The last time Whipsnakes and Redwoods met wasn’t pretty.

A 17-4 blowout in favor of the Whips in the penultimate weekend of the regular season put the Redwoods’ playoff hopes on life support. Whipsnakes scored 12 of the first 13 goals of the game, all but ending it before the halftime break even came.

That’s in the past now, though. The loss seemed to serve as a wake-up call for Redwoods, which hasn’t lost since and is coming off an impressive upset of Chaos. Whipsnakes coach Jim Stagnitta said he didn’t even watch the tape this past week, opting to instead focus on the Woods’ more recent showings.

“Everybody had a game like that this year,” Stagnitta said. “We had ours against the Chrome. You never know what day it’s all not going to go your way. … I didn’t even look at that game because it’s not who they are and it’s a little bit of fools gold to what we are too.”

On Saturday, the two teams will meet again, this time with higher stakes in Philadelphia. The winner will earn the first ever PLL crown and the glass cup that comes along with it.

“We’re looking for revenge,” Redwoods defenseman Matt Landis said on NBC Sports. “We’re looking to come out swinging.”

Redwoods has been in must-win scenarios ever since the Whipsnakes loss, needing to blow out Chrome in the final regular season outing and win two playoff games against Archers and Chrome to earn its spot here.

Whipsnakes, on the other hand, was able to sit back, heal up and take in the second round of the playoffs from the sidelines last week after earning a trip straight to the championship with a win in Columbus. While the team hasn’t always been good with time off this year, Stagnitta said the Whips have handled it better down the stretch.

While the last meeting was forgettable for Redwoods, they did win the first meeting between these teams back in Week 5 to split the season series. That seems like a lifetime ago, before the Redwoods made major adjustments, including the expansion of Ryder Garnsey’s role and moving Sergio Perkovic to new spots on the field.

The second meeting is what’s fresh in the minds of the Redwoods players, looking to earn a second straight upset.

“It wasn’t good the second time,” Redwoods midfielder Kyle Harrison said in his postgame interview last weekend. “To have an opportunity to play them in the championship for Game 3, it will be pretty emotional.”

Landis, who held MVP candidate Connor Fields pointless last week, faces another stiff challenge and another MVP candidate in Matt Rambo this week. Rambo led the league in scoring during the regular season and put up seven points on the Woods in the last matchup.

Both of these teams boast balanced lineups and built-in chemistry, with Whipsnakes made up of mostly Maryland players and Redwoods having a major Notre Dame flair, especially on defense.

“I don’t think you look at either team and say, ‘I can really take advantage of this, they’re really weak there,’” Stagnitta said. “We’re both solid in every aspect.”

The title bout, airing on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET, will serve as the crowning jewel of what has been a highly successful first season for the PLL both on and off the field.

“I coached in my first Final Four in ’88, my first year as a college coach, and Tony Seaman said to me, ‘Enjoy it. You don’t know when this is ever going to happen to you again,’” Stagnitta said. “It’s something that you have to cherish and appreciate. … And while I’ve had the opportunity to play in these, I don’t know that any of them have been on national TV, NBC live in a stadium like this.”

What are they playing for?

Chrome and Archers will kick off the weekend’s action at 11:30 p.m. ET Saturday in a battle for the No. 1 pick. It’s the final matchup in the PLL’s unusual “losers” bracket which was put in place to avoid tanking in the league.

Some clarification on the draft process from the league itself: The loser of this matchup will earn the No. 2 pick, while Chrome will pick third. From the second round on the order will revert back to a traditional format, with Chrome picking first due to having the lowest win percentage in the regular season.

Unlike last year, when Pat Spencer was a near unanimous first-overall pick, the 2020 draft is more about team need and personal taste. Here are some names to keep an eye on this spring that these teams will be mulling over.

TD Ierlan, FO, Yale

The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year and first-team All-American has set the NCAA’s all-time regular season faceoff wins record two seasons in a row. He also set all-time bests for wins in a tournament game (31) and ground balls (29) against Georgetown.

Of course, with the nature of the position, there isn’t an enormous need to have two elite faceoff specialists on one team, so it seems unlikely Atlas would take him with the No. 1 pick considering they already have Trevor Baptiste. Archers, on the other hand, seem like a great fit if they pick No. 1 or he drops to 2.

Dox Aitken, M, Virginia

Aitken is a player that projects well to the PLL game: a two-way midfielder with strong transition skills. He broke the Virginia record for single-season points and goals by a midfielder and earned All-American, All-ACC, All-NCAA Tournament and All-ACC Tournament honors. He can slot into every PLL teams roster and make a positive impact right away.

Grant Ament, A, Penn State

Ament, a big reason the Nittany Lions earned their first NCAA Tournament victories last season and seem a title contender again this spring, is coming off a 126-point season after dishing out an NCAA-record 96 assists. He was a first-team All-American and the Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year but suffers from playing a position that is most teams already have settled in the PLL.

JT Giles-Harris, D, Duke

Possibly the only defenseman with a first-round grade, Giles-Harris is coming off a first-team All-America season which saw him earn ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and lead Duke in caused turnovers.

Michael Sowers, A, Princeton

Princeton’s all-time leading scorer, Sowers has the highest career points-per-game total in Division I in the last 38 years. The Tigers’ top three single-season point totals all belong to Sowers, who notched a program record 90 last season. So, yeah, he can absolutely score and get around top-notch defenders.

Noteworthy

Atlas and Archers split their regular season series, with Atlas winning 13-12 in Week 5 and Archers winning 15-11 in Week 8. … Atlas will be without faceoff man Trevor Baptiste, who is a member of the U.S. squad at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. Brent Noseworthy, who played for Atlas coach John Paul at Michigan, will make his PLL debut. … Atlas will be without defenseman Callum Robinson, but attackman Ryan Brown was cleared to play. Archers, as expected, will be without midfielder Tom Schreiber and defenseman Jackson Place.