Connor Fields’ run with Chaos LC came to an end earlier this morning when the Premier Lacrosse League announced that the star attackman and Albany grad was traded to Archers LC. The Chaos will receive midfielder Ian MacKay in exchange.

OFFICIAL TRADE

Chaos has traded @connorfields05 to the Archers for @IanMacKay_94. pic.twitter.com/B5wfepPlNo

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) February 25, 2021

“The desire is to keep everybody on our roster from last summer,” Chaos head coach Andy Towers said last week. “The unfortunate part is that you’re probably not going to be able to do that.”

Towers called Fields the best player in the world during the PLL’s inaugural season, when Fields was a finalist for the Jim Brown MVP Award and the Eamon McEaney Attackman of the Year. His flashy play earned plaudits, and his 22 regular season goals in 2019, tied for second in the league, helped the Chaos secure the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

Connor Fields is a magician pic.twitter.com/WXOetxKV5p

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) June 9, 2019

The move felt inevitable, however, in the wake of last summer, when Fields was benched after the Chaos went 0-4 in the group play stage of the two-week fully quarantined Championship Series in Utah. Fields tallied six goals, one assist and 10 turnovers in the four losses. The Chaos subsequently went on a tear in the playoffs, defeating the Archers and Chrome to secure a spot in the Championship Series final.

“It has nothing to do with Connor Fields and everything to do with us as coaches trying to prioritize winning,” Towers said a couple days before the final, when his club ultimately fell 12-6 to the Whipsnakes. “We weren’t successful in round-robin play. We needed to try some other things, and we’re just trying to put the winning combination on the field. To Connor Fields’ credit, he was supportive of his team in a first-class way the last game. All he wants to do is win.”

The addition of a scoring threat like Fields to the Archers will be one of the most intriguing storylines of the 2021 season. The team already boasts a strong attack with Marcus Holman, Will Manny and 2020 rookie of the year Grant Ament, not to mention two-time midfielder of the year Tom Schreiber, who in 2020 was voted by his peers as the No.1 overall player in the league.

MacKay, a two-time captain at the University of Vermont, registered five points during the Championship Series.