A healthy Outlaws and the Ethan Rall Game. Recapping the Quarterfinals | THE SCOOP, Episode 34
A healthy Outlaws and the Ethan Rall Game. Recapping the Quarterfinals | THE SCOOP, Episode 34
Video Transcript
Coming up on The Scoop, Denver's offense is back at full strength and looking scary.
Pat Kavanagh dished four assists, including one to the newly acquired Jake Taylor.
They called it gritty, they called it ballsy, they called it gutsy.
Staving off California's comeback attempt was all of the above.
We'll invite Topher Adams on to see if he has any more adjectives to describe what Denver did.
In the Eastern Conference, Boston won in what I'm deeming the Ethan Rawle game.
I will tell my grandkids about what Ethan Rawle did on August 29th, 2026.
Noel D'Amico joins to recap Boston's big win.
Our quarterfinal recap starts right now.
Welcome back to The Scoop.
The quarterfinals were absolute cinema.
We had a shootout, we had a defensive battle, two one-score games, 76 empty tanks.
Chris Rosenthal said it best, "I love elimination games, but hate eliminations."
Let's start out west, where the Denver Outlaws offense was back at full strength and they came out firing.
Brendan O'Neill scored a first-half hat trick, flexing his off-ball game in the pick and roll with Dalton Young, and then winning his matchup off the dodge.
This goal was set up by a critical successful challenge by head coach Tim Sudan that reset the shot clock and gave the Outlaws an extra possession.
O'Neill set the tone early.
When he turns green, he's too strong for even the most physical defenders in the league.
That sparked a 10-5 run by Denver to close out the half, a run in which Pat Kavanagh was D-lead.
Kavanagh quarterbacked slow breaks perfectly.
He had a team-high six points in his first game since July 25th, including an assist to face-off specialist Luke Weerman.
At halftime, California turned to rookie goalie Ryan Krodyk.
Krodyk was incredible in relief, stopping 70% of shots to give his team a chance.
It was only a one in 2,000 chance after Jake Taylor put up Denver 14-9, according to our win probability model, but California chipped away to make it much, much closer than that.
Dylan Malloy scored six goals, including four in the fourth quarter.
He buried a power play goal with 10 minutes left to make it 14-10.
A minute later, another Malloy goal off the face dodge to bring it to 14-11.
Then Brian Tevlin, the leader, the captain, got involved, running the length of the field.
He went for the two-pointer, was denied by McNaney, but Ryder Garnsey rode the ball back.
Tevlin never gave up on the play, and now it's 14-12.
Six minutes left.
Back to the power play, back to Malloy.
He puts the quick release past McNaney to make it 14-13.
Final minute, down by two.
One more power play, one more Malloy goal.
That one in 2,000 chance suddenly became a one in three chance.
But the Outlaws hung on, getting a huge stop on the final possession.
Here's Topher Adams on how they escaped.
Topher, the Outlaws got the win after surviving a bit of a scare in the fourth quarter.
I heard the words gritty, ballsy, and gutsy more times in that post-game press conference than I have in my life.
How would you describe the win?
Do you have any more adjectives?
I, I think gritty is definitely the, the best one.
You know, all season long, Denver's been plagued with a four quarters problem.
Every single weekend, it seems Tim Sudan comes into the post game and just says, "You know, we didn't play a complete game."
And that was the case again Saturday.
You know, they were really good through two and a half quarters, and then, you know, hanging on for dear life in the fourth.
But the thing about this team in those gritty situations is that guys, especially I think about Ryan Tarasenko, are some of the grittiest players in the entire world.
And even when, you know, it's a five-goal swing for the Redwoods and it's all of a sudden you go from a six-goal lead to a one-goal lead hanging on for dear life, those guys always seem to have an extra gear, extra play.
The late goal from Jared Bernhardt at the end, the late defensive stop at the end, you know, even as the momentum flipped against them, they had the one more play.
They just dug in deep.
You know, Pat Kavanagh mentioned in the post-game guys going down with cramps, 'cause you have all these guys who've missed a l- bunch of time coming back this, this weekend.
You know, it wasn't perfect.
It wasn't polished.
You know, it didn't necessarily look like a team that's played through a whole season together, because it isn't a team that's played through a whole season together, but, you know, when they needed it most, their top players made one more play, and, you know, this time of year, it doesn't matter if you play a perfect game, it just matters they make one more play than your opponent, and that's what they did S- Saturday.
That's what it takes.
