New York Atlas 16, California Redwoods 12
Paul Lamonaca: TD Ierlan’s exit lifts New York to fourth straight win
It was a slow start for the Atlas, who trailed 5-3 at the end of the first quarter and were tied 10-10 at halftime. New York was completely dominated at the faceoff stripe as Trevor Baptiste was bested by TD Ierlan, with Baptiste’s win percentage falling to a mere 31% in the first half.
The turning point for New York? Ierlan missed most of the second half due to injury, resulting in a lopsided possession battle.
New York proceeded to outscore California 6-2 over the final two quarters, holding the Redwoods’ offense scoreless for 15 straight minutes.
Though he didn’t score a goal and attempted just two shots, Connor Shellenberger dominated for the Atlas, racking up seven assists.
“He’s going to end his career as one of the greatest to ever do it,” said Xander Dickson, Shellenberger’s linemate both with New York and during their college days at the University of Virginia.”We have seen him take over games with five goals and two assists. They played him as a scorer today, and he exploded for seven assists. … His ability to not play in a box is what makes him so, so great, and I think that it’s what can be underappreciated at times.”
As for the rest of New York’s offense, Jeff Teat finished with five points (2G, 3A), and Dickson scored four goals.
Defensively, Liam Entenmann saved 15 shots at 55.5%.
Atlas head coach Mike Pressler was impressed with his team’s response after a stalemate of a first half.
“We have found ways to win in different ways,” Pressler said. “We were obviously the favorite this week, and all of a sudden it’s 10-10 at halftime. No panic. Another 24 minutes here and come out and take care of business defensively.
Up next for New York: Friday, July 25 vs. Maryland Whipsnakes (10:30 p.m. ET)
Phil Shore: Ierlan’s absence amplifies second-half woes
In what is always one of the premier matchups in the league, Ierlan took on Baptiste at the faceoff stripe, and the Redwoods’ specialist dominated in the first half. Not only did Ierlan win 71% of his faceoffs, but California’s first eight goals – and nine of its 10 in the first half – were scored on possessions off faceoff wins.
“Give TD Ierlan all the credit,” Pressler said. “He was terrific against Trevor. You just don’t see that against Trevor Baptiste.”
Ierlan sat out for the majority of the second half, however, and was assessed for a possible concussion before ultimately returning to the game with 3:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After Ryder Garnsey scored his second goal of the game to give the Redwoods a 9-8 lead with just over two minutes left in the first half, Ierlan beat Baptiste on the clamp and pushed the ball forward. As Ierlan went for the ground ball, he was turned around by Baptiste, who was trailing on the play, and then was hit high by Brett Makar; no foul was called, and Ierlan slowly jogged off the field.
Head coach Anthony Kelly was not pleased with how the play at the stripe was officiated throughout the game.
“I didn’t like what they were allowing the other side to get away with after wins. I think there were a lot of holds, a lot of grabs, which ultimately led to him getting knocked out of the game,” he said. “If you address those things early, he doesn’t get knocked out of the game.”
The Redwoods used midfielders Andrew McAdorey – who took faceoffs playing youth lacrosse – and Brian Tevlin to fill in for Ierlan. Kelly said he could tell when Baptiste went out for the first faceoff of the second half and Ierlan wasn’t there that the momentum had swung. Baptiste boosted his winning percentage, and Kelly said the defense wore down.
In what has become a recurring issue for the Redwoods, the team was outscored 6-2 in the second half and 4-1 in the fourth quarter; additionally, California went nearly 16 minutes between scores in the second half and was 2-for-17 shooting.
“We played hard. We left everything out there on the field,” said Redwoods attackman Chris Kavanagh, who scored four goals against Entenmann, his former college teammate at Notre Dame. “We shot ourselves in the foot. … The margins of error are so small. You can’t turn the ball over. You’ve got to capitalize on your shots. They did. We didn’t. It’s tough.”
Kelly and general manager Joe Spallina added that with McAdorey and Tevlin battling Baptiste on faceoffs, it also created a domino effect that caused McAdorey and Tevlin to expend extra energy and be less effective elsewhere on the field.
“It affects how he dodges,” Spallina said about McAdorey. “It’s not ideal.”
“We ask a lot of that kid,” Kelly added. “If you measure minutes, it’s safe to say for anyone that’s not a defenseman or attackman, he’s logging more than anybody. It wears you out. And when you’re doing things you shouldn’t be doing when we’re already asking you to do more on the field than anybody, it’s tough. But I tell you this, he looks right at you, ‘Yup.’ Whatever you need, he’s doing it, and he’s a killer.”
TD wasn’t the only Ierlan who had a good night for California. His brother, Chayse, made a career-high 15 saves and posted a 50% save percentage.
The loss was California’s fifth in a row, which Spallina said was brutal, but he and Kelly remain optimistic, especially as their rookies continue to gain experience. In addition to McAdorey, Spallina said Kavanagh is getting better every game and midfielder Josh Balcarcel had one of his best games. Spallina also believes Carter Rice is becoming one of the best short-stick defensive midfielders in the league.
