Premier Lacrosse League championship teams face-off for second time in Philly: ‘We’re thrilled to be back’

Premier Lacrosse League president and cofounder Paul Rabil reflected on the last time he was at Subaru Park in Chester for the league’s championship game: It was in 2019 — the PPL’s inaugural season.

“We’re thrilled to be back here in Philadelphia,” Rabil said. “We’ll continue to come back to Philadelphia for our playoff, championship moments. So as [long as] Philadelphia continues to support us, we’ll give that back.”

Initially a six-team league, PLL has expanded to eight, with the addition of the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club in 2020 and Cannons LC in 2021.

On Sunday, the league returns to Subaru Park, where Chaos Lacrosse Club will go up against the Waterdogs in the championship game at 3 p.m. (ESPN).

Chaos, the No. 7 seed, won the championship last season over the Whipsnakes by a score of 14-9 and have made three playoff appearances since the league was formed. However, they’ve had a rough season, finishing 2-8, just good enough for seventh place and the final playoff spot.

Chaos defender Jack Rowlett believes the team has grown from those regular-season losses and has rediscovered its confidence. He also mentioned head coach Andy Towers’ weekly message has been to keep moving forward.

“I think all these teams face unique hurdles,” Towers said. “But I don’t think anybody faced the ones that we had to face. The fact that these guys seemingly got stronger, after many frustrating results over the course of the summer, speaks volumes about how committed these guys are to our team’s goals, and to helping each other as teammates reach that.”

One of the Chaos’ strong suits is defense, led by goalie Blaze Riorden.

Riorden, who plays indoors for the Philadelphia Wings of the NLL, boasts a 54% save percentage and said the Chaos will look to play six-on-six coverage against the Waterdogs.

Meanwhile, the No. 5 seed Waterdogs earned their championship spot after pulling off a close one in the semifinals against the Whipsnakes, 11-10. Attacker Kieran McArdle led the way, scoring three goals in the final minutes of the game.

The Waterdogs (5-5) started the season 0-3, but turned it around with a five-game winning streak in the middle of the summer to earn a postseason spot.

“If we’ve done anything well we have the right locker room,” said Waterdogs coach Andy Copeland. “I feel really good about that, it’s made some challenging times easier to handle. … This is all about trying to play our best and have a great time. We have two great playoff wins under our belt, but all of the focus is on Sunday.”

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That said, Copeland’s team has struggled to find consistency offensively, despite ranking second in the league in scoring. He prefers when his team plays fast and quickly transitions from defense to offense. Against the Chaos, Copeland is prepared to make in-game adjustments, like rotating players in on face-offs. He also wants to see responsible shooting from his attackers.

As the PLL continues to evolve, the league introduced a new playoff model for the first time this season, compared to previous years when the top seven teams made the playoffs, with the No. 1 seed getting a bye.

This year, Rabil introduced a three-city championship series, where the No. 2 seed takes on the No. 7, the No. 3-seed matches up with the No. 6, and No. 4 goes against the No. 5 the quarterfinals. The results are an unexpected championship matchup.

Chaos knocked off No. 2 seed Chrome, 11-3, in the first round, and disposed off No. 3 Archers, 9-7, last Sunday.

“We are always looking at ways to improve,” Rabil said. “Gathering feedback from our audiences, players, and coaches. I just care about playoff lacrosse and I believe a seven and a five seed can put on a show in a championship game, which we will see this Sunday.”