One of those one more plays came very late, 15 seconds left, end line restart.
Dylan Malloy, who had six goals, picks up the ball.
Ideal scenario if you're California to have the stick, the ball and his stick.
And then 38-year-old Mike Manley comes up huge with a game-winning stop, the assist by Ben Randall on the slide to seal it.
Walk me through that play.
Yeah, I think you mentioned it, it's an ideal situation for California, 'cause if you look at their, their match-ups, in the game, Malloy was their guy.
You know, Kavanagh had a couple of goals, but JT Giles Harris did pretty good against him.
It was really Malloy going at his match-ups on ball, off ball.
He was a monster on the power play late in that game.
He was their go-to guy, and when he's 1V1 against anybody in the league, he's a pretty good bet to score.
But, you know, Mike Manley, the word ageless gets used about him all the time because there's really no other way to describe him.
You know, he's the oldest player in the league.
He's one of the most veteran players to ever play professional lacrosse.
You know, this is the late fourth quarter of his, you know, upteenth year in the league, playoff game, and he's the guy with the game on the line, and, you know, he just stands tall.
You know, he's a guy who wants so badly to win that pro championship.
He's gotten so close time and time and time and time again, most recently last year.
And for him to have that moment, the guys were so happy for him after the game.
Sudan, McNaney, they all celebrated him post-game just to have that moment.
And then to mention Ben Randall, you know, he's such a smart player.
The reason they went after him in the pre-draft process is 'cause they knew, without Jesse Bernhardt, they wanted another veteran, capable, championship level guy right away, and that's a championship veteran play from a guy like Ben Randall to know when to support and know how to time that play.
And when he's been healthy, he's been excellent for Denver all season.
You know- And those two guys, you know, they missed that last game of the season.
Maybe it's a little extra rest for these, these veteran bodies.
You know, they've been through a lot this season.
Everyone's playing a little bit hurt.
But once again, it's just that one extra play, from guys who really, really want this one.
I can tell you, they, they really wanna win this championship.
The rest helps for sure.
Manley was out last week with, with a right hip and a left groin injury, two injuries on the injury report.
Everyone this time of year is emptying the tank, but n- no one more so than Mike Manley.
Like, he will do anything for this team.
You got the sense last year after the championship that it really could have been his last game.
He decided to give it one more go, and he will do anything f- for this team, and in return, they'll do anything for him.
Like, RJ went around asking players last week who they'd hug first if they were to win a championship.
"Grant Bundy Jr., no hesitation," said Mike Manley.
Grant Bundy Jr. Might need to get in line for that hug- 'cause I think every single person on the Denver Outlaws would go to Mike Manley in that situation.
Ultimate team guy, came up big with a huge stop there.
Offensively, I wanna talk about Jake Taylor, who had a hat trick on 11 touches, maybe the Jake Taylor-est hat trick of all time.
I- i- the decision to play him, to pick him up, one, to pick him up in early August, and two, to put him in the lineup then, keep him in the lineup now, was, was not a very simple decision.
There were layers to this.
Pat Kavanagh and Jared Bernhardt coming back this week is great.
You have your two superstars.
Pushed two offensive guys out of the lineup, and it wasn't a, necessarily a guarantee, that Jake Taylor was going to be one of those guys who survived, that roster shakeup there.
Tim Sudan didn't really seem ready to commit a couple weeks ago in the post-game press conference to anyone on the offensive end, when he was asked about who gets pushed out when, Kavanagh and Bernhardt are back.
Ultimately, Taylor did get the nod, and it was at Evan Plunkett's expense.
Not only was Evan Plunkett the number four overall pick, they traded the number seven, 22, and 28 picks to move up to take Evan Plunkett for a very specific reason, for his speed out of the box, something that Taylor does not bring.
He brings a lot else, but a very different dimension.
So complex decision.
In hindsight, clearly it paid off, but my question to you is, what were some of the driving factors behind the scenes that went into rolling with Jake Taylor in this critical situation?
Yeah.
I think to the Plunkett side of it, in an ideal world, the Outlaws have an offense with, you know, three, maybe four attack men and then at least two true midfielders.
They like having a guy like an Evan Plunkett who's a true downhill out-of-the-box midfielder.
But I think they recognize the situation that for all of Plunkett's talent, he just hasn't had the production of a top five pick of an all-pro, all-star level guy that they wanted, so they just needed something different out of that group.
And when they signed Jake Taylor off the waivers a couple weeks ago, that was a very opportunistic move.
