California Redwoods general manager Joe Spallina joined head coach Anthony Kelly and rookie superstar Chris Kavanagh at the table for the postgame press conference after their loss to the New York Atlas, their fifth in a row. Tied at halftime, California’s inexperience showed as it couldn’t close out the game strong. The Redwoods were outscored 6-2 in the second half; nine of their 15 turnovers occurred during that same time frame.
Spallina held his head high, however, and spoke clearly with his chest out.
“[We have] a lot of young guys earning their stripes, some gameday scars,” he said. “We’ll be better for it. It hurts now. It sucks now. We’re in a little bit of a rut here.”
He went on to say it was his job to look ahead and explore every avenue to improve the roster and find the right group and “something to spark us.”
Enter Ryland Rees.
The seventh-year long-stick midfielder was in his sixth season with the Philadelphia Waterdogs. He built long-lasting relationships with teammates. He had experienced the elation of winning a championship and the anguish of losing one.
But after 50 career games between the regular season and playoffs, Philadelphia waived Rees on July 17. Despite the setback, the veteran felt he could still be a contributor in the Premier Lacrosse League.
He didn’t have to wait long to find out. Four days after he was waived, the Redwoods picked him up.
Rees said he had a great conversation with Spallina. Spallina couldn’t guarantee playing time, but he made Rees’s role clear.
“He talked about being more of a veteran on this team and being more of a leader,” Rees said. “That’s something I’ve really tried to focus in on and try to provide to the team as best I can.”
The Redwoods have a young roster. Ten players are in their first or second year in the pros, and Spallina and Kelly frequently like to joke that they are so young, they only have one player – Dylan Molloy – who is married. (Rees will soon join him, as he is engaged to Kylie Ohlmiller of the Women’s Lacrosse League’s New York Charging.)
When Rees arrived for his first practice, however, he was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere surrounding a team that was reeling in the standings once again.
“When I got here, I was super impressed and happy to see that no one had turned on each other,” he said. “They were still focused and still dialed in. They knew they had a chance to still get in the playoffs, and they knew it was going to be a big hill to climb. They were focused, and their only mission was winning the next game.”
One player who was especially happy to see Rees was co-captain and faceoff specialist TD Ierlan.
Ierlan was used to battling Rees, Zach Currier and Jake Withers, a Waterdogs trio who formed one of the more formidable faceoff units in the league. Ierlan — who won over 60% of his faceoffs in each of the last five regular-season games — was excited, and relieved, to have Rees now working with him instead of against him.
“I’ve always thought it was such a pain to go against him on the wings, so to have a guy such as him on the wing is super helpful to me,” Ierlan said. “I think I have the best wings in the league. Every faceoff guy would say that, but if you look at what our guys are doing this year and what they’ve done against some of the better units and the best units in the league. I think it’s been really helpful having a guy like Ryland. He adds another dynamic. Ryland can score in transition. He always makes the right play in those scenarios, and he’s great off the ground.”
Rees was on the Redwoods’ protected roster in his second game with the team, but an injury to Arden Cohen left a spot open. Kelly said they didn’t hesitate to move Rees to the 19-man gameday lineup for the matchup against the Maryland Whipsnakes. The move paid off, and Rees has remained there ever since.
“He’s got a lot of experience playing this game,” Kelly said. “He’s a winner. He’s been in big-game moments and knows what it takes. He brings a calming presence. He’s a guy that never gets rattled. He brings us some versatility.”
Rees was active for the Redwoods’ victories against the Whipsnakes and Boston Cannons. The latter was California’s third consecutive win and clinched the team a playoff berth.
Even though a number of players on California’s roster have big-game experience in college – four from its Notre Dame contingent won the NCAA national championship with the Fighting Irish – Spallina said the pro game was different. Rees, who played in the postseason in each of his first five pro seasons, agreed.
“It’s the anticipation. Everyone wants to win this so badly. Everyone feels the pressure of the game,” Rees said. “The crowds are going crazy. Every little mistake is magnified.”
During the Redwoods’ run at the end of the season, and in preparation for the playoffs, Rees’s message to his more youthful teammates was to remind them that they had played in big games before, and they had to find a way to weather the storms in a game and avoid riding the emotional roller coaster with the fans in the stands. He told them there needed to be a balance of bringing the energy but staying even-keeled throughout the runs – positive or negative – that occur during games.
His teammates have been complimentary toward his words of wisdom and the leadership he’s brought to the team.
“When you have a guy like that who’s won a lot of lacrosse games, a lot of big lacrosse games, and he’s come into the locker room, and he’s fully bought in from the get-go, it breathes confidence in the rest of the group,” co-captain Ryder Garnsey said. “I think he’s done a great job doing whatever’s asked of him. He’s a great teammate, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Rees’s actions in the locker room were a valuable contribution leading up to the team’s quarterfinal game against the Carolina Chaos. He then backed it up with a game-changing play during the contest.
California had scored six of the final seven goals in the third quarter to tie the game at 11. That momentum continued at the start of the fourth quarter when Ierlan won the opening faceoff, took it down the field himself and scored to give the team its first lead of the game.
Carolina won the next faceoff, however, and Ross Scott beat his defender and drew a slide. That left Chaos attackman Josh Zawada wide-open about seven yards in front of the goal. The second-year pro couldn’t get a shot off, though, as Rees crashed from the top and caused a turnover, his first with his new team.
