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Top 3 Plays of the 2022 Cash App Championship

By Lauren Merola | Sep 22, 2022

The Waterdogs took home the PLL Cash App Championship Trophy after dethroning the defending champion in Philadelphia on Sunday.

The ‘Dogs defeated Chaos 11-9 en route to the club’s first-ever championship. The game was one long 48-minute highlight reel, but some plays had higher championship stakes than others.

Here are the top plays from the 2022 PLL Championship:

1. Ethan Walker wins it

The play of the game – in any championship game – is the winning play.

From X, Kieran McArdle found Ethan Walker, who shot a bouncer past Blaze Riorden’s left side to score the Waterdogs’ 10th and winning goal.

It wasn’t the flashiest play of the game, but it sealed the deal. 

McArdle led the League with 23 assists – and second in points with 42 – this season. It’s only natural he assisted the championship game-winner as well.

In his second year as a Waterdog, Walker became a regular in the lineup after Ryan Brown got injured. Once he was in it, he never came off it.

Walker played nine games in 2022, four more than he played last season. He scored 13 points (9G, 4A) in the regular season and eight (6G, 2A) in the postseason.

2. Dillon Ward stands on his head

With 20 seconds left in the first half, Mark Glicini ripped a wide-open two-point shot on the left side. Dillon Ward met the shot on the turf outside the crease, but Glicini grabbed the rebound and passed it to Josh Byrne near the arc on the right side. Byrne fired it low and, again, Ward deflected it.

Ward closed out the game how he closed out the quarter.

With a minute and change left to play, the Waterdogs led Chaos 11-9 when Chaos started unloading the two-pointers. Dhane Smith took a shot from behind the left side of the arc, which Ward stole. After a successful Chaos ride, Smith got it back and passed it to Chris Cloutier in the middle, but he couldn’t beat Ward.

Chaos couldn’t find twine to tie it in the last minute, and Ward helped put the ‘W’ in Waterdogs.

“I just love winning,” Ward said.

3. Air Sowers

Shooting the ball past the greatest goalie in the world is hard enough on two feet, but Michael Sowers’ rebound goal against Riorden while mid-air proves he’s in a class of his own.

With less than 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Jake Withers shot at and off Riorden. Going for the rebound, Sowers jumped, caught the ball and met net in the air.

The crowd went crazy for their Philadelphia native, who said he had a lot of family and friends in attendance during an under-the-helmet interview after the goal.

Sowers was named 2022 Championship MVP with two goals and one assist. Sowers had 32 points (21G, 11A) in the regular season, the 10th most points in the League. He posted 12 (8G, 4A) in the postseason.

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