Eduardo Curros – Western Correspondent, All Lacrosse All The Time
The Premier Lacrosse League season is coming to a close and the Utah Archers took the field at Harvard University to face the Carolina Chaos in their final game of the regular season. Unfortunately for the Archers, their playoff hopes were eliminated after California won the first game of the evening to take the final spot in the West Conference, meaning Utah’s hopes of a three-peat as PLL champions have ended. The Chaos had already punched their playoff ticket but could claim the #2 seed in the West with a win. But Utah had the last say, rallying from a 9-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 11-10 and finish 4-6 on the year.
Archers hold one-goal lead at halftime
Carolina jumped out to a 3-0 lead on consecutive goals from Jackson Eicher (2:41), Josh Zawada (4:52), and Adam Charalambides (5:19). The Archers would reply with Bryce Ford (7:56), Sam King (9:27), and Ryan Ambler, assisted by Connor Fields (10:33). The first quarter ended in a 3-3 tie. Zawada kicked off the second quarter scoring with his second goal, with help from Owen Hiltz at 3:56. Ambler would score his second goal at 6:11 and Dyson Williams would end the first half scoring with a behind the back shot, assisted by Mac O’Keefe at 8:55, for a 5-4 Utah lead going into halftime.
Archers rally to end season with a win
The teams would trade goals with Eicher kicking off the scoring at 1:13. Fields would reply with help from O’Keefe at 3:39. Knobloch would score unassisted for Chaos at 4:09, but Archers’ O’Keefe would get a pass from Woodward at 5:04. Chaos would score three consecutive goals, first from Eicher with Knobloch assisting at 5:30, and then Knobloch scoring twice at 8:14 and 11:20. The third quarter would end with a score of 9-7 in favor of Carolina.
Tre Leclaire opened the fourth quarter scoring at 1:26, followed by a 2-pt goal from O’Keefe at 1:50 to give Utah a 10-9 lead. Zawada would reply with the only goal for the Chaos in the fourth quarter at 6:50, with help from Eicher, to tie the game at 10. However, Archers would have the last goal from Connor Maher, with Cam Wyers assisting at 6:17 for the 11-10 final score. The loss drops the Chaos (5-5) to the #3 seed in the West, as they lose the goal differential tiebreaker to the California Redwoods. The Chaos and Redwoods will play in the first round of the playoffs, with the winner facing the #1 seed Denver Outlaws in the Conference Finals.
Curros’s Corner
Archers: Ambler (2g); O’Keefe (1g, 1 2-pt g, 2a); Fields (1g, 1a); King (1g); Leclaire (1g); Williams (1g); Maher (1g)
Chaos: Eicher (3g, 1a); Knobloch (3g, 1a); Zawada (3g); Charalambides (1g); Owen Hiltz (1a)
Brett Dobson (Archers): 15 saves; Blaze Riorden (Chaos): 10 saves
Justin Inacio (Chaos): 20-24 faceoffs; 19 Ground Balls
