Quint's PLL Power Rankings, Week 9: Mile High Action

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The Premier Lacrosse League visits Denver this weekend for five games at Peter Barton Stadium. All PLL and WLL games can be seen on ESPN+.

The remaining weekends are Denver, Columbus, Boston and Philadelphia before the playoffs in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and the championship in Harrison, N.J. The WLL Championship will be held on Aug. 15 during the Philadelphia weekend.

1. Maryland Whipsnakes

Record: 5-3, +26 score differential
Last time: 20-7 W vs. Redwoods
Up next: Utah
The Whips destroyed California, 20-7, as Rob Pannell eclipsed the professional field lacrosse all-time points record. The veteran from Cornell had five goals and one assist.

Goalie Emmet Carroll was 72% in the lopsided affair. Maryland shot 42%, and California shot 18%.

Rookie Joey Spallina finished with six points and a team-high 42 touches. TJ Malone scored five times. Maryland dominated the 'Woods, 12-2, in the second half. They led 8-5 and then 15-5. Seven-straight goals in the third quarter was the dagger.

The Whips are averaging 13.6 scores per game and have consecutive wins over Carolina and California, two lower-tier teams; they now get a stiff test from Utah’s Fort Knox defense on Saturday night. 

2. Denver Outlaws

Record: 4-3, +10
Last week: 10-8 win vs. Chaos
Up next: Utah, Philadelphia
I had to drop Denver a hair because they’re not playing great offense. 

The Outlaws outlasted Carolina, 10-8, in unimpressive fashion as their passing on offense remains deficient. On the plus side, Denver defense held the Chaos without a goal in the second and third quarters. Pat Kavanagh had two goals and two assists inducing a highlight-reel goal where he dodged through the entire defense. This viral clip is a prime example of ball retention having negative consequences on the physicality and violence needed to dislodge the ball. Lacrosse has let manufacturers run rampant with deeper and deeper sidewalls, and unregulated stick technology has greatly impacted the way the sport is played. Defense has little chance to dislodge ball. The imbalance must be addressed. 

Goalie Logan McNaney finished with 64% saves, while Brennan O’Neill shot 0-for-9 with four turnovers. He’s put 28-of-56 shots on goal this summer, ultimately shooting 14%. Logan Wisnauskas scored three times. He’s shooting 58%. Defenders Ben Randall and Jake Piseno played at a high level. 

Carolina led 5-2; the Outlaws have been slow-starting all summer. Denver woke up and went on a 6-0 run. 

Carolina did not give up. Denver found an extra gear with the score tied at 8-8 late in the game to capture a must-needed win. Justin Anderson’s dive from GLE and Kavanagh’s solo score were clutch. 

I keep waiting for Denver to hit their stride; they’ll need to find more rhythm and flow on offense to win a PLL title. I expect them to wake up at home this weekend. 

Denver faces Utah on Friday night and Philadelphia on Saturday night as part of their homecoming weekend in the Mile High City. Those are two games where the pacing and flow may be divergent. 

3. Utah Archers

Record: 4-4, +22
Last week: 18-8 W vs. Waterdogs
Up next: Denver, Maryland
The Archers are surging after back-to-back blowout wins over New York and Philadelphia. They’ve allowed just 71 scores in eight games and have a defense of historical significance. 

Tre Leclaire had nine points, including a pair of 2-point bombs in the win over Philly. Ryan Stines had four points and remains a frontrunner in the Rookie of the Year debate. Lockdown defender Brendan Lavelle did sensational work limiting CJ Kirst. Utah gained momentum before a 93-minute lightning delay and then finished the job. The score went from 4-4 with 9:11 to play in the second quarter to 11-5. Mac O’Keefe, Connor Fields, Leclaire, Sam King and Stines are on the same page now. Coaching matters in the PLL. 

Utah (4-4) has a plus-22 score differential and the best defense in the PLL. The combination of stout SSDMs, solid cover men down low and a simple scheme executed smartly, plus a dash of goalie Brett Dobson, is proving tough to solve by opposing offenses. The defense keeps Utah in the championship conversation. 

The Archers square off with Denver on Friday and then play Maryland on Saturday. That’s a very challenging doubleheader in altitude. 

