Archers Win West, Waterdogs Upset Atlas to Close Regular Season

A third-quarter flurry of seven goals gave the Utah Archers the swing it needed to finish off an undefeated homecoming weekend at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, on Saturday night.

In a battle with the Denver Outlaws for the top seed in the Western Conference on the final day of the regular season, Utah triumphed 13-9 thanks to a 7-1 third-quarter advantage. The Archers trailed 6-4 at halftime, and the adjustment made by head coach Chris Bates clearly paid off.

Connor Fields got the comeback started by finishing a feed by Grant Ament. Then Tre Leclaire buried a two-pointer for the lead before Mason Woodward and Beau Pederson tacked on goals of their own. Jack VanOverBeke, the overtime hero from Friday, scored, too, before Utah finished its run the way it started, with a goal from Fields assisted by Ament.

Graham Bundy Jr. ended the scoring drought for Denver, and the rookie from Georgetown was the only Outlaw to score in the second half. His two-pointer in the fourth quarter put the Outlaws down 12-9 with 5:56 to play.

Utah leaned on Brett Dobson as the offense turned things around the in the second half. Dobson made 16 saves (66.7%).

Now the No. 1 seed in the West and the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, Utah will have a bye until the PLL semifinals.

WATERDOGS WIN TO END CHALLENGING SEASON

The first season of the Bill Tierney era has not gone according to plan for the Philadelphia Waterdogs, but they at least ended their 2024 season on a high note by beating the New York Atlas — the top seed in the PLL playoffs — 13-12.

In a seesaw type of game, Ben Randall deposited the winner for Philadelphia with 3:14 remaining. Matt DeLuca made 16 saves.

Kieran McArdle reached the 300-goal mark for his career, and he set the single-season goals record for the Waterdogs (22) during his three-goal outing.

At 2-8, the Waterdogs miss the postseason. This coming after a PLL championship game appearance in 2023 under then-coach Andy Copelan.

PLL PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

Quarterfinals

on Monday, Sept. 2, in Boston, Mass.

(2) Cannons vs. (4) Chaos, 4 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2 (ESPN+)
(3) Whipsnakes vs. (5) Outlaws, 6:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN+

Semifinals

on Saturday, Sept. 7, on Long Island, N.Y.

(1) Atlas vs. winner of Cannons-Chaos, 5 p.m. Eastern, ESPN+
(4) Archers vs. winner of Whipsnakes-Outlaws, 7:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN+