Maryland Whipsnakes 16, New York Atlas 12
Miles Jordan: Whipsnakes’ offense finds its footing in Stagnitta’s 90th win
After what looked like a definite blowout following a scoreless first quarter, the Whipsnakes erupted from the second quarter to the final whistle, earning their first win of the season against a talented New York roster.
“Obviously, it was a slow start for us. Being on the ABC, I thought they might switch to cornhole,” Whipsnakes head coach Jim Stagnitta joked.
The Atlas scored six unanswered goals in the opening 13 minutes before Colin Heacock (3G) — who was rostered for the first time this season — found the cage to put the Whipsnakes on the board.
Once Heacock put the ball in the net, it didn’t take long for him to tally up a hat trick. The ninth-year midfielder from Maryland connected on his first three shots, two coming off of passes from attackman Rob Pannell, who now sits on the verge of the all-time assist record.
Pannell’s three assists on the day gave him 291 total, just one shy of tying Ryan Boyle’s career record. He was one of six Whipsnakes with three or more points in Saturday’s come-from-behind victory over New York.
TJ Malone (3G, 2A), Adam Poitras (4G), Aidan Carroll (3G, 1A), Brad Smith (2G, 1T), Heacock and Pannell powered Maryland’s second-half eruption, which handed New York its second loss of the season.
Not only did the victory put the first tally in the Whipsnakes’ win column in 2025 (including the 2025 Lexus Championship Series), but it also earned Stagnitta his 90th career win as a professional lacrosse coach.
Stagnitta, the second-winningest coach of all time, is now just five wins away from tying BJ O’Hara (95) and further solidifying his position as one of the greatest coaches to ever impact the sport.
“It means I’m old,” Stagnitta said when asked about reaching the 90-win milestone. “I’ve done this for a long time. I’ve been fortunate to coach some really good players who buy into a system, which is not easy at this level.”
Now, with momentum seemingly on their side, the Whipsnakes will roll into their Homecoming Weekend. And for many Maryland players, it will be a homecoming in multiple ways as they return to the state where they played college lacrosse.
“A lot of the guys on the team are either from Maryland or played in Maryland,” Whipsnakes defenseman Matt Dunn said. “For us [Dunn and Heacock], both from the Baltimore area and played the University of Maryland, it’s pretty cool to get to play again with some of our ex-college teammates and get to play with Maryland across our chest. I reflect on that quite frequently about how lucky I am. A lot of guys play with their college teammates, and then they maybe stay in touch or maybe see each other again. I’m still playing with guys I played with in college.”
Up next for Maryland: Saturday, June 21 vs. Boston Cannons (7 p.m. ET)
Paul Lamonaca: Lack of possessions leads to New York’s second loss of the season
Despite jumping ahead 6-0 and holding a lead for the first 40 minutes, New York allowed the Maryland offense to finish the game on an eight-goal run.
The Atlas struggled to find offensive opportunities in the second half, only scoring three goals in the third and fourth quarters. Jeff Teat was held to just one assist, completely stifling New York’s offensive game plan.
It was the second time in three games that the 2024 Jim Brown MVP was held to just one point after breaking the PLL single-season points record last season.
“We were trying to pass down, pick down and get Dunn off of Teat on that switch, and we just did not execute,” Atlas head coach Mike Pressler said. “We’ve got to be better there.”
Pressler credited the loss to Maryland outplaying New York both at the faceoff stripe and in between the pipes, with Whipsnakes faceoff specialist Joe Nardella and goalkeeper Brendan Krebs both delivering notable performances.
New York’s premier faceoff specialist, Trevor Baptiste, went under 50%, leading to fewer possessions than expected for his team in the second half.
“When you don’t win the faceoff like we are accustomed to, we went through that stretch where Nardella was getting the better of Trevor and we did not have the ball,” Pressler said.
While frustrated with the loss, Pressler found a silver lining in his young players, as all four of New York’s drafted rookies were into the gameday roster and made positive contributions in the loss. Midfielders Matt Traynor and Hugh Kelleher combined for three goals on five shots, including a remarkable behind-the-back finish by Traynor early in the game.
Up next for New York: Saturday, June 21 vs. Philadelphia Waterdogs (4 p.m. ET)
