Philadelphia Waterdogs 13, New York Atlas 12

Paul Lamonaca: Lopsided turnover margin propels Waterdogs to upset top-ranked Atlas

Philadelphia played in six one-goal games this season and lost in five of them. Their first one-goal victory came in their last game of the season, defeating the league’s top team in the Atlas on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Despite losing both the faceoff and ground ball battles, Philadelphia was able to capitalize on New York’s 29 turnovers. Goalie Matt DeLuca’s 16 saves helped the last-place team secure its second win on the season. 

On the offensive end for Philadelphia, Kieran McArdle (3G, 1A) and Jake Carraway (2G, 2A)  scored four points each. Michael Sowers (2G, 1A) and Jack Hannah (3G) both finished with three points.

Despite the win, Philadelphia still finishes in last place for the 2024 season. The Waterdogs hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 College Draft. 

Head coach Bill Tierney will head into this offseason needing to address several issues within his team, most importantly their faceoff unit, which finished last in win percentage this year.

Lauren Merola: Atlas bypass quarterfinals despite lackluster regular-season finish

The Atlas fell to the Waterdogs but still emerged with a bye to the semifinals. Tied with the Boston Cannons for first place in the Eastern Conference at 7-3, the Atlas get the week off for having a higher score differential. They’ll play their first playoff game on Sept. 7. 

Payton Cormier scored six points (5G, 1A) in his second professional game. Dox Aitken stood in on attack last week after Connor Shellenberger exited with a left foot injury, and Cormier showed Saturday not only the depth of the Atlas attack, but the worth of the Cavalier connection. 

Cormier, Aitken, Shellenberger and Xander Dickson are all Virginia alums. 

New York’s quarterback, Jeff Teat, had another six-point day (3G, 3A), bringing his historic season point total to 64. 

But ultimately, it was a lackluster game for the Atlas, who were guaranteed the first-round bye as long as they didn’t let up an absurd number of goals. And they didn’t, even while looking like they were giving less than 100%.

Utah Archers 13, Denver Outlaws 9

Zach Carey: Resilient Archers clinch West without Tom Schreiber

It’s pretty hard to win two games in two days. It’s even tougher to do so at the conclusion of a grueling regular season characterized by untimely injuries. It should’ve been darn near impossible for the Archers to do without their three-time MVP and sole captain Tom Schreiber. 

But that’s what Utah did on Friday and Saturday night in a pair of clutch, resilient victories against the California Redwoods and Outlaws to win the Western Conference.

Despite a 6-4 halftime deficit against Denver, the Archers rallied in the third quarter with a seven-point run to go up 11-6. Tre Leclaire (4G, 1T, 1A), Connor Fields (3G, 2A) and Jack VanOverbeke (2G, 1A) led the way offensively as Utah thrived on 32-second possessions after Mike Sisselberger faceoff wins.

The Archers also got huge contributions from their rookies with VanOverbeke, Dyson Williams (1G), Beau Pederson (1G) and Mason Woodward (1G) all coming up with their own clutch moments in the second half. 

Defensively, Brett Dobson was a brick wall in the cage with 16 saves and just nine scores allowed on a 66.7% save rate. Graeme Hossack was similarly spectacular after he missed Utah’s loss to Denver back in Charlotte.

After Brennan O’Neill had an all-time nine-point performance against the Archers in that game, Hossack entirely nullified the Denver rookie on Saturday night. O’Neill shot 0-for-13 and finished with zero points despite registering a career high in touches and the second-most shots he’s taken as a pro. 

“Hoss is Hoss, man,” Archers head coach Chris Bates said postgame. “Hoss is the best in the business. I don’t care what you say, we’ll take that dude any day, every day. If I’m in a street fight, I get tougher and stronger because I know I got him behind me.” 

By clinching first place in the West, Utah locks in a bye straight to the semifinals on Sept. 7, when it'll face the winner of the quarterfinal contest between the Boston Cannons and Carolina Chaos. With Matt Moore on the mend from his AC joint sprain suffered in Baltimore, the extra week off could be hugely beneficial for the Archers.

Despite an up-and-down regular season, Utah is two wins away from going back-to-back because of this stellar weekend of lacrosse.

Topher Adams: Another slow second half spoils bid for conference crown

We’ve seen this movie before. For two quarters, the Outlaws looked like a championship contender. Even with a shorthanded defense and their offensive stars held in check, the Outlaws found ways to play winning lacrosse and led by two at the break.

Then the third quarter happened. 

Utah exploded with a 7-1 run in the third quarter to blow the game wide open. This was not the first time Denver squandered a promising opportunity with a nightmare third period. And it happened once again in the biggest game of the year.

The offense had chances, but the finishing wasn’t there. Denver shot 14%, including an 0-for-13 night for Brennan O’Neill. Graham Bundy Jr. scored a two-pointer in the third to give the Outlaws a bit of life, but it was too little too late.

Once again, Denver was close to looking like a championship team. In moments, the Outlaws were in control or able to push. But over the course of four quarters, Denver hasn’t consistently battled the best teams in the league.

When the Outlaws face the Maryland Whipsnakes in the first round of the playoffs, will they finally be able to flip the script?