Premier Lacrosse League semi-finals review, Cash App Championship preview

The Premier Lacrosse League is heading into the championship weekend, as the Utah Archers will be taking on the Maryland Whipsnakes.

Let’s take you back to last weekend when the semi-finals took place. The first of the two matchups took place between the number four seed in the league, the Maryland Whipsnakes, against the number one seeded team after the season, the New York Atlas.

In a matchup where the Atlas were the top seed and a team that many people had hoped would win, they suffered a crushing one-point loss to the Maryland Whipsnakes.

And one of Penn State’s own, TJ Malone, was one of the most crucial pieces in the win for the Whipsnakes. He scored three one-point goals and added an assist in the win.

Colin Heacock and Levi Anderson were also key contributors for the Whipsnakes, as they both had three one-point goals in the matchup this past weekend.

Maryland’s offensive attack will be its strong suit as it enters the championship game.

The other semifinal matchup that took place this past weekend was between the Utah Archers and the Carolina Chaos.

The strength of the Archers was too much for Carolina, as six different players scored for the Archers. They dominated the Chaos with a 10-1 convincing semi-final victory.

Going into the final stretch, the Archers are hoping to explode with one final test this weekend.

Final Preview

The history between the Whipsnakes and Archers this season came back in Week 5 when the Archers were able to come out victorious in a high-scoring game 16-11.

So it’s no surprise that both teams bring in an explosive offensive, with an average of just over 13 goals for each team this season.

However, the Archers in this matchup led by their goaltender Brett Dobson, have the higher save percentage in this battle at a 57% clip on the season.

A key matchup in the game contains two former Philadelphia standout lacrosse players going head to head.

Matt Rambo of the Maryland Whipsnakes comes from LaSalle High School and comes into the championship game with 18 points through nine games.

The other Philly player in this matchup is a Penn State graduate, Grant Ament.

In a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Ament notched an incredible 44 points off of 31 assists in only seven games that season.

Ament was an incredible high school lacrosse athlete as well, leading the Haverford School to a 26-0 record in 2015 with an insane 37 goals and 83 assists his senior season.

Rambo is the veteran in this matchup, as he played in the same stadium, Subaru Park, back in 2019. In that championship, he scored the game-tying and game-winning goals for his squad.

Both teams know the stakes of what is likely going to be a high-scoring matchup in the City of Brotherly Love this Sunday.

Philadelphia will be packed for an exciting PLL championship match, which will be live on ABC and ESPN+ at 3 p.m. EST.

Giustino Racchini is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him please email him at gar5448@psu.edu.