Eduardo Curros – Western Correspondent, All Lacrosse All The Time
The Premier Lacrosse League’s 2025 season opening weekend in Albany saw the defending champion Utah Archers take on the Maryland Whipsnakes in a rematch of last year’s championship. Utah beat Maryland 12-8 in that final, securing back-to-back championships for the first time since the Whipsnakes went back-to-back in 2019-2020. Connor Fields had a five-point day as the Archers opened the season beating the Whipsnakes 8-7.
Archers have one-goal edge at halftime
TJ Malone scored unassisted at 2:07 to give Whipsnakes a 1-0 lead. Archers’ Matt Moore scored with an assist from Sam King at 3:20. The first quarter would end tied at 1-1. Beau Pederson would score on an assist from Connor Fields at 2:35 of the second quarter to give Utah their first lead, 2-1. Fields followed with a goal of his own at 6:00, assisted by Moore. Rob Pannell scored his first goal in a Whipsnakes uniform at 7:04, with an assist from Adam Poitras. Matt Brandau then tied the game at 8:42. Fields closed the first half scoring for the Archers at 9:22, giving them a 4-3 halftime lead.
Archers begin title defense with win
Malone scored unassisted at the 2:07 mark of the third quarter, and again at 6:38 off an Aidan Carroll pass to put Maryland up 5-4. However, Fields tied the game with his hat trick goal at 11:21, then put Archers back in front 52 seconds into the fourth quarter. Aidan Carroll scored his first career goal, with help from Brad Smith at 3:09 to tie the game at 6-6. A behind the back goal from Dyson Williams off a pass from King at 5:49 gave Utah a 7-6 lead. Brandau scored his second goal unassisted for Maryland at 7:12 to tie the game. Archers midfielder Tom Schreiber, who missed last year’s finals due to injury, scored the game winner with an assist from King at 8:00.
Curros’s Corner
Whipsnakes: Malone (3g); Brandau (2g); Carroll (1g, 1a); Pannell (1g); Smith (1a); Poitras (1a)
Archers: Fields (4g, 1a); Moore (1g, 1a); Williams (1g); Schreiber (1g); Pederson (1g); King (3a); Piper Bond (1a)
Joe Nardella went 13-17 on faceoffs for Whipsnakes against Mike Sisselberger
Brett Dobson made 15 saves for Archers in the win, while Brendan Krebs made six saves for Maryland
The Whipsnakes play the Philadelphia Waterdogs (0-0) next week in Charlotte, while the Archers take on the Boston Cannons (1-0)