You know, they they come to the, the, the, the new week, and all of a sudden they see a guy that they like available and, you know, it's, it's mo- it's a talent play as much as it is a scheme or a style play, and they know he's a talented player.
And the, the K- Kavanagh connection is so massive, in getting Taylor to Denver and also is a big reason why they wanted him in the lineup this weekend.
You know, you don't sign Jake Taylor when you have Pat Kavanagh, does not see those guys play together.
And I think the most interesting decision on Saturday was seeing Taylor and Logan Wisniewskis kind of rotate that attack spot because Wisniewskis has been fantastic all year.
He's probably been Denver's second-best offensive player.
He's one of the best goal scorers in the league, the most efficient shooter in the league.
You can't say enough good things about what Logan Wisniewskis has done.
But, you know, push comes to shove, Jake Taylor just does something a little different.
That inside spacing and, you know, he makes other guys better without ball in his stick, which Logan Wisniewskis does too, but Jake Taylor's just a little different, and I think that added chemistry bonus.
You know, I've mentioned a couple times, these guys have not played a lot of lacrosse together.
Kavanagh's been in and out of the lineup.
Jared Bernhardt's been in and out of the lineup.
You know, Jake Taylor just got here, you know, two games ago.
These guys have not played a lot of lacrosse together, so having guys that spent two, three years, you know, spending every single day together, throwing thousands of thousands of reps together, that's just built-in, like, automatic chemistry.
You can't manufacture that on this short of a timeline.
I think they love that.
And then Taylor's just, you know, he doesn't rock the boat.
He's the perfect glue guy to an offense.
They have their alpha dogs, and they just need guys to fill in the gaps, and Jake Taylor is an A++ gap filler, and I think he's just a great complement to what they have with their Dodgers on the outside, their shooters from the midfield, and he just adds that little extra something else in the middle.
That crease attack role, Zach Carey wrote about it last year.
He wrote about Xander Dixon specifically being the last of a dying breed.
Specifically the righty crease player seems to be pushed out of the league every few years, and then someone comes creeping back and has a game like this and a big moment that makes everybody think, maybe, maybe an interior presence is actually the perfect complement to the superstars that we have around the perimeter.
Sudo hasn't been shy to play guys like this in the past.
He had Kevin Lovell on his early Rattlers teams.
He had Jeremy Boltis, who's now the offensive coordinator, played a somewhat similar role, to what Jake Taylor is playing on those Rattlers teams in the late 2010s.
So Sudo clearly, one, took a bet on Taylor's, T- Taylor's fit being what the rest of the offense needs to be at their best.
And then two, like you said, that chemistry between him and Pat reunited for the first time since the 2024 national championship game.
Seeing them together, seeing Pat assist Jake on his third goal of the game, brought a tear to my eye.
It was like seeing Peter and Ned in the coffee shop.
Remember their handshake?
Just, just, it, it, one of the best connections that we've seen in lacrosse in the 2020s, and, now defenses have to game plan it, for it moving forward at the pro level.
Yeah, I think just to wrap that point out, it's just their connection, it- it's, it's very special.
I mean, I would say other than Chris Cavanaugh, Jake Taylor's probably Pat Cavanaugh's closest lacrosse connection, you know, in, in the game today.
I talked to Jake Taylor for a story a couple weeks ago, and he said, you know, Pat Cavanaugh's probably assisting him as much as anybody, to ever play the game with him.
So, you know, those guys are good friends.
You know, I think there's another good combination with Jared Bernhardt and Logan Wisniewski, two guys that similarly, those very tight friends, college teammates.
So, you know, those bonds kind of bring this Denver locker room together.
They're a very close group.
Taylor, everyone has raved about him as a locker room fit, and that, you know, all these guys are pulling in the same direction.
They all bring the right kind of character that they're trying to, and, you know, the, the special bonds, I think, are, are what this team's all about.
They'll be taking those special bonds to Utah next week for the semifinals.
Denver getting healthy at the right time.
The offense is clicking, and they have a match up with an all-time great Archers defense and some vuvuzelas.
So, grab the wax, put it in your ears, block out the noise, and get ready for a semifinal matchup.
Topher, thanks for jumping on.
We'll talk to you soon.
Thank you.
Earlier this month, it took overtime to determine a winner between Boston and Maryland.
Trailing by two in the final minute, the Cannons clawed back, and Marcus Holman's two-point goal in overtime was the difference.
