Whipsnakes give Philly a taste of their own medicine
The Maryland Whipsnakes struggled for most of this game against Philly. They were down 5-0 halfway through the second quarter and 6-2 early in the third quarter. However, when the Whipsnakes gained momentum, they were hard to slow down, showing great ball movement. The Waterdogs had some great success from making plays from behind Maryland’s net. But the Whipsnakes give Philly a taste of their own medicine by duplicating and running the same design plays from behind Philadelphia’s net. TJ Malone is the passer with a goal and four assists for five points. Matt Brandau had 4 goals, all coming during the Whipsnakes fourth quarter rally, scoring in a myriad of ways.
Maryland found the holes in the Waterdogs’ defensive zones and exploited them to rally from that 6-2 deficit to win 10-7. The Whipsnakes split the season series with Philly, and are now just one game behind the Waterdogs for second place in the East. Maryland is two games in back of the East-leading New York Atlas. While tied at 3-4 with Boston, they have the tiebreaker for goal differential at the moment, putting the Cannons outside of the playoff window with three weeks left in the season.
Sowers continues push toward league MVP honors
Michael Sowers continued his push toward league MVP honors, making stellar plays on the field to rack up four straight goals to start the game. Sowers was getting into his comfort zone behind Maryland’s net, surveying the field and the Whipsnakes defense. He would create separation with his speed and agility, scoring in transition, and spinning off his opponents. Another Waterdogs player making waves was midfielder Zach Currier. Currier scored two goals and picked up five ground balls. He is currently the only player in the PLL with more than 200 career points and 400 career ground balls. Ultimately, the hard work of Sowers and Currier didn’t pay off for a Philly victory. We’ll see what the Waterdogs can do next week to get back into the win column against the Carolina Chaos.
