📺 WATCH FRIDAY NIGHT LACROSSE

For the first time since 2019, the Denver Outlaws are returning to the Mile High City.

The Outlaws, who won three league championships (2014, ‘16, ‘18) as an MLL franchise, will play their first two games in Denver as a PLL team this weekend. The first game is against the Maryland Whipsnakes at Peter Barton Stadium on Friday night, followed by a matchup with the Carolina Chaos on Saturday.

Here’s the full weekend slate with watch links:

Friday, 8 p.m. ET — Maryland vs. Denver (ESPN+)
Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET — Philadelphia vs. California (ESPN+)
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET — New York vs. Utah (ABC/ESPN+)
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET — Carolina vs. Denver (ESPN2/ESPN+)

All eyes will be on Brennan O’Neill, as the No. 1 overall pick will have an opportunity to introduce himself to the home fans in Denver this weekend. He and fellow rookie Graham Bundy Jr. are the top two scorers on the team and the two biggest reasons why the Outlaws are 4-3 on the season.

This weekend will be a celebration for the return of Denver’s pro lacrosse team, but don’t overlook the marquee matchup on Saturday afternoon. The New York Atlas (6-2) will play the Utah Archers (4-3) in a potential PLL Championship preview on ABC.

The Atlas look like the best team in the league this season, as evidenced by their +24 point differential through eight games. But the Archers are still the defending PLL champions and aren’t going to pass the torch to New York without a fight.

Atlas attackman Jeff Teat is the player to watch. He has already shattered the PLL record for most points in a single season with 51 through eight games. It will be riveting to see how many more points he can tack onto his total in the final two games of the regular season.

Are you taking Atlas or Archers this weekend? Reply to this email with your pick for this game!

📉 Worst For Kirst Battle

With their loss to the Whipsnakes in Baltimore last weekend, the 1-7 Philadelphia Waterdogs were officially eliminated from the PLL playoff race.

On Friday night, the Waterdogs will face the California Redwoods, who have a 2-6 record but a much worse score differential (-32). This game could end up determining which team picks No. 1 overall in the 2025 PLL Draft.

The projected No. 1 pick at the moment is Cornell attackman CJ Kirst, who was a Tewaaraton Award finalist in 2023 and has 230 career points heading into his final season with the Big Red.

Philadelphia’s first-year head coach Bill Tierney has struggled to find consistent production from a third attackman behind Michael Sowers and Kieran McArdle. Ethan Walker only has eight points, and first-round rookie Matt Brandau only has four. Assuming McArdle is retained in free agency, Kirst could be the missing piece for the Waterdogs attack.

If California ends up picking first, Kirst is the perfect player to rebuild around. He will handle a lot of touches, put the team on his back and infuse a stagnant offense with youthful energy. It may be time for the Redwoods to undergo some top-down changes; Kirst can ease that transition period.

If you’re at all interested in the PLL Draft and the debate around the No. 1 pick next year, you’ll want to stay up for the Waterdogs-Redwoods game tonight.

👀 Watch Out For The Whips

At the top of this newsletter, we billed the Atlas-Archers game as a potential PLL Championship preview…

Well, the Maryland Whipsnakes may have something to say about that.

The Whipsnakes went 2-0 during their Homecoming Weekend and are now riding a three-game winning streak. They have wins over all three conference rivals (New York, Boston, Philadelphia) and will close out their regular season against the Denver Outlaws on Friday night. The Whips have already clinched a playoff spot, and their bye in Salt Lake City next weekend will serve as a built-in week of rest heading into the playoffs.

Maryland has been quietly churning on offense during their winning streak. Star attackman Zed Williams leads all players in scoring points (26) and the Whips now have the second-ranked offense in the league behind New York. Rookies TJ Malone, Levi Anderson and Adam Poitras are major forces behind this recent surge.

The Whipsnakes are getting stronger on defense with rookie Ajax Zappitello settling in and Brendan Krebs locking it down in net, but the biggest X-factor for Maryland is at the face-off X. Joe Nardella currently leads the league in face-off win percentage (67.7%), allowing the Whips to control the pace of play on a weekly basis.

Watch out for the Whipsnakes because they may be peaking at the perfect time.

💜 Lamar Jackson x Harlem Lacrosse

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is not new to lacrosse. In 2022, he picked up a stick and tossed the rock with members of the Morgan State lacrosse team.

This week, Jackson invited the entire Harlem Lacrosse team in Baltimore out to a Ravens training camp practice.

The coolest part about this story is that Harlem Lacrosse also has a player named Lamar Jackson, and he got a chance to meet the former NFL MVP with the same name.

🍿 Check Out These Goalie Goals

Last weekend, four-time PLL Goalie of the Year Blaze Riorden scored his first career goalie goal. It was an epic moment, and it inspired us to go back into the PLL and MLL archives in search of every goalie goal in pro lacrosse history.

Here’s what we found…

The only goalie goal we couldn’t find in the archives was from the 2004 MLL season, when Hall of Famer Greg Cattrano scored for the Philadelphia Barrage in a game against the Rochester Rattlers. If you know where to find video of this play, please send it to us!