Philadelphia Waterdogs 14, Maryland Whipsnakes 12
Mike Bolger: Waterdogs attack trio scores all goals in first playoff win under Bill Tierney
The Waterdogs’ offense flowed smoothly through their starting attackmen, who accounted for all 14 of the team’s goals in Saturday’s quarterfinal victory.
Michael Sowers wasted no time making his presence felt in the Waterdogs’ opening playoff matchup, putting on a show in the first quarter.
Fueled by his mustache — the “caterpillar,” as head coach and general manager Bill Tierney called it — the MVP finalist scored three goals and assisted another, contributing to all four of the Waterdogs’ tallies in the opening 12 minutes.
The momentum only built from there, capped by a highlight-reel behind-the-back goal from rookie CJ Kirst with seconds left on the shot clock to close the first quarter.
Despite a scrappy second quarter filled with turnovers and transition goals for the Whipsnakes, the Waterdogs’ attack unit continued to shine. All nine of their first-half goals came from the starting attack trio of Sowers, Kirst and Kieran McArdle, who split the production evenly.
“Sometimes they were sliding to us, and sometimes they weren’t right. And when they weren’t sliding, guys were turning the corner, finishing the ball,” McArdle said. “If they were sliding, we were finding the open man, moving them a ball and chair in the rock. … We just had to stay disciplined throughout the whole game.”
After Maryland tied the game midway through the fourth quarter, it was McArdle who stepped up in crunch time to score his fifth and sixth goals of the day. His final two goals sealed the win, delivering the Waterdogs their first playoff victory since 2023 and the first under Tierney.
The Waterdogs’ hustle stood out, with relentless effort on ground balls and caused turnovers that quickly turned into scoring chances.
“Those are big energy plays, right? Like, you need those in the playoffs,” McArdle said. “The attack was on the scoreboard today, but the rest of our players out there set the tone.”
Defender Marcus Hudgins came up with key stops, including one late in the game, while goalie Matt DeLuca anchored the defense with 10 saves.
Miles Jordan: Maryland can’t pull off another fourth-quarter comeback
After making their seventh straight postseason appearance, the Whipsnakes seemed to run out of gas in the final few minutes of play, which helped send the Waterdogs to the PLL semifinals.
Yet, despite the loss, there were a few bright spots. The Whipsnakes are more familiar with the postseason and win-or-go-home situations than any other team in the league, and that sentiment was not lost on Maryland’s younger stars.
Aidan Carroll (4G, 1A) opened the scoring for the Whipsnakes, firing a bullet past DeLuca to tie the game at one a piece midway through the first quarter.
The Georgetown graduate set a Whipsnakes’ rookie goal record this season (21) and backed it up with a pair in the first half.
“For a first-year player, his composure and his ability to execute and do the things we ask him to do is terrific,” Whipsnakes head coach and general manager Jim Stagnitta said.
Rob Pannell (2G, 2A) assisted Carroll’s opening goal — the 301st assist of Pannell’s career — but stood out in a different way than he had as quarterback all season. The veteran scored just seven goals all season but notched two in the first half, including a vintage question mark to end a nearly four-and-a-half-minute scoring drought for the Whipsnakes.
Levi Anderson (1G) and Colin Heacock (1G) found the back of the net, but their combined efforts were not enough to keep up with Philadelphia’s dominant attack line.
“At halftime, it took some strong language,” Stagnitta said. “… I wasn’t particularly happy at halftime. And probably the first time all year that I’ve, you know, I’ve had to address them like that.”
Stagnitta hoped to light a fire under Maryland, which had trailed since Sowers’ opening goal of the game.
TJ Malone (1G, 1A), who had a quiet first half, finally got involved early in the second half. Playing below the cage, he found Carroll for the rookie’s third goal of the game,
Joe Nardella, who finished the game 15-of-27 (55%) from the stripe, backed up Carroll’s goal with a goal of his own, taking it to the cage off his faceoff win.
Brad Smith (1G, 1T, 1A), Maryland’s lead two-point threat, got into the action on a power play, where he found Malone with an excellent feed off a bluffed shot from long range.
Malone’s goal sparked a 4-0 run, which gave Maryland life and evened the score for the first time since it was 1-1 in the first quarter.
Carroll picked up his fourth goal of the game, off another Pannell assist, before Smith fired a rocket from deep to tie the game at 12 with just under seven minutes in the game.
The Waterdogs went scoreless for nearly 18 minutes before McArdle took matters into his own hands. His two goals in the final 2:12 of the game were the difference-maker.
Maryland had a chance to fire a two-pointer to tie the game with 24 seconds left, but the Waterdogs’ defense was too overwhelming for Maryland’s “Philly special.”
“Honestly, at the end of the game… we were looking to get the ball in [Carroll’s] stick and set him up,” Stagnitta said. “Him and Rob were the two guys that were able to win some matchups and do some things down there for us.”
But despite the loss in a tight playoff game, Stagnitta remained confident about Maryland’s future, led by the tight-knit culture he has cultivated with the Whipsnakes since 2019.
“I think the future is very bright. And again, as we always do, we’ll evaluate where we are in the off-season, but this is just a terrific group of guys,” Stagnitta said. “People talk about culture. Culture is about the people. Our people are all on the same page. They care. They come every week, and they respond to everything in a positive way.”
