California Redwoods 16, Carolina Chaos 10
Phil Shore: Redwoods respond to adversity
In 1987, before a fight against Tyrell Biggs, boxer Mike Tyson made a now-famous quote: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” In 2022, he was asked about the quote, and he responded, “Yeah, they do, but sometimes, they punch you back in the face.”
The sentiment of the statement was that you can prepare extensively for something, but what are you going to do when you enter the arena and you face adversity?
After Jackson Eicher scored at the 5:33 mark in the first quarter to give the Chaos a 4-0 lead, the momentum was completely in favor of Carolina. The Redwoods looked shell-shocked, getting shut out completely in the first quarter. They were also 0-for-15 shooting to start the game.
California punched back, though. Andrew McAdorey lit the spark again like he did in the first game of the season, and his goal kickstarted a 9-1 run that not only catapulted the Redwoods into the lead but gave them complete control for the remainder of the game.
“They took advantage of their matchups, and we did things that were uncharacteristic to ourselves,” Chaos defender Jarrod Neumann said. “We let guys get to the middle. We don’t usually do that. They won their matchups multiple times. And the biggest thing for us, they won the ground ball battle. They had a lot of scrappy, little ground balls where, after guys made plays in front of the net, whether it was a body check or a stick check, the ball is on the ground, sometimes the ball bounces their way, and they picked up three or four of those today and put them in the back of the net.”
The second quarter saw the Redwoods attack the Chaos short-stick defensive midfielders more aggressively, an adjustment head coach Anthony Kelly said they saw and wanted to take advantage of.
The adjustment paid off, and a prime example of that was Josh Balcarcel’s first goal of the game, which came with 1:51 remaining in the first half. He took Mark Glicini from the top of the field to behind the cage, where he isolated and then dodged upfield high enough to step inside and under Glicini and dive across the crease to give California a 6-5 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish the remainder of the game.
“I got stuffed by [Chaos goalie] Blaze [Riorden] the first time around, and I get off to the sideline and [Redwoods assistant coach Chris Collins] is coming up to me, ‘Hey, next time you get underneath, make that dive. Take that chance and get to the opposite side of the cage so you can bury one,’” said Balcarcel, who scored another goal in the fourth quarter. “Obviously, I took that to heart, and the next time I had that opportunity, I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.”
Balcarcel’s goal – a success after learning from a failure – was emblematic of the team’s ability to bounce back in a positive manner.
Up next for California: Friday, June 13 vs. Utah Archers (8:30 p.m. ET)
Hayden Lewis: Middle quarters haunt Carolina during Saturday Night Lacrosse
The Chaos started the second game of their Homecoming Weekend quickly by taking a 4-0 lead in the first quarter. The defense continued its dominant performance from the night before against Denver, and Riorden was standing tall between the pipes again.
However, disaster struck in Charlotte as soon as the second quarter started. The Chaos allowed two quick goals to start the quarter before Neumann netted a two-point goal making it a 6-2 game. The Redwoods proceeded to score 11 straight goals as the Chaos offense collapsed — a theme consistent with last year’s team.
Offensively, the Chaos weren’t able to win a dodge and kept turning the ball over, wasting possessions and losing between the margins statistically.
Despite the struggles on offense, Adam Charalambides had an excellent showing with four points (4G). The Canadian looked solid in head coach Roy Colsey’s offense and finished the weekend with six goals.
“I thought he looked even more comfortable tonight than he did last night,” Colsey said. “I think we’re going to continue to see him on the field.”
Carolina still hasn’t had the opportunity to utilize 2025 first-round pick Owen Hiltz, and until everyone has an opportunity in the offense, there will be bumps along the road.
The Chaos are entering their bye week with a chance to regroup after a weekend mixed with positives and negatives.
Up next for Carolina: Bye week
