Denver's 0-2 Homecoming, Zach Currier's Athleticism and More | The Scoop, Episode 24
PLL Managing Editor, Joe Keegan, recaps PLL's Weekend in Denver featuring a deep dive into the Denver Outlaws' Homecoming performance and breaking down Zach Currier's insane weekend.
Video Transcript
Coming up on The Scoop, Utah walked into Mile High City and swept the weekend.
Has Brett Dobson built the league's strongest MVP case?
And do we all owe the Utah front office an apology for drafting a defensive midfielder first overall?
Philly landed two big wins, too.
Zach Currier posted a pair of ridiculous stat lines that you won't believe, or maybe you will believe because you've accepted that everything Zach Currier does is unbelievable.
The Denver Outlaws dropped back-to-back games at home.
What's happening in Denver?
They made multiple win now moves in the off-season.
Do they have one more win now move in them?
Is the answer in the locker room?
What needs to happen for them to turn this around?
And what happens if they don't?
Chris Rosenthal joins me to discuss it all on The Scoop.
Rosie, the Outlaws dropped both games of homecoming weekend.
Brennan O'Neill missed the second game due to a knee injury.
Jared Bernhardt left that game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
This team waited a while to get their core offensive players together.
Now they may have to wait a little bit longer.
While they're searching for their identity, who are you looking to offensively to step up for Denver down the stretch?
Well, look, I think it's gonna be a situation where you're gonna see a lot of Pat Kavanagh, right?
Like, more so than since he's ever entered this roster.
It's really gonna be him quarterbacking.
We've seen him taking a lot of the touches previous season, but this one it's really gonna be drop it off to him and everybody's gonna have to operate around.
And we saw a little bit, perhaps out of necessity in their last game, kind of trying to stretch the field, looking for some two-point shots.
Maybe we'll see some more of that.
Maybe we'll see a bit more Graham Bundy spread out.
But I predict a lot of Pat Kavanagh working with Logan Wasniewski, keeping him consistent after a little bit of a quiet weekend for him.
And, you know, you're gonna have to see some guys stepping up a little bit.
Maybe your Justin Anderson.
We saw a couple pick plays from him, maybe some off-ball work like that.
It's gonna take a lot of magic from a lot of supporting characters to kind of turn things around.
This team last September fell just shy of a title, and the entire off-season was focused on how can they get 2% better to get over the hump come September.
Mike Manley's back for one more ride.
They traded for Bren- Ben Randall.
They traded up for Evan Plouffe on draft day.
It was a series of win now moves.
If you're Sudo and you have any more chips to push into the middle of the table and you're looking to do so, what are you looking to add to this team?
You know, I think they need some more consistency out of the midfield.
I don't know where they're gonna find it.
They're in a situation, it's kind of a tenuous balance, right?
How much can you really afford to get rid of in order to cash in on something you really need?
And I think the rest of the league is gonna be well aware of that sort of situation if there is a possibility of trades.
I'm not sure how receptive some of the other GMs might be, especially everyone kind of feeling like they're still in a pretty good spot to make one more run at this.
It's a tough spot for Sudan if he feels like he doesn't have everything he needs in the locker room right now.
Looking way ahead, and by no means counting out an Outlaws run down the stretch, but if they don't get it done in September, this team has a very intriguing off-season ahead.
They have more expiring contracts than anyone.
Jared Bernhardt is on an expiring deal, and we're only about 14 months removed from him being at the center of the most aggressive free agent pursuit in league history.
Pat Kavanagh is on an expiring deal, and when he requested a trade out of Boston, Denver was not the only suitor.
California was really close to landing him, and they have something that no team could offer in a free agency pitch deck in Pat's brother, Chris.
Is any team under more pressure, given all that context and this clock seemingly ticking on the Outlaws, to win now in 2026?
No, absolutely not.
This is all in home run swing time for the Denver Outlaws.
After this year, it gets real tricky.
You know, you mentioned Bernhardt.
