I’ve given myself about a week to marinate on the Championship Series. WLL action, PLL action, the venue, the play, all sorts of stories to follow. In the days I was there it felt like a whirlwind of lacrosse. Most of my days were consumed by catching up college lacrosse or organizing my notes from the pro games the night before, and then evenings featured a pair of games and pressers that followed. I didn’t want to be too impulsive in my look back at the event. So this week I went back to my notes with fresher eyes in an attempt to get an honest reaction to the event. Here’s what I thought was successful, and what I thought might need a bit more work.
I LOVED
The two point line becoming an afterthought
In 2023, Romar Dennis was must see TV. In five games at the Championship Series he hit 15 two pointers thanks to a shorter two point line and teams being new to the format. And because he shoots the hell out of the ball. That year, there were 70 two pointers hit. Last year, there were 61. This year, 43 two pointers were hit. In the title game, Boston only attempted three two point shots and didn’t hit a single one, despite having shooters like Matt Campbell and Marcus Holman on the floor. The Archers roster construction was a major reason why. They brought their excellent SSDM trio of Connor Maher, Beau Pederson, and Piper Bond, along with converted defender Mason Woodward. All four could defend one on one at the arc, and they challenge teams to beat them off the dodge or win with ones. As a result, there was more of the Sixes play we can actually expect in the Olympics with no two point line. Dodging to space or to try and move the defense, looking inside for high percentage looks, or creating shots with off ball picks and more creative offensive play. The two pointer tends to get force fed to us for the event; it’s always the thing that hits social first, leading up to the event the league pushes out stats and shot charts about who can hit a ton of twos, but that just wasn’t how it was played this year. The event was better for it.
Autograph seekers
The crowds hunting autographs were fun to see as always. But I was totally unprepared for the mayhem that was the Charlotte North crowds. The images appear on social media, Charlotte surrounded by fans four to five rows deep, and then a massive line of fans waiting their turn to get a photo or have her sign a ball, shirt, anything. The venue ultimately had to provide a security team of three to four people who steered North from place to place post game if she was going through public spaces. I simply have never seen anything like it. Even at the height of Paul Rabil’s playing prime, and maybe I just don’t remember or wasn’t aware, I don’t think he ever needed security to create paths through crowds of fans. The advent of the social media age and new levels of accessibility to star athlete’s changed things; Rabil was at the forefront of that with his early adoption of a personal YouTube channel and other outlets. But North is a different animal entirely. The crowds grew every day, even bringing over people who weren’t there for the lacrosse event just out of sheer curiosity.
The HBCU All Star game
Sort of an under the radar event without much buzz, but on Sunday night, PLL Assists put on an HBCU All Star game. Sixes was the format, and it was a ton of fun. A mens’ game and womens’ game were played. A few people stuck around after the WLL/PLL action, but the crowd was mostly HBCU supporters who came out for the event and other players from the teams that players represented. I’ll always be up to go watch a lacrosse game. Any level, doesn’t matter. Top tier pros, beginners, and everything in between. The level of play in the HBCU game was great, there were some electric dodges and highlight plays that had people out of their seats. I didn’t see quite as many clips and cameras captured for social media as usual, but anyone who stayed to watch themselves got a treat. It was a great stage for an event that, particularly during Black History Month, was equal parts fun and important.
Larger roster and better recovery
We assumed before the first Championship Series that the event would be a grind. A game of sixes each day for almost a full week is grueling. Year one and two players were clearly fatigued as the event went on. Last year, there were a rash of injuries that left teams scrambling to find replacement players. If you had DI experience and lived reasonably close to DC, and could be there on a day’s notice, you may have gotten a phone call. If a team got down to 9 available field players it could grab a replacement, but otherwise, they just had to go with a short bench. This year, the PLL addressed that, and they set up the WLL for success with it from the get go with the same scheduling. With the format change, each team had three games in five days during the round robin stage. Two days off for recovery goes a long way. On top of that, the roster was expanded. While only 12 players still dressed for a game, teams were permitted to roster 13 for the event, meaning that be it for injury or just for rest, teams had some wiggle room to sit a player each game. Cannons midfielder Jeff Trainor partially tore his MCL before game play even began, but the Cannons ultimately weren’t stuck with a short bench for the games as a result. The event is still a physical grind, but this was a major improvement.