“We have a lot of young guys earning their stripes. There’s a lot of gameday scars,” Spallina said. “We’ll be better for it. It hurts now. It sucks now. We’re on a bit of a run here, but all the right things are being said in the locker room. The guys are playing hard. A lot of our mistakes are ending up in our goal right now. We’ll get it right.”
Up next for California: Friday, July 25 vs. Utah Archers (8 p.m. ET)
Utah Archers 11, Carolina Chaos 10
Zach Carey: Archers escape with a win behind Woodward and Dobson
Mason Woodward’s pair of two-pointers proved to be the difference for the Archers in their bounce-back win over the Chaos on Friday night.
The second-year long-stick midfielder wound up from deep and tickled the twine twice in the first 15 minutes to help build what looked like an unassailable 8-0 lead for Utah.
“That’s a big swing, it gives you a little bit of breathing room,” head coach Chris Bates said postgame. “Mase can shoot the hell out of the ball. So we’re trying to encourage that as much as we can.”
Yet the scoring droughts that have plagued the Archers offense all season long returned not long after. The club scored just one goal for 21:13 of action between Dyson Williams’ tally on the first possession of the second half and Tre Leclaire’s game-deciding score with 2:16 left in the fourth.
Sam King continued to be the Archers’ most consistently productive offensive player. In his second full game at attack, the rookie scored a pair of goals and added an assist while being guarded by All-Pro defenseman Jack Rowlett.
Yet King was Utah’s only offensive threat with more than two points on the night. Connor Fields (2G), Grant Ament (1G, 1A) and Mac O’Keefe (2A) got in on the action, but the Ament-O’Keefe-Tom Schreiber trio combined to shoot 1-for-17.
Much of that was a result of Blaze Riorden’s sustained dominance between the pipes (15 saves, 60% save percentage). Riorden stole a handful of shots early on that, for nearly any other keeper in the league, would’ve been goals. That stemmed the tide for Carolina and gave its offense time to settle in.
Brett Dobson held fast in the opposite cage, however, making 17 stops at a 60.7% clip to match Riorden and prevent the Chaos from ever pulling even.
“He’s just a clutch goalie,” Bates said. “He’s a championship goalie. There’s a dude that’s won two rings and is going to win more. We believe in him. He believes in himself. And there’s nobody else I’d rather have in cage.”
Utah now sits 3-4 on the season with a minus-8 score differential. The club is second in the Western Conference behind the Denver Outlaws (4-2, +12) entering next week’s Homecoming Weekend in Salt Lake City. There, the Archers will have the opportunity to build on this win in games against the Outlaws and Redwoods that have major playoff implications.
“There’s a lot on the line,” Bates said. “What else could you ask for? We’re in Utah, We’ve got two league games. Let’s go.”
Up next for Utah: Friday, July 25 vs. California Redwoods (8 p.m. ET)
Hayden Lewis: Carolina’s slow start cripples a strong comeback effort led by Owen Hiltz
“We can’t start slow,” Chaos head coach Roy Colsey told ESPN sideline reporter Dana Boyle in a pregame interview. “You know we’ve had a history of starting slow, giving up a couple of two-pointers, and then settling in and playing from behind. We really have to do a good job tonight in the first quarter of being smart, being a little bit conservative, getting back on defense, and making sure that the first quarter, we don’t let it get away from us.”
The Chaos did the exact thing Colsey didn’t want to see. They started slow and gave up five goals, including a two-pointer, all in the first 7:40 of the first quarter. The score crept to 8-0 early in the second quarter.
Quickly, Utah’s offense put Carolina deep in Bingham Canyon.
“I don’t think it’s the warmup music, I don’t think it’s the pregame, I just think it’s coming out, and I think we come out a little bit nervous,” Colsey said postgame. “There’s a million ways that you can think about what we can do better, but at the end of the day, being a professional lacrosse player, when the whistle blows, we have to be ready.”
“When you dig a hole early in the game, you’re fighting the whole game, and we fought until the last buzzer, but it didn’t go our way,” Owen Hiltz added.
Despite the slow start, Hiltz stayed red-hot and led another remarkable comeback effort for the Chaos. His career-high seven points (5G, 2A) jolted Carolina back into contention for a victory and made the game a nailbiter down the stretch.
Coming out of Syracuse, the one knock on Hiltz was that he wasn’t the most explosive dodger. He’s proven in his young career that he can be effective as one, though, especially when matched up with short-stick defensive midfielders. He took his matchup head-on multiple times throughout the game and scored four unassisted goals in the process.
“He is already a phenomenal player, and every time he steps on the field and gets a little bit more comfortable,” Colsey said. “I think we’re in for a real treat and are really glad to have him on our offense.”
The loss dropped Carolina to 3-4 on the season and to third place in the Western Conference due to its league-worst minus-16 goal differential. The Chaos believe they have better performances on the horizon.
“We haven’t played a full game this year,” Jarrod Neumann said after the game. “We haven’t put it together yet, and I think that’s a scary thing.”
Up next for Carolina: Saturday, July 26 vs. Philadelphia Waterdogs (6:30 p.m. ET)