Signing with the Outlaws, one big draw to that was playing with his brother, who's no longer there.
So he looks around and doesn't deal with that situation anymore.
And speaking of brothers, like you said, Pat Kavanagh has another brother in the Western Conference.
Maybe there's something drawing him to leave the team as well.
And then it just kind of gets down to, to the money situation.
A whole lot of number ones there, right?
You got JT Giles-Harris, Ryan Tarafeno, Brennan O'Neill.
A lot of number ones may not all be able to command number one money unless they're willing to stick around with some home team discounts.
Otherwise, you know, the math just isn't quite math in how you're gonna bring all of those players back.
Given, you know, given the rates we've seen for some of their colleagues who have either gone other places, like your Gavin Adlers, or, you know, your Brian Costabiles resigning, for a hefty fee, there's gonna be some tough decisions that are gonna be made if they don't get it all done this season.
There's still time.
They're still likely bound for the playoffs, and have an opportunity to turn it around next week.
Although it never gets any easier in this league, Denver faces Maryland Whipsnakes coming off a loss on Saturday on ABC.
On the other side of the Rocky Mountain rivalry, Utah swept the weekend.
Aidan McGuire, number one overall pick, scored a goal for the fourth straight game since the All-Star break.
What changed?
What did Aidan McGuire do at the All-Star break?
Because he I think people were questioning the pick in the moment.
They were questioning the pick a few games into his rookie season, and now, there's just no ground to stand on to question that pick.
He has looked the part completely.
Yeah.
I gotta say, one person who never questioned the pick was Chris Bates.
I remember talking to him on draft day.
I said, "Hey, you know, are you guys still kind of debating?
You know, there's a lot of talent out there, right?
Are you trying to decide which way you're going?"
He said, "No We absolutely know who our number one guy is.
We know who we want.
We've wanted him for a long time.
He's going to be a great fit on this team.
And he was right.
You know, Aidan McGuire, Utah was having some trouble offensively to start things off, especially consistency-wise, but you would still see he was not afraid, right?
He wasn't really hiding from the spotlight.
He's still going for behind-the-back shots.
He's still going for pushing the offense, pushing transition game.
It just so happens that it's clicking now.
It's been clicking for quite a few games.
You know, that first two-pointer was off of a great feed from Piper Bond, right?
You know, it's not just the offense, it is the short stick defensive midfield, it's the poles.
Every position on Utah Archers is just firing on all cylinders right now, and he is working right alongside of them, at an elite level, and the team couldn't be more pleased with his production.
And, you know, he's really justifying that pick.
It looks great.
Chris Bates i- is enjoying proving a whole lot of people wrong.
The behind-the-back shots are hilarious because when Chris Bates said that they were going to change the way that they played, like, they, they historically, since 2019, have been a very, very six on six team, right?
Their best player runs out of the box.
So, like, don't lose possession before Tom Schreiber steps on the field.
Now all of a sudden, a very hands-on coach in Chris Bates, is letting D mids take behind-the-back shots and weak-handed two-pointers, and it's working.
Big reason why it works is because the guy behind that defense stops the ball at a better rate than anybody in the league.
Brett Dobson, he's the reigning NLL MVP.
Could Dobson be the first player since John Grant Jr.
In 2007 to win MVP in both leagues?
He absolutely could.
The thing about Dobson is it's not just the ability, it's the consistency, right?
And especially at that position, we have seen it week in and week out.
You can be the best goalie around, you can be the hottest goalie one weekend, and then, you know, you're, you're taking yourself out at halftime in the next game, right?
It is a tough, unforgiving position, and Dobson is just not having bad games.
Not only that, you know, I think the way he fits in with this defense and offense are, are both just spectacular.
He's sending clears fearlessly, midfield plus, if that's the option that the ride is providing him.
You know, always making these key passes that are getting things going, really fits in well with the whole sort of mindset of the Utah Archers team.
