The Green Arrows: How Newcomers Pushed Archers to a PLL Championship

CHESTER, Pa. — Ryan Ambler hugged the Premier Lacrosse League championship trophy tight to his chest. One of three original Archers left on the team, Ambler’s million-dollar smile — missing front tooth and all — spoke volumes.

Sunday’s 15-14 championship victory over the Waterdogs was a long time coming, especially for Ambler, Matt McMahon and title game hero Tom Schreiber, the 2023 MVP who scored the winner with 1:37 remaining in regulation. That trio had been members of Archers teams routinely on the precipice of winning it all.

It was just a matter of finding the right mix. That’s not to say past rosters didn’t have chemistry or playmakers. The Archers have long had talent in spades. But something was missing. Head coach Chris Bates found that something in 2023 through free agency and the draft.

The 2023 Archers can be defined just as much for their regular-season MVP as their infusion of new faces. Faces that had to replace Archers originals like Adam Ghitelman, Will Manny and Marcus Holman, who departed in free agency.

Mac O’Keefe came over from the Chaos, reuniting with Grant Ament to connect on low-to-high goals just like their days at Penn State. Challen Rogers also came over from the Chaos and carved out an irreplaceable role on defense — especially in the championship game, with SSDM of the Year Latrell Harris out with an ACL tear.

Bates leaned on the draft — easily his best one yet — to bring in four difference makers. Mike Sisselberger stabilized the faceoff during a year in which PLL teams strategized and innovated to adapt to new rules. Connor Maher, Piper Bond and Cam Wyers were brought in to further fortify a defense that had long been a question mark.

Then, there was the decision to make Brett Dobson the team’s no-doubt starter in the cage. It was a good call. Without Dobson’s MVP performance in the championship game, the Archers wouldn’t have bathed in champagne on Sunday.

“Adding in guys like Brett Dobson taking on a new role this year for us, becomes our starting goalie and never looks back and carries himself like a 10-year vet despite being a young guy. To see him get rewarded as the MVP of this game, it’s awesome,” Schreiber said. “All those guys carried themselves like leaders today. It’s so cool to see that initial core group five years ago still have an impact and these new players get us over the hump.”

The Archers didn’t play the first half of the championship game, one mired in on again, off again rain showers, like a team of inexperienced young guns playing in the biggest stage of their professional careers. They blitzed the defending champion Waterdogs, using a six-point run to build a 10-4 lead.

Every one of the rain-soaked fans knew it was far from over. The Archers and Waterdogs were the two teams just about everyone wanted to see play for the title. They split the regular season series 1-1, trading one-goal wins — both thrillers.

So, it was no surprise when the Waterdogs closed the game to 10-7 by halftime and then tied it at 12 less than three minutes into the fourth quarter when Zach Currier beat Rogers on a run to the cage.

The Archers established a two-goal lead in the next three minutes. Then the Waterdogs tied it. Then Schreiber, the Archers’ unquestioned captain and guiding light, did what MVPs are supposed to do.

“Tom Schreiber’s the league MVP,” Waterdogs coach Andy Copelan said. “I read an article about, ‘Is this a legacy game for Tom Schreiber?’ I think Tom Schreiber’s legacy was cemented long before this game.”

The lacrosse world will remember Schreiber’s winner for a long time. He has a penchant for scoring title-winning goals, after all. But a play that might get overlooked during the retelling of the contest was an endline dive by Connor Maher on the Waterdogs’ next possession that allowed the Archers to kill another 52 seconds of clock.

A high shot from Kieran McArdle with less than 75 seconds left approached the endline with Michael Sowers closest to the ball. Maher closed the gap between he and last year’s championship game MVP in an instant, leaping toward the line to flip possession. The Archers proceeded to run the clock down to 11.7 seconds left.

The Waterdogs got a two-point try from Jake Carraway and a desperation attempt near the crease with 0.6 seconds left, but they couldn’t convert.

“It could be the first quarter, first play of the game, or a minute left; you never know what's the play that's going to help us win the game,” said Maher, who praised Archers defensive coordinator Tony Resch for his schemes and mentorship. “So I mean, for 48 minutes, you just got to try to make that play.”

Dive Out of the Year pic.twitter.com/eYjHbyczY0

— Joe Keegan (@joekeegs) September 25, 2023

Just another one of the new guys. Completely bought in. Adapting to the Archers’ culture doesn’t take long, even with the nature of professional lacrosse calling for more Zoom bonding than on-field bonding.

Even Reid Bowering, an Archer for the first time on Saturday, made his presence felt. Playing in his first PLL game on Sunday as a replacement for injured attackman Connor Fields, Bowering scored a second-quarter goal that loomed large in a one-score win.

“Reid Bowering’s shaking guys’ hands, meeting them for the first time two days ago,” Schreiber said. “I’ve never had a practice with Reid Bowering, and we played in the championship game together. And he was awesome, scored a goal for us.”

Maybe it’s just the Archer way. It’s hard to go wrong when Schreiber’s leading the huddle and setting an example for newcomers with Ambler and McMahon. And Bates, the architect of a champion whose work began in earnest when the Archers locked up the 2020 No. 1 pick — ironically winning the First Overall Draft Pick Game at Subaru Park — and took Ament.

“I think we spent a lot of time talking about this year's team, but this has been building for years,” Schreiber said.”