The second of two Friday night PLL Week 2 games in Charlotte saw Chaos LC match up against Archers LC. Each team was looking to rebound from a narrow loss to open the season the week prior. Archers were still without the services of Grant Ament, with no definitive word on his return. Chaos were without several key players, but welcomed Austin Staats back to their roster. Paced by another big performance from attackman Will Manny, Archers defeated Chaos 17-12 to even their record at 1-1 and drop the defending champions to 0-2 on the season.
Striking Early and Often
Marcus Holman opened the scoring for Archers, beating Chaos goaltender Blaze Riorden less than a minute into the game (0:54). Ryan Ambler (2g; 3:36) extended the lead to 2-0. Chaos defender CJ Costabile (5 total points) began his big night at 5:32, tying the game with a 2-point goal. Holman (6:11) would add his second goal 40 seconds later, then Will Manny (5g) would find the back of the net twice in a 22-second span (8:23; 8:45) to give Archers a three-goal lead.
Chaos would get one back at the 10:28 mark, courtesy of Archers defender Dominique Alexander. In attempting to clear a loose ball after an errant shot by attacker Mac O’Keefe during a Chaos power play, Alexander accidentally directed the ball past Archers netminder Adam Ghitelman for an own-goal. Kyle Jackson (2g, 1a) was credited with the goal, being the closest Chaos player to the ball at the time it crossed the goal line.
Archers continued to pour it on with their balanced attack in the second quarter. Rookie Matt Moore (3g, 1a) would tally the first two goals of his PLL career, back-to-back (3:22; 6:02). O’Keefe (1g, 2a; 9:55) would break up the run, but hardly stop it. Tom Schreiber scored a 2-point goal of his own (10:42), and Manny would follow with his hat trick goal (11:52) to put Archers up 10-4 at halftime.
Bringing the Sting
Tre Leclaire (1g, 1a; 1:37) would extend Archers’ lead to 11-4 to start the second half, but Chaos would score six of the next seven points to close the gap. Ryan Smith (4:49) scored on a power play (Chaos were 4 of 6 on the power play for the evening). Costabile would then provide his own one-two punch, scoring his second 2-point goal at 5:01, then scoring again eight seconds later (5:09). Moore (5:47) would notch his first career hat trick, to again slow, but not stop, the Chaos run. Jackson’s second of the night (6:03) and Staats’ first goal of the season (6:42) made it 12-10 with 15 minutes left to play.
Manny’s fourth goal of the night (3:17 fourth quarter) put Archers back up by three. Smith’s second power play goal (4:51) and TJ Comizio’s transition marker (5:49) pulled Chaos to within one. But they would get no closer, as Manny (8:59) scored his fifth goal, forcing Chaos to pull Riorden for an extra attacker in the closing minutes of the game. Archers would capitalize, with Ambler (11:08) and Matt Trainor (11:49; 2-point goal) scoring empty-netters to seal the victory.
Chaos hosts Redwoods (also 0-2) next Saturday in Week 3 action from Long Island, New York. Archers will host Cannons in the final game of the weekend on Saturday.
Other Stats of Note
- Ground Balls: Chaos 34; Archers 22
- Thomas Kelly (Chaos): 14 of 25 on faceoffs
- Riorden (Chaos): 10 saves; Ghitelman (Archers): 11 saves
Caused Turnovers: Chaos 6, Archers 4
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“Muffler” Mike Kostiuk was formally introduced to box lacrosse when he attended a New England Black Wolves game on a whim in 2016. Instantly hooked, he has since become an avid follower of the National Lacrosse League. Following the postponement of the 2019-2020 NLL season, he was offered the chance to share his wealth of statistical knowledge and unique insights with the lacrosse community at large. He cheerfully accepted, and currently serves as Edge of Philly’s correspondent for both the Albany FireWolves and New York Riptide.
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