And, you know, if you look at your MVP as, you know, at least getting in the conversation with the best players on the best teams, he is the best at that position, and the Utah Archers are the best around right now.
I don't know how you compare what he's doing in cage to what CJ Kearse is doing on the other end of the field for Philadelphia, but I'm looking forward to a month of people trying to compare the two.
If we're gonna compare Dobson to what it takes to win MVP as a goalie, look no further than Blaise Reardon in 2021, who allowed 11.5 scores against per game that year.
Rosie, that's closer to the league worst New York defense this year than to what Dobson is doing right now, to put that in perspective.
Utah just shut down the league's best offense.
They'll take on the league's second-best offense, the Boston Cannons, on Friday night with a chance to clinch a playoff berth and inch even closer to locking up a first-round bye in the semifinals, which will be played in, you guessed it, Utah.
The other team that swept the weekend, Philadelphia, went 2-0, and Zach Currier just did something that I've never seen, something that Bill Tierney's never seen.
He said it in the post-game press conference.
This is the 53rd team that he's been a part of, and the first time he's ever coached a player with four assists and 10 ground balls in the same game.
So Rosie, I ask you, paint a picture.
It's, it's Friday night.
The game doesn't wrap until 2:00 AM Eastern.
You accidentally fall asleep.
You wake up in the morning, check the PLL app to see the box score.
What is the stat line that Zach Currier would need to put up for you to simply not believe your eyes?
Because at, at this point he's done it all.
For any sort of, like, typo suspicions for Zach Currier, it would have to be Listen, if you give me a half dozen assists, I believe it.
Five goals, I believe it.
Anything above 16 ground balls- i- in correlation with the points, I am skeptical, just on a how does he find the time sort of basis.
But I, I'm skeptical, but it doesn't mean I don't believe it.
There, there is none that I automatically throw out the window when it comes to Zach Currier.
16 ground balls, insane, and agreed, he, he could do it next weekend.
Right now, yeah, I think the, the interesting thing with Zach Currier, speaking of end-of-ward, discussion, the interesting thing is what do we label him as?
Like, he, he's on the roster as a midfielder.
He's been playing mostly short stick defensive midfielder this year since Dylan Hess was lost to the season, due to injury.
Is he the Midfielder of the Year Award favorite?
Is he the Short Stick Defensive Midfielder of the Year Award favorite?
Is he both?
Where, where are you slotting him in?
You know, I actually think Currier's unicorn-ness almost does him no favors at these sort of end-of-year awards, 'cause who does he compete against?
Because what he's doing is so unique.
I feel like the offensive production, you almost have to kind of group him against the offensive midfielders and, and then judge the short stick defensive midfielders more on their You know, on and off ball defensive play and, you know, added bonus i- if they get you a couple points in transition or something like that.
He has just been so reliable offensively that, you know, he is just in and of itself a good offensive midfielder.
With everything else being, you know, all sorts of variety of icing on top.
So if I got to pick one, and I, I guess I do, I would put him with the offensive guys right now.
Yeah, I tend to agree.
He, he seems more like he's playing the role that, Sam English or Adam Potrus is playing than the role that Piper Bond, is playing for Utah.
So it- I agree, more comparable to the, midfielders.
Hopefully his, like you said, unicorn-ness, his, his positional ambiguity, doesn't hurt his end of year award candid- candidacy.
Because he, he could, he could easily be a finalist for both.
Yeah, absolutely.
He, he deserves some sort of recognition, at the end of the year.
You know, at some point they'll, maybe they'll just start creating a new category and name it after him or something.
I don't know what it would be.
Some sort of new position-less kind of thing, but there needs to be some sort of recognition for what he's doing in the unlikely event that we do see more Zach Curriers down the line.
Agreed.
Offensively for Philly, we saw Kieran McArdle and Silas Richmond start to alternate quarters on attack, a bit like Owen Hilds and Jackson Eickert did for Carolina in 2025, where the lefty McArdle, righty Silas Richmond stay on the field when their side of the field is opposite the box, and play midfield when they're near side.