Fast-forward to the quarterfinals, and the Whipsnakes had an opportunity for a comeback of their own.
Out of a timeout, they drew up a play for a two-pointer to tie it and got a decent look for rookie attackman Joey Spalina.
But JC Higginbotham, in his fourth start for his fifth team in the league, just got enough, and the Cannons hung on.
Entering last night, the Whipsnakes were 22 and one all time when holding opponents to single digits.
But their offense had its worst game of the season, matching their season low with seven goals against Denver back in June.
This was the second-best offense in the league in the regular season, and at multiple points throughout the summer, it looked unstoppable.
But they ran into a Cannons defense that has really found its identity, a goalie who stole a few doorstep looks in acrobatic fashion and made one too many mistakes down the stretch.
At the end of the day, it's a day to have a day.
Absolutely gutted for, for all those guys, those older guys, you know, that have, that have, that have played forever and, you know, might be their last games and, you know, I, I'll be thinking about it forever that I played a game on some of these guys' last ever games.
Something that I'll never forget for as long as I play.
So yeah, I mean, it's just a feeling.
There's no other way to put it.
I feel terrible.
Like, I, I don't cry, and, Rob's gonna make me cry.
It's, uh- it's, it's, it's been tough and, to have that look at the end, you know, I'll never forget stepping down like that.
But yeah, it's just, this sucks.
No other way to put it.
For Boston, they advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2023.
Noelle D'Amico joined me to discuss just how they did it.
Noelle, the Cannons are advancing after beating the Whipsnakes nine to seven, and I'm ready to say it, this was the Ethan Roll game.
He was absolutely everywhere.
Offensively, defensively, he had a goal, three caused turnovers, seven ground balls, and just put his stamp on this game.
Where do you wanna start with Ethan Roll?
'Cause w- 'cause he was everywhere.
Do you wanna start with his offense or his defense?
I'll go defense, because I think that this is what Coach Holman and his whole staff envisioned when they moved Owen Grant down to close defense.
It really unlocked both him and Ethan Roll, and I think that this game was like a stamp of showing exactly what that was and what they'd envisioned h- from him for a long time.
For him, the season two, like transitioning into that young core leadership role, with him and Matt Campbell being on the same page, and he's talked a lot about what it's been like to, you know, lead by example and step up, and this was a game where, you know, he, he made his mark and he showed the young guys what's up.
And then offensively, a huge juice goal from him late in the second quarter, off a face-off, answering an Aidan Carroll goal that could have given the Whipsnakes some life headed into the locker room.
That goal, a- a- and, and Roll was the one to finish it, but Marcus Holman's role on that play, specifically, was, like, the most Cannons, the most 2026 Cannons play of the season.
Pure hustle from both Ethan and Marcus.
First, Ethan Roll scoops the ground ball off the face-off, gets D'Twig, stays with the play.
As soon as the refs call possession, Marcus Holman comes screaming out of the two-point arc, grabs the ball, moves over midfield, tells his, his midfield unit to stay on attack, to keep them on sides, and finds Roll.
Doesn't get an assist in the box score for that one.
I- frankly, like, I- I've never seen an offensive player impact the game without scoring the way that Marcus did.
No goals on the game, five ground balls.
It- It, it was just like a Marcus Holman masterclass in hustle, in IQ, combining in all the right ways, to just create opportunities for teammates that, that don't show up in the box score.
Two guys whose motors never stop, Marcus and, and Ethan.
And, and, and frankly, like, it, it's been incredible to watch Ethan Raw emerge as the defensive leader on this team.
The, the middle of the field leader because he's turning defense into offense.
Right.
And I think to your point about Marcus Holman, like, we talked earlier in the year about his adaptability and just his long career and how he's still doing it 14 years in, and I think this game was that.
Like, he's impacting the game in a different way even when he's not scoring.
Like, plays like that, that is, that is who Marcus Holman is.
That is why he's the veteran and the captain that he is of that team.
Last play by Ethan Raw that I wanna talk about, coming out of a timeout, just over two minutes left, Whipsnakes draw up a play for Aidan Carroll, have Aidan Carroll in for, against Ethan Raw, their go-to guy, their most valuable player.
And Ethan Raw, before Carroll can even start his dodge, puts the ball on the turf, scoops it up, ends the possession.
