Why clearing matters in the PLL – and how the run-and-gun Outlaws are proving it

Clearing is often overlooked in professional lacrosse. While it’s a massive point of emphasis at the youth, high school and college levels — sometimes consuming entire practices and deciding the outcome of games — it seems to fade into the background at the pro level.

Anyone who’s played at those earlier levels probably remembers extensively preparing for a 10-man ride, or maybe has watched a college team fall apart because it couldn’t execute a clean clear. Notre Dame’s recent back-to-back NCAA titles were built on the back of suffocating rides from the Kavanagh brothers and surgical clearing from goalie Liam Entenmann, who quarterbacked a unit that cleared at about 90% each season.

But in the PLL? Teams clear at roughly 98%. Compare that to the NCAA, where clear rates were 85% (D-I), 83% (D-II) and 80% (D-III) last season. In high school, I’d wager it’s around 50–75%, depending on the level.

At first glance, it seems like clearing just isn’t a factor in the PLL. And in some ways, that’s true. Long poles and goalies at this level are so elite with the ball in their stick that failed clears are rare. But here’s the twist: It’s not whether you clear the ball that matters. It’s about how quickly you clear it.

With a 52-second shot clock (compared to 80 seconds in the NCAA), the time spent getting the ball across midfield can eat into up to a third of your offensive set. The faster you clear, the more time your offense gets to work, and the more likely they are to score.

Clearing in under five seconds, compared to 16 seconds or more, is the difference between having a top-tier offense and a bottom-tier one. Even trimming just a few seconds—from 6-10 down to under five—can add more than a goal per game. In a league where margins are razor-thin, that kind of edge can be the difference between winning and losing.

The Outlaws are mastering the art of the quick clear

No team is displaying this advantage as well as the Denver Outlaws this season. Led by rookie goalie Logan McNaney, Denver is on pace to be the greatest clearing unit the league has seen. McNaney, a second-round pick out of Maryland, has been off to a scorching hot start to his career, saving 63.8% of shots and, more impressively, saving 60.0% of them cleanly.

To put that in perspective, the league-average clean save percentage is 39.0%. Here’s why that matters: The league-average quick clear percentage (percent of clears that are successful in under 10 seconds) off a clean save is 58.1%, compared to 42.8% off a messy one. His clean saves jump-start transitions.

McNaney saving shots cleanly at this rate and dealing to a rope unit of Jake Piseno, Ryan Terefenko and Zach Geddes is just unfair. Piseno might have the best hands for a long pole in the league, and Geddes and Terefenko might be the fastest players in the league overall. It’s like giving Josh Allen weapons of prime Gronk at tight end and Tyreek Hill and Jameson Williams on the outside. Every time McNaney makes a clean save, he looks to one of these three running go routes down the field, who in turn terrorize opposing defenses in transition.

Denver has 12 fast-break scores this season, making up 27.9% of its offense. Both marks top the league. This rope unit leads all other teams’ with 11 points on the year. Excluding clears starting with faceoffs, Terefenko is leading all players with 5.5 clears per game. Piseno is second among long poles with 4.0 per game. The top two in quick clear percentage are Piseno and Terefenko, at 93.8% and 86.4%, respectively.

Here’s an example of Denver using a clean save and a quick outlet to Piseno to create offense in its win over the Utah Archers last Saturday:

This combination has led to Denver clearing a perfect 104-for-104 on the year, and more importantly, the Outlaws have a quick clear percentage of 70.2% and an average clear time of 7.8 seconds. Both are by far the best marks in the league – and would be the best in league history if they hold.

Since McNaney took over in goal, Denver’s quick clear percentage has shot from 65.1% to 73.8%.

Clearing itself isn’t the challenge in the PLL like it is in other levels of lacrosse — every team succeeds at it. But the ability to clear quickly is a massive edge. And right now, no one is doing that better than the Denver Outlaws.

They’ve cracked the code: clean saves from McNaney, followed by instant outlets to their elite rope unit. That combination has fueled explosive transition play and helped spark Denver’s current two-game win streak.

The Outlaws are back in action Friday night, visiting the California Redwoods in San Diego. The Woods’ ride has allowed quick clears on 61.5% of attempts — second-worst in the league. If Denver keeps pushing the pace in transition, expect it to feast once again.