat any team in the league.

The problem with the Chaos is that they are the most predictable team. They’re going to play physical defense led by Jack Rowlett and Jarrod Neumann, allow Blaze Riorden to eat up shots, and hope their offense gets to double-digit goals.

If that happens, they have a shot to win every game.

Jackson Eicher is a legit Rookie of the Year candidate while Ross Scott had a career-best five points (3G, 2A) against the Outlaws two weeks ago.

I’m intrigued to see how the addition of the rookie Hiltz impacts this offense.

I love Hiltz as a prospect; he reminds me of Teat lite with his IQ and deceptive lefty release. That being said, I don’t think he’s “the guy” on an offense who will win a matchup whenever his team needs.

One of Hiltz’s best attributes is his ability to elevate everyone around him with pinpoint passes and selflessness. But does Carolina have the talent around him to take the leap?

If the answer is yes, then this Chaos team could shoot up the power rankings.