4. Philadelphia Waterdogs

Record: 4-3, -14
Last week: 18-8 L vs. Archers
Up next: Atlas, Outlaws
The Waterdogs’ 18-8 loss to Utah snaps a three-game streak and puts a microscope on some of Philadelphia’s issues including midfield defense, goaltending, midfield scoring and defensive slide packages. Too often, Philadelphia makes the same mistake twice. How many times can a defender be caught ball-watching? How many bad slides to non-threats without a second slide are you going to make? 

This team has the talent to contend but needs to clean up some of the winning details. The Waterdogs turn their attention to New York on Friday in Denver before a heavyweight matchup vs. the hometown Outlaws.

5. Boston Cannons

Record: 4-4, +2
Last week: 15-13 W vs. Atlas
Up next: Carolina

Boston defeated New York on Sunday on ABC, 15-13, with a comeback, down 11-5 in the late stages of the second quarter. A Marcus Holman screened 2-pointer from distance with :01 before the break cut New York's lead to 11-8. That was three points in five seconds. Then after halftime, Boston shut the Atlas out for the entire third quarter. Rookies Mikey Weisshaar and Jack Regnery both scored three times. They won despite not getting to 50% saves and were less than 50% at the face-off stripe. Their defense marked Connor Shellenberger well, holding him to one shot. The PLL rivals combined for 90 shots. 

The Cannons have won three-straight games after a 1-4 start to the summer, scoring 15 times in each win. Confidence is high. Playing style and identity have been found. That’s leadership and buy-in. They are plus-2 in score differential and continue to overachieve. 

On Saturday in Denver, they will be favored over Carolina. 

6. California Redwoods

Record: 4-4, -11
Last week: 20-7 L vs. Whipsnakes
Up next: Bye

Goalie Dillon Ward has been under intense pressure in consecutive losses, the latest a 20-7 setback to Maryland that further confirms that California defensive personnel and execution are subpar. The Redwoods have been lit up in recent weeks, losing three of their last four while giving up 15, 13, 15 and 20. 

Attackman Dylan Molloy shot 0-for-5. Michael Leo (1A), Ryder Garnsey (1A), Molloy (0G, 0A) and Andrew McAdorey (0G, 0A) were all held in check. A bright spot has been two-way midfielder Sam English, who has scored 10 goals and has added four assists, most effective in their 32-second shot clock offense. 

California 4-4 is just like Boston — with an entirely different trajectory. The ‘Woods have a bye week and will not play in Denver. They’ll play Carolina and New York in Columbus. 

7. New York Atlas

Record: 3-5, -20
Last week: 15-13 L vs. Cannons
Up next: Philadelphia
Atlas lost another one, 15-13, on Sunday in front of a national TV audience on ABC. Trevor Baptiste returned to the lineup and he gave his team a possession advantage in the first half. They led 11-5 in the second quarter but didn’t get enough offense from their attack when the dust settled. Boston went on a run in the third but New York tied it at 12-12 in the fourth quarter. The Atlas never quit, tried hard but came up short. Bryan Costabile finished with four points on 10 shots and continues to flash. Matt Traynor added a hat trick. The defense has surrendered 16 and 15 in consecutive losses. The 2025 champs are being exposed without Michael Grace and Gavin Adler. 

New York sits alone at the bottom of the Eastern standings with a minus-20 score differential. Right now New York and Carolina are the two teams in the PLL that don’t qualify for the postseason. Four weekends remain, so there is time for ascension. I think it’s a race to at least 6 wins and probably seven to qualify for the quarters in Minneapolis on August 29. The semis are being played on Monday Sept. 7 in Salt Lake City — that's Labor Day lacrosse. And the PLL final will be played on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 20, in New Jersey. 

New York and Philly take the field on Friday night in Denver.

8. Carolina Chaos

Record: 3-4, -15
Last week: 10-8 L vs. Outlaws
Up next: Boston
The Chaos have lost three-straight games and four of their last five. This weekend it was a 10-8 loss to Denver. The offense is putrid. Carolina has 26 assists in eight games, less than 3.5 per game. Part scheme and part personnel, the ball dies in sticks and is rarely swung east to west or behind to up top. Their defense competed valiantly to keep the score tied at 8-8 late before giving up the final two scores. 

The Chaos are in the basement of the Western conference and face off with Boston on Saturday afternoon at Denver. 

Quint Kessenich covers the PLL for ESPN.

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