The Maryland Whipsnakes handed the New York Atlas their first loss of the 2024 season Friday night, notching a 16-12 victory to kick off Minneapolis weekend.

Here were our beat writers' top takeaways from the Whips' upset win:

Adam Lamberti: Rookies propel Whipsnakes to statement win

Levi Anderson. Adam Poitras. Jack Koras.

Combining for seven points, these three rookies had brilliant games in the first PLL appearance for both Anderson and Poitras. Couple that with Koras chipping in two goals and TJ Malone continuing his Rookie of the Year campaign with a hat trick, and that’s a recipe for success.

It seems as if the rest of the team was sparked by the performances. Brendan Krebs continued his strong play with 14 saves, including 10 in the first half to keep the Whipsnakes level going into halftime.

Joe Nardella went 18-for-32 at the faceoff stripe against Trevor Baptiste and scored, as well.

Matt Rambo, Zed Williams, and Colin Heacock scored timely goals, with Heacock’s behind-the-back effort serving as an exclamation point on a great evening for the Whipsnakes.

Are the Whipsnakes back? If they can get performances like this from their rookies along with Krebs, Nardella and other Whips staples playing at their best, watch out.

Oh, and don’t forget, 2023 Rookie of the Year Tucker Dordevic hasn’t touched the field yet this season.

Up next for Maryland: vs. Utah Archers (Saturday, July 6, 4:30 p.m. ET)

Lauren Merola: Liam Entenmann gets his shot in down day for Atlas

We finally know what it’d take for New York coach Mike Pressler to sit Tim Troutner and give rookie goalie Liam Entenmann his shot: 14 goals against, a five-goal hole and lack of momentum in the fourth quarter.

That’s how the game looked when Troutner was pulled. Entenmann finished with four saves against two let-ups but he still showed glimpses of elite potential at this level. Now that Entenmann has his opening, Pressler should ride the momentum and start Entenmann next week to see his full scope of capabilities. Both the offense and defense were frazzled against the Whipsnakes, and Entenmann entering the game in the final quarter wasn’t going to change that.

The offense scored its easiest goals when in motion, with Jeff Teat and Connor Shellenberger getting their touches. But New York failed to find both players enough after the first quarter, enduring an 11-minute scoreless stretch. Teat had three points in the first eight minutes and finished the day with five points (2G, 3A).

Baptiste won less than 50% of battles at the stripe and drew multiple penalties while also sitting out a few reps. It’s unclear whether the injury Baptiste sustained against the California Redwoods in Week 3 was lingering, but it was an uncharacteristic day for the star faceoff man. 

The defense had no answer for Malone, who ignited Maryland with three goals, and the Atlas had seven uncaused turnovers and 12 total turnovers.

It was an unmoving performance by the Atlas, but the bright spot of the game was rookie Jake Stevens, who scored two goals in his pro debut while proving to be another reliable two-way player for New York.

Up next for New York: vs. Denver Outlaws (Friday, July 5, 8:30 p.m. ET)