If this is going to be a more common scheme, and sub-pattern that teams are using, I think we need a name for this position.
I, I'm gonna put you on the spot if you have any, and, and I can help you brainstorm a couple.
Yeah, no, that's a really good question.
Because it is, it, it is not like, any one sort of consistent thing, right?
Like, do we take it, you know, entirely different direction and just kind of call it something like a forward or something like that?
Kind of take something from another sport.
Do we go, you know, some sort of abbreviation kind of thing, that I can't think of right now?
Like, do you just become an AM?
Like, is that just your new position?
Yeah, I, I don't know.
Where do we go with that exactly?
It is something different, though, but we're, I guess we're seeing it more often.
It is something different.
I've got some, I've just got some bad ones.
I'll just, I'll just go through it.
No bad suggestions.
We've got FOGO, face off, get off.
We love an acronym in lacrosse.
Could just go simple, MAMA, midfield attack, midfield attack, alternated back and forth for the four quarters.
N- not my favorite.
Solid start, though.
Solid start.
I, I like where the vision's headed, though.
We could go half tack.
They're just halftime attackers.
Okay.
All right.
I think we're getting warmer.
Okay.
They've got a timeshare on the attack line, so I was thinking, like timeshare destinations, I was thinking timeshare, travel, attack B&B.
All right.
All right.
See, yep, we are heating up here.
We are heating up.
Okay.
I like this one.
We might not be able to get any hotter than that, so - We'll get- we'll leave it to the fans, and I'll let you think on it.
Excellent.
Excellent.
I love the ideas, though.
We're getting there.
Attack B&B, we might be onto something with that one there.
Excellent work.
All right.
Philly, so, so much to take away from a 2 and 0 weekend, with, rookie goalie Sean Byrne making his first career start.
For more on the rookie out of Army, we send it over to Philadelphia Water Dogs beat writer, Mike Pulcher.
Well, it was a statement weekend for the Philadelphia Water Dogs, who walk away with a 2-0 sweep, one in conference and another a blowout against one of the league's best teams coming into the season.
So let's start on Friday.
The game didn't start until after midnight on the East Coast, and really, it was an overall effort from the team to squeeze out another one-score victory this season, the fourth that they've had, and really, it helped having rookie Sean Byrne in goal late in the game.
He came up with a clutch save just after, I think, 2:00 AM in the morning.
And he had a phenomenal weekend, replacing Matt DeLuca, who went on IR just two weeks ago, and now he's 2 and 0 coming out of it.
And to be honest, there might be some decisions Tieren- Bill, head coach Bill Tierney has to make because rookie Sean Byrne, if he's 2 and 0, he's riding the hot hand.
Matt DeLuca maybe has to linger with his injury.
There's some discussion heading into playoff season of what does Bill Tierney do in net?
Now, let's go to Saturday night, where the offense was just clicking on all cylinders.
18 goals, 14 of those came in the first half, and it really started with the midfield.
They were passing aggressively.
They were attacking the goal.
They were finding weaknesses within Denver's defense, especially around the crease, and really, that all came with Silas Richmond coming in at attack.
Him and Kieran McArland will be switching back and forth between attack and midfield based off of matchups and what Bill Tierney is seeing on the field.
So that is gonna be something that we're gonna be looking for all the rest of the season, and to be honest, with the first example, it's pretty good for the Water Dogs.
So, 2 and 0, really one of the best weekends in the Bill Tierney era.
Water Dogs sit atop of the East standings.
Next week, Philadelphia takes on the Carolina Chaos coming off a huge win over Boston and a season-high seven assists stakes on head coach Steven Brooks for the offensive performance.
Rosie, what impressed you most from the Carolina offense?
You know, they looked really intelligent with their decision-making.
I loved the skip passes, even if they didn't directly result in goals.
I loved the ideas that they were putting out there.
