📝 5 CHAMPIONSHIP TAKEAWAYS

The Archers are PLL Champions for the first time ever, and there’s a lot we can learn from their 15-14 win over the Waterdogs at Subaru Park on Sunday.

From Tom Schreiber’s clutch moment to Brett Dobson’s MVP performance in net (and everything in between), this newsletter will highlight my five biggest takeaways from the 2023 Championship Game.

We’ll start with the most talented lacrosse player on the planet…

1️⃣ Tom Schreiber: Best Player on Earth

Perhaps there is a lacrosse player in a distant galaxy who is better than Archers midfielder Tom Schreiber, but in this solar system he seems to be in a league of his own.

Schreiber was ranked No. 1 in the PLL’s Top 50 Players of 2022 last December, and he lived up to that billing by winning league MVP this summer. During the regular season, he registered 37 points (most among midfielders) and guided the Archers to a league-best 8-2 record.

In the Championship Game against the Waterdogs, Schreiber delivered his MVP moment. With 1:37 left in the fourth quarter, he shook free and buried an unassisted righty rip to give the Archers a 15-14 lead over the Waterdogs. That score held until the final buzzer.

Schreiber finished the game with two unassisted goals. His other tally was a nasty twister in the second quarter, perfectly placed in the bottom left corner.

In addition to his PLL heroics this year, Schreiber also led the Toronto Rock in points last season (116 points, 4th in NLL) and won a gold medal while serving as a captain of Team USA at the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship this summer.

Now that he has a PLL MVP and Championship to his name, Schreiber has a rock-solid case for best lacrosse player in the world.

2️⃣ Blaze Riorden’s Mantle May Be in Danger

Blaze Riorden has claimed the Goalie of the Year Award in four out of five PLL seasons — including the 2023 season — but now Archers goalie Brett Dobson has the inside track to unseat him in the near future.

Dobson was named MVP of the PLL Championship Game after racking up 18 saves (58.1%) against the Waterdogs. His final save will go down as one of the most clutch saves in pro lacrosse history, as he just barely got a piece of Jake Carraway’s two-point attempt with .6 seconds left on the clock.

Look how close this was to being a walk-off game-winner for the Waterdogs…

Dobson had a great postseason run, but he also had a decent case for GOTY over Riorden this season. He had the best goals against average in the PLL (10.4 GAA), and his save percentage was not far behind Riorden’s (58% vs. 59.5%).

In his first season as a starter, Dobson anchored the stingiest defense in the league and stepped up on the biggest stage. He and Riorden are now the only goalies to be named PLL Championship Game MVP.

3️⃣ The Face-Off Athlete Lives On…

The PLL’s new 32-second shot clock after resets and face-off wins came under a ton of scrutiny this season, but in the Championship Game a lot of that controversy went out the window.

During the season, the Waterdogs mastered the technique of losing the face-off (26.8% win rate, 2nd lowest in PLL). But because the Archers offense was so efficient in the shortened shot clock, the ‘Dogs actually had to battle face-off athlete Mike Sisselberger for possessions.

Here’s a game-by-game look at the Waterdogs’ face-off win rate in three meetings with the Archers this season…

1st Meeting: 13.2% (Dallas)
2nd Meeting: 17.2% (Salt Lake City)
3rd Meeting: 35.5% (PLL Championship)

Zach Currier won more than half of the face-offs he took (9-17, 52.9%) and even scored one of his two goals directly off the draw, but the Waterdogs were dragged out of their comfort zone by Sisselberger and the Archers offense.

Losing the face-off on purpose was an effective strategy for teams like the Waterdogs and Cannons for most of the season. But the title game served as an interesting case study for the new rule, as it seemed to prove that efficiency in the 32-second shot clock can nullify any advantage manufactured by losing the face-off.

The PLL Championship was not only a win for the Archers; it was also a win for face-off athletes everywhere.

4️⃣ Graeme Hossack is Terrifying

At this point, the Waterdogs have to be seeing Archers defenseman Graeme Hossack in their nightmares.

In the fourth quarter of the Championship Game, Hossack laid out Waterdogs defenseman Ben Randall on a brutal open-field hit. The play was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but it sent a resounding message that the Archers were buckling down on defense.

There was a tangible shift in momentum after Hossack’s hit. The Archers created a turnover early in the Waterdogs’ power play and immediately ran down the field to net a short-handed goal.

Hossack, who finished the game with four ground balls, delivered a similar hit in a narrow Archers win over Waterdogs during the regular season. While it may result in some penalty time, it helps to have an enforcer on defense.

5️⃣ It Still Comes Down To Hustle

There are a million different plays, schemes and techniques lacrosse teams employ at the professional level. But at the end of the day, games still come down to hustle and effort.

Just ask Archers SSDM Connor Maher, who made the hustle play of the year when he beat Waterdogs attackman Michael Sowers to a ball going out on the end line late in the fourth quarter…

After Maher won this run-out, the Archers were able to bleed clock on the offensive end. The Waterdogs did not regain possession until there was 11.7 seconds left in the game, and that was not enough time to get a settled look and potentially tie the game.

Moral of the story? HUSTLE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!