The Waterdogs were able to double up Chaos on Friday night at Homewood Field, taking their first victory of the 2022 campaign by an 18-9 scoreline.

After going down 1-0 in the early goings, the Waterdogs turned it on, scoring six straight to end the first quarter. 

The offensive catalyst for the ‘Dogs was Connor Kelly, who capped the first-quarter run with an emphatic 2-pointer. 

Chaos tried to push back in this contest, but the Waterdogs would stump them at every junction with a run – they were able to hit a 2-pointer in each of the first three quarters on Friday. 

Kelly continued his offensive dominance for the entire night, finishing the game with six points, with two 2-pointers to his name to help his squad seal the deal. 

“CK is just great in so many areas. I think he’s an underrated passer, he has great footwork, he’s two-handed, and he just puts a lot of pressure on the defense, especially as a stretch shooter,” Waterdogs head coach Andy Copelan said following the game. “He’s really playing how we know he’s capable of and it’s nice to have him back. He’s a special one.”

Both teams were able to get back some big pieces for this contest. Chaos had been treading water until they were able to get the likes of Josh Byrne, Dhane Smith, Ian MacKay, Chris Cloutier, and Chase Fraser. They had nearly their full compliment back for this one – Cloutier and Max Adler were moved to the PUP list ahead of this game. 

On the other side, 2021 Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year Award finalist Dillon Ward returned for the Waterdogs. However, Copelan opted to go with Matt DeLuca in the cage for this contest. 

With the victory, the Waterdogs will be aiming to play spoiler in Minnesota when they take on the Whipsnakes. 

Now sitting as the lone remaining winless team in the PLL, the defending champions face the Cannons on July 2. 

“We need to watch the film and take the positives and address the negatives. But I’m really proud of the way our guys game out,” Chaos head coach Andy Towers said post game. “We had a lot of guys that were banged up who could’ve easily decided a week or two weeks off after eight-nine months and a grueling playoffs. The fact is they didn’t. They manned up, stepped up. They played. I couldn’t be more proud to be aligned with this group of guys. 

“I told them after the game, we want to win the war. And the war is winning the championship. …Ideally I think we need to win four of the next six games to make the playoffs. And if we make the playoffs, we’re going to be a problem for people.”