Little did Jack Kelly know about the journey he was set to embark on when he went down with a knee injury while playing for his country in 2018.

Once on top of the lacrosse world, Kelly had to work for nearly three years to get back on the field after suffering a torn ACL. Assigned to the Redwoods at the very founding of the Premier Lacrosse League, Kelly was shown a sign of faith when coach Nat St. Laurent stuck with him.

Kelly was finally able to reward St. Laurent for that confidence this past weekend on Long Island at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.

Called upon in the second half to replace starter Tim Troutner, Kelly backed the Redwoods to a comeback 19-16 win over the Waterdogs on Saturday.

“Emotional, to say the least,” Kelly said. “Sort of fighting back tears the entire game, like I am now. It’s been a long road. It’s been about three years now … almost like three years to the day that I got hurt. It’s been a tough road, but I just sort of stayed with it.”

Kelly made five saves as his Redwoods dug themselves out of an early 7-3 hole. A late first-half surge helped the Redwoods force a tie at 10 at the break. Then they rode Kelly’s play and a strong offensive output to victory. After the game, St. Laurent presented Kelly with the game ball.

“2018 was the last time he got to play lacrosse,” St. Laurent said. “To be able to give him the game ball in a minute with the team, the winning and losses, being a part of it is great, but these moments are special.”

It was an important victory for the Redwoods, breaking a two-game losing streak after starting off the year hot. Sergio Perkovic put up eight points on four goals, two of the two-point variety, and two assists. Ryder Garnsey, Jules Heningburg, Rob Pannell and Myles Jones all added four points.

Rabil retakes points record

Cannons LC midfielder and PLL co-founder Paul Rabil has reclaimed his crown as pro field lacrosse’s all-time points king.

Rabil previously set the record while playing in Major League Lacrosse, but the title was reclaimed by John Grant Jr. when he came out of retirement to suit up for the Denver Outlaws. 

Now it once again belongs to Rabil after he notched point No. 644. Unfortunately for his Cannons, the historic moment came in a defeat. The Chaos got hat tricks from a pair of rookies in Mac O’Keefe and Ryan Smith to win 14-10 and continue a frustrating first season in the PLL circuit for the Cannons.

@PaulRabil @PLLCannons pic.twitter.com/sDCjMoA6fy

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) July 3, 2021

“Bittersweet hitting this milestone yet coming up short in the game,” Rabil tweeted. “Maybe that’s the lesson. Fighting through the downs. Knowing it never gets easier. You’ve gotta love the ride. Be steadfast and focused. And lucky. And Old. With great teammates and coaches. Thank you, lacrosse.”

In a game featuring two teams in need of a win, the Chaos received a 65-percent performance at the faceoff X from Max Adler and strong showings from Josh Byrne and Chris Cloutier to help out the rookies. Byrne notched five points and Cloutier had four as the Chaos won for a second straight time. They started the season 0-3.

Meanwhile, the Cannons have been competitive all season but sit at the bottom of the standings at 1-4.

Whipsnakes overcome ailments, Archers face setback

The Whipsnakes offense was far from full strength, playing without 2019 MVP Matt Rambo and rookie Connor Kirst. Still, the two-time defending champions pulled out a victory in an anticipated meeting of the PLL’s top title contenders.

Jay Carlson scored his third goal of the game with just over 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, lifting the Whips to a 15-14 win against Archers on Sunday. It was a tight contest throughout, with the two heavyweights matching each other’s offensive output in the first, second and fourth quarters.

The Whipsnakes got a big five-point performance from Brad Smith and had six players find the back of the net to make up for their absences and help the team bounce back from its first loss since the 2019 season.

JAY CARLSON WITH 32 SECONDS LEFT! @PLLWhipsnakes take the lead on Long Island pic.twitter.com/KkHfwLNhYu

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) July 4, 2021

The game marked half of a weekend to forget for the Archers, who had entered play looking unstoppable on offense. The matchup seemed destined to be a meeting of undefeated teams, but Chrome singlehandedly ended that by upending the Whips last weekend and handing the Archers their first loss on Friday.

The Chrome defense held the Archers in the single digits in scoring for the first time this season to pull off an 8-7 upset. That was also the lowest goal total in Archers history.

“I think that everyone is still figuring themselves out, and that was the message to our unit before the Whipsnakes game,” said Chrome goalie John Galloway, who was a big part of the team’s midseason resurgence. “We’ve got to stop talking about our opponent and worrying about the guys on the other side. We really focused on the opportunity to prove ourselves and not talk too much about the talent over there.”

The Chrome held the Archers to 17 percent shooting, and Colin Heacock scored four times, hitting on the game-winning, go-ahead goal with 13 seconds remaining.

HEACOCK CALLED GAME!

Colin Heacock with the game-winner with 13 seconds remaining @PLLChrome take down @PLLArchers 8-7 in #FridayNightLacrosse pic.twitter.com/W9IjXXRuln

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 3, 2021

Bulls on parade

The Chrome weren’t able to pull off a perfect weekend due to the Atlas, another one of the PLL’s teams on the upswing. The young core continues to impress, with Bryan Costabile leading the charge this week with a six-point performance in a 16-10 victory Sunday.

Romar Dennis also had his strongest showing of the season — by far — notching five points on two one-point goals, one two-pointer and one assist. Jeff Teat didn’t match his seven-goal extravaganza from last week, but he did finish with three points to tie fellow rookie Danny Logan for third on the team.

“We’ve all come together and put a lot of emphasis on working hard for each other,” Atlas faceoff man Trevor Baptiste said. “Something we like to say is ‘family style.’ We play family style. That’s our identity.”

It wasn’t all good news for the Atlas. Goalie Jack Concannon left in the fourth quarter due to injury. Coach Ben Rubeor did not have an update on his status during his postgame press conference.

Noteworthy

The Archers’ Will Manny moved into 10th on the pro field lacrosse all-time points chart when he pushed his total to 372 on Sunday. … Despite the excellent play of John Galloway as of late, the Chrome gave entry draft pick Sean Sconone his first action in the PLL against the Atlas. He made eight saves. It was the weekend of the backup goalie, as Kelly and the Atlas’ JD Colarusso both got time between the pipes. … There were some must-see goals scored on Hofstra’s campus, but perhaps none better than Grant Ament’s ankle-breaker against the Whipsnakes. He sits atop the league in points (22) and assists (15). … This week brought a handful of transactions, including players coming off the Unavailable to Travel list. That group included the Archers’ Tre Leclaire, the Chaos’ Tanner Cook and Chase Fraser and the Cannons’ Shayne Jackson. Two players switched teams this week, with Brian Phipps going from the Redwoods to the Whipsnakes and TJ Comizio going from the Whipsnakes to the Chrome. … The Chaos released Sergio Salcido, originally acquired from the Redwoods in the Myles Jones trade. The Cannons brought in Peyton Smith and Tim Edwards.

Up Next

The PLL heads to the Midwest and Minneapolis next week. All times eastern:

• Waterdogs vs. Cannons, 8 p.m. Friday (Peacock)

• Redwoods vs. Whipsnakes, 6 p.m. Saturday (NBCSN)

• Atlas vs. Chaos, 8:45 p.m. Saturday (Peacock)

• Chrome vs. Waterdogs, 4:45 p.m. Sunday (Peacock)

• Cannons vs. Archers, 7:30 p.m. Sunday (NBCSN)