EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWeek 12 of the Premier Lacrosse League season is Throwback Weekend in Boston, with action on Friday and Saturday from Harvard.Former announcer/producer/content creator and Hall of Famer Leif Elsmo will be back on the air to announce two games on Friday with me on ESPN+ as part of the celebration.A reminder on the playoffs: The top teams in the Eastern and Western conferences earn a quarterfinal bye, while the last place teams are eliminated. The quarterfinals will be played in Minneapolis on Aug. 29. The semis are on Sept. 7 in Salt Lake City. The PLL championship will be played on ABC on Sept. 20 in Harrison, New Jersey.Here's how the teams line up for me heading into this weekend:1. Philadelphia WaterdogsCurrent record: 7-3Next opponent: ByePrevious ranking: 2Philly cruised past Carolina in Week 11, locking up a playoff berth in the process. Michael Sowers has five straight games with hat tricks, and he finished with five points against the Chaos.The Waterdogs are now 3-0 with rookie goalie Sean Byrne. He's allowed 7.3 points per game, with a 63.6% save percentage.Philly does not play in Boston, but will challenge Maryland and New York at home on Aug. 15 and 16.2. Boston CannonsCurrent record: 5-5Next opponent: vs. Whipsnakes | Friday, 6 p.m.; vs. Redwoods | Saturday, 8 p.m.Previous ranking: 5Boston defeated Utah last Friday 11-7, giving the Cannons five wins after winning four of their last five following a 1-4 start.Head coach Brian Holman's decision to start JC Higginbotham over Colin Kirst in goal delivered immediate results, as Higginbotham posted a 61% save percentage.Breakout Brian Kelly scored four times and was the MVP against the Archers. Andrew McMeekin, rookie FOGO from Princeton, smoked Utah at the dot, going 71%. Mikey Weisshaar and Coulter Mackesy continue to make positive contributions.Boston hosts two games against fellow five-win teams this weekend at Harvard: they play Maryland on Friday and California on Saturday.3. Utah ArchersCurrent record: 6-5Next opponent: vs. Chaos | Friday, 8:30 p.m.Previous ranking: 1Utah lost 11-7 to Boston in Week 11. The Archers are now 6-5 with a plus-28 score differential that will come in handy to break ties.Goalie Brett Dobson lost his cool against the Cannons, overprotecting his crease area with undo force and accumulated a handful of penalty minutes. Meanwhile, the Archers offense sputtered. They were 1-for-8 on the power play, shot 7-of-42 in total and missed their first 11 shots of the game.Utah finishes their regular season against Carolina on Friday; a win in that game can lock up the Western Conference bye.4. Maryland WhipsnakesCurrent record: 5-5Next opponent: vs. Cannons | Friday, 6 p.m.Previous ranking: 3Maryland had a brutal 14-13 loss to Denver in Week 11, after building a 10-4 lead.The Whips offense became stagnant for head coach Jim Stagnitta, managing to score only three second-half goals; the attack combined for one point. They missed their first 10 shots of the second half.Maryland did not dress a FOGO against the Outlaws -- and lost the faceoff battle 26-3. The Whipsnakes' rookie SSDMs made mistakes at crunch time. They'll look to get back on track against the Cannons on Friday night.5. Denver OutlawsCurrent record: 5-5Next opponent: vs. Atlas | Saturday, 1 p.m.Previous ranking: 4The Outlaws' comeback win over the Whipsnakes in Week 11 was highly unpredictable because they were playing without pillars Pat Kavanagh and Jared Bernhardt.Down 10-4 with 3:30 to go before halftime, Denver's 8-0 run to pull out a victory could alter the trajectory of their season. All eight of those scores was from the stick of Brennan O'Neill or Dalton Young. Eight goals in 15 and a half minutes while the defense and goalie Owen McElroy pitched a shutout.Ryan Terefenko, an Ohio State alum on his college turf, scored the finisher for Denver with 4.4 seconds to play.Denver plays New York on Saturday in a 2025 championship rematch with different stakes this time around.6. California RedwoodsCurrent record: 5-5Next opponent: vs. Cannons | Saturday, 8 p.m.Previous ranking: 6The Redwoods went 24-for-24 at the faceoff dot and they lost? How is that possible?California's 32-second offensive plan to win faceoffs out the backside and then alley dodge the Chaos was misguided, and led to a 12-10 defeat.California bounced back in their second game of Week 11 with a resounding win over New York after trailing 4-0. Up 9-8 at half, the Woods put up 21 goals, all singles, to set the season's single-game scoring mark. It's what they needed. Chris Kavanagh scored five goals and seven points, Josh Balcarcel had a career-high six points, and Andrew McAdorey provided speed all over the field.California plays Boston this week and Denver next week in Philly. There are four teams jumbled in the West, and the top three make the postseason:Utah: 6-5 | +28 score differentialDenver: 5-5 | -4 score differentialCalifornia: 5-5 | -5 score differentialCarolina: 5-6 | -19 score differential7. Carolina ChaosCurrent record: 5-6Next opponent: vs. Archers | Friday, 8:30 p.m.Previous ranking: 7The minus-19 in scoring differential has Carolina in last place in the West as the end of the season closes in. Their 12-10 win over California in Columbus was miraculous -- after going 0-for-24 on faceoffs.The quick turnaround game against Philadelphia, however, was a disaster. The Chaos just seem over their head against the top PLL teams. They fell behind 5-0 and then 8-1.The Chaos signed FOGO Nick Rowlett to a contract, and take on the Archers on Friday.8. New York AtlasCurrent record: 3-7Next opponent: vs. Outlaws | Saturday, 1 p.m.Previous ranking: 8The 2025 champions are 3-7 with a minus-29 score differential. That differential will seal their fate as a non-playoff qualifier.New York's leading passer and reigning league MVP Connor Shellenberger injured his hip flexor at practice this past Saturday and was scratched.Beyond his absence, the Atlas' Week 11 loss was the worst display of team defense I've seen in a while. Poor slides, misaligned approaches, no second slides, shaky on ball defense, communication gaffes ... everything was off for the defense, and so goalie Liam Entenmann got shelled in a big way in a 21-13 loss. He had no help.New York faces Denver on Saturday, then closes with the Waterdogs in Philly next weekend.