A great debut for the WLL
Pound for pound the WLL just had a better week than the PLL. Not a contest, just stating the obvious. The games were better, the action was more exciting, the stars shined brighter. Charlotte North Mania was a major headline. While the PLL games were mostly blowouts, the average margin of victory in the WLL round robin games was just over two goals. Taylor Moreno scored a goalie goal. Kendall Halpern put on defensive master classes. It was one outstanding game after another. Players like Meg Carney and Emily Hawryschuk stepped into long range shots that showcased a shooting acumen on par with the best in the world, regardless of sex. The biggest star turn probably belonged to Sydni Black who came out of the gates on fire and was cooking defenders with dodges that had people gasping. Some of the stars of the mens game, including Will Manny and Kyle Harrison, took to social media marveling at Black’s quickness and dodging ability. Every game was in doubt the whole way through, had moments of brilliance, and had good crowds. There were scores of signs and cheering fans over the weekend for WLL games. Girls and boys both lined up for WLL autographs. I’m not sure how it could have gone better for the WLL.
I HATED
The Golden Stick
The Golden Stick is giving to the highest scoring player both on the men’s and women’s side of the event. Not most valuable, not most outstanding, strictly the highest scoring player. Matt Campbell and Emily Hawryschuk won the award this year. This is not meant to be critical of them, or of any past winners. In the first year of the Championship Series, Romar Dennis was a force of nature, pulling up from midfield and hitting two pointers in bunches. As noted above, he changed the way we thought about the event. The Golden Stick that year felt like something that was created just to acknowledge his performance with actual hardware, and then it carried forward. This year, the format changed to include a bye week for the top team. Because that’s one less game for the best team in the round robin stage, anyone from the team with the bye almost certainly can’t/won’t win the award. An odd punishment for being on the top team. It also is unwinnable for goalies, and we’ve seen for years that a hot goalie in the format can flat out deliver wins. Last year Matt DeLuca was electric and one of the primary reasons the Waterdogs were an OT goal away from the title. This year Colin Kirst set a record for saves in a Championship Series with 72, and made 15 in the title game. He also made a flurry of saves in OT in the semifinals to keep the Cannons alive to complete their miracle comeback win against New York. Madison Doucette was electric for the Charging, and Taylor Moreno made eye popping saves and athletic plays for Palms. Goalies can change a game in sixes, at times even more so than a field player can. It’s time to scrap the Golden Stick, or change it to a Most Outstanding Player award that any participant can win.
Blowouts
The PLL games were not, at least from a score perspective, particularly compelling. The lone exception was the Atlas/Cannons semifinal, which was one of the most fun and chaotic finishes I’ve seen in a long time. Otherwise, it wasn’t pretty. There were seven other PLL games outside that one, including the title game. The average margin of victory in those other games was 7.8 goals. For a year where there weren’t nearly as many twos being hit, that’s particularly ugly. Sixes as a format leads to a feeling that teams are never really out of it. The deficit is never really out of reach, and no lead is really all that comfortable. One coach suggested that being up by 10 might be enough to feel comfortable. But 10 goal leads are exceptionally rare. Even with the “anything can happen” and “you’re never out of it” vibe to Sixes, a lot of the games felt over early. That takes energy out of the crowd, makes a TV viewer change the channel, it’s just a buzz kill. You still may see some incredible individual plays because those are always moments away in Sixes, but the result of games being decided early in the game was unfortunate. Combating this is hard,
Late games and light crowds on weekdays
I am old. I have an early bedtime. You youngins may be able to stay up all hours, but that catches up with me pretty fast. Between the PLL and WLL, we had some late games. There was a 9pm start on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The 8pm starts on Friday and Saturday weren’t as bad. And I know, the games are fast, a 9pm start is over by 10:15. What’s the big deal? Well after that we do press conferences with both teams, then I finish organizing notes and writing a bit and before you know it, it’s midnight. Chaining days together like this is difficult. But I don’t want to seem selfish here, this isn’t all about me. From a fan perspective, the 9pm starts can be tough too. So much of the Championship Series, and really pro lacrosse as a whole, targets a younger demographic. Capture the eyes of young players and fans who love the opportunity to connect with players and have access they might not have in other pro sports environments. Selling a parent with a nine year old on a 9pm start can be tough, particularly on a weeknight. In past years start times were “happy hour” lacrosse times, 5:30pm and 7:30pm or so. I much prefer that. The weekend crowds were, as they’ve been in the past, electric. Sellouts that were loud and dialed into the action. Weekday crowds much less so.