I will also say Teddy Malone looked to be playing a fearless game, just, you know, going straight after Will Divin, who has put together a, a few very impressive weeks.
You know, as Brian Holman stated, you know, he'd taken on two Cavanaughs and Connor Shellenberger, and he put quite a bit on paper, but Malone, Malone did not seem concerned at all, and I think it really kind of helped elevate that whole offense, you know, stir them to the next level.
You mentioned the assists, just great vision.
I think they made a lot of great decisions when they found themselves matched up against Boston short sticks.
There's just a lot of flexibility they demonstrated.
It seemed to be, you know, the word that comes to mind a lot for me is just really smart decision-making by them.
The offense has, has been the struggle, the focal point, for head coach Steven Brooks in his first year here.
They're kind of starting to figure it out.
Like you said, Teddy Malone was great, quarterback in at X. Chad Palumbo, as good as always, another hat trick, the Iron Man celebration, which will go down in history.
Shane Knobloch has more lefty goals than righty goals this year.
He's been phenomenal out of the midfield.
And they're starting to figure it out offensively.
That's kind of what this regular season has been about because you can always fall back on this defense and Blaise Reardon, who put up 20 saves, the ninth time in his PLL career that he's put up 20 saves.
Nobody else has done it more than three times.
There's no s- there was no such thing as a volume goalie in this league until Blaise came along and just said, "Put as many shots on goal as you want.
I'm gonna stop 20 plus night in, night out."
he is phenomenal and gives this team a chance every single time they step on the field.
For more on Blaise, we'll send it over to Miles Jordan, Carolina Chaos beat writer.
Blaise Reardon turned in a season-best 20 save performance to help the Carolina Chaos earn their first win since June 6th, snapping a three-game, seven-week winless skid.
After face-off specialist Justin Inosio exited the game with a right knee injury midway through the first quarter, Carolina proceeded to lose the next 21 of 23 face-offs, which led to Reardon and Carolina's defense facing the most possessions in a 32-second shot clock all season.
But Reardon's 11 first-half saves held Boston to just 26.7 shooting percentage and kept the Chaos competitive, despite playing without veteran defensive captain Jack Rowlett, who was placed on IR on Tuesday before Carolina's win.
Head coach Steven Brooks said that there was something different about Blaise, that he could see pregame when he was warming up.
He knew that he was due for a big game.
He also praised the fact that Carolina's defense was able to force Boston to shoot the shots that Blaise wanted to see, and that his confidence continued to grow throughout the game.
Reardon entered the contest just 15 saves shy of 1,300 career saves and walked off the field as the sixth player in professional lacrosse history to ever eclipse that milestone.
On offense, Carolina finally unlocked the ball movement that they had been looking for all season.
For the first time all year, the Chaos assisted more than 50% of their goals, something that head coach Steven Brooks has pushed them to do all year by promising the team a steak dinner if they ever reached that mark.
And rookie attackman Teddy Malone and third-year midfielder Ross Scott made sure to hold Brooks to his promise, and the dinner might have to include a few bottles of wine if Chad Palumbo has anything to say about it.
Malone finished with a career-high six points and scored the game-winning golden goal in overtime off of an extremely unselfish feed from Scott.
Post-game, Brooks could not speak highly enough about Scott in that moment.
He emphasized that Scott had a clean shot to win the game himself, but made the extra pass to notch his second assist of the night and find Malone for what was the nail in Boston's coffin in Carolina's 13 to 12 victory.
Next weekend, the PLL goes to Columbus for five more regular season games.
The regular season is winding down.
The playoff picture is starting to come into focus.
Clinching and elimination scenarios are on the horizon.
To take a look at what your team needs to get into the postseason, go to stats.premierlacrossleague.com.
The product team has built out a playoff probability simulator that allows you to input the results of upcoming games, and the playoff probability for each team will adjust accordingly.
Take a look.
Every team is still in the hunt.
Every game matters more than ever.
We'll be back later this week to preview the key storylines and news heading into Columbus weekend.
See you then.