Again, later in the game, on ball coming out of a timeout, like, he is such a game wrecker that whatev- it doesn't matter what you draw up on the whiteboard, it could be the best play of all time, when you come out of that huddle and you see Ethan Raw lined up on the ball before the restart, like, you've kind of gotta be thinking in the back of your head, like, "I don't, I don't know if the, what we just drew up is gonna work."
there's a good chance that, that it, it never even gets going because of the checks that Raw can throw.
Absolutely.
And then to that point, he's leading the franchise in caused turnovers right now, so his impact on the Cannons is just, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a legacy, and he's just getting started.
I also wanna talk about Will Donovan.
You mentioned him moving from LSM to close defense, and very similar to Raw, like, not afraid to throw checks.
There's a reason why this Cannons team led the league in caused turnovers in the regular season.
Like, they're all over passing lanes.
They take chances.
They take calculated risks, I'll call them.
What'd you see from Will Donovan in, in this matchup?
Will Donovan, like, I forget that he was one of the best college LSMs, like, ever because of how well he's played close defense.
Like, I forget, you know, 'cause Coach Holman said this was always the plan.
He's always seen that vision, and props to him for being able to see that before he, you know, came on the field as a Cannon.
And since they've moved him to close defense, they've been 7-2.
He's been against, you know, both the Cavanaugh brothers, TJ Malone twice, Connor Shellenberger, like, and winning these matchups, and he's a rookie, and he's not played this position.
And it's just so crazy to witness, and, and a lot of credit to him and just how seamlessly he's moved through this.
And he told me a while ago, like, his favorite part is just winning a personal matchup, and that's just elevated down at close defense, and I think he's just having a good time with it right now.
Yeah, I think there was a lot of talk early when, when two of those first three matchups were Chris Cavanaugh and Pat Cavanaugh, and some people were saying, "Well, there's the familiarity aspect.
Like, he knows their tendencies.
He can guard them.
He kn- he's n- he knows the scout.
He's, he's guarded them in practice for years."
He's doing it against, like you said, Shellenberger, TJ Malone, and by the way, next week we might get a chance to see him go one-on-one against Michael Sauers in the semifinals.
But we'll get to that in a bit.
Offensively, Colter Mackesy led the way with a hat trick, felt more assertive than ever, took a career-high 11 shots that somehow felt like maybe even more than 11, considering the pace of the game.
There were not many shot attempts by anyone in this one.
What'd you see from Mackesy?
Yeah, I mean, Colter Mackesy, that first one, that BTB that he says was his first ever, so, you know, he's trying new things even here in his, PLL playoff debut.
So just looked comfortable.
Like, I think going into it, it was like, was there gonna be any hesitation from these new guys who've never seen the playoffs in this league?
And there wasn't from him or any of the other guys.
And, you know, I think this is the year they've expected from him.
He's tacking up those 6,000 goals that Coach Holman wanted to see, and he's got, he's got time to, to keep it rolling.
He's on his way to 6,000, for sure.
His ability to win his matchup when, when the team needs to, like, just felt like the difference.
All the Cannons' young players, Rignery coming out of the box winning a matchup.
Mikey Weissauer, almost uncoverable at times when he's in space.
And then Brian Kelly, maybe not as fast as, as Weissauer and Rignery in a straight line foot race, but his ability to get to his spots, like, nobody is able to keep him away from the island.
They all came up with huge unassisted goals, that was just enough, to squeak out a win.
Not often that you're gonna come away with a win when you score nine, but complete team effort got it done for the Cannons.
Think, and I think they knew that.
You know, Marcus Holman said right after the game, he was like, "It wasn't pretty for us.
That was all the defense."
And I think they're gonna turn a page heading into this, you know, week to take on the Waterdogs in the semifinals.
Should be a fun one, Boston verse Philly.
One of the best matchups in the league, one of the best rivalries.
Looking forward to it.
We'll have you back on to preview that later this week.
Thanks for jumping on, Laurel.
For sure.
Thanks, Joe.
Next up, the semifinals.
Denver advances to face Utah in Utah in the latest chapter of the Rocky Mountain rivalry at 3:00 PM Eastern on Labor Day.
Then it's Boston and Philly at 5:30 Eastern.
Those cities get along fine, right?
One city's backup quarterback has never stolen a Super Bowl from the other.
Nobody's basketball team has ever fleeced the other for a finals MVP.
These two teams in particular have certainly never had beef on a big stage like the 2024 championship series or the 2023 semifinals.
Yeah, this should be a calm one.
We've got a lot of storylines in both games.
We'll be back later this week to discuss them all.
See you then.
