Previewing the Quarterfinals | The Scoop, Episode 33
Previewing the Quarterfinals | The Scoop, Episode 33
Video Transcript
Coming up on The Scoop, the quarterfinals are here.
The Outlaws are getting healthy at the right time.
Pat Kavanagh is back, and Jared Bernhardt is expected to be back, too.
So are the Cannons.
The reigning Midfielder of the Year, Matt Campbell, is set to make his first appearance since June 6th.
What did California's young core learn from last year's loss to Denver?
Phil Shore joins me to discuss.
How'd Andrew McMeekin go from undrafted to Face-off Specialist of the Year favorite?
There's an app for that?
Noel D'Amico explains.
All that and more on our quarterfinals preview.
Welcome back to The Scoop.
It is finally quarterfinals weekend.
The bracket is set.
Tomorrow night at 6:00 Eastern, the Denver Outlaws and California Redwoods will face off in a rematch of last year's semifinals.
The Outlaws are expected to be back at full strength offensively for the first time since July.
Pat Kavanagh and Jared Bernhardt were both removed from the injured list earlier this week.
Kavanagh missed the last three games with a thigh injury, while Bernhardt is still questionable with a bilateral hamstring strain.
Those two have been in and out of the lineup all year, and while it hasn't quite been the revenge season that the Outlaws fans expected after the final horn sounded at the 2025 US Bank Championship, they found a way to make it back to the playoffs, and now the full squad is coming through Dr.
Strange's portals for the final fight.
Brennan O'Neill stepped up this year as a passer in a big way.
He has more assists in 2026 than he had in his first two pro seasons combined.
We know what he can do when he turns green and runs through his defender.
Now he's balancing when to channel his IQ and when to channel the other guy.
And Logan Wisniewskis has quietly had the best shooting season in PLL history.
Entering 2026, only five players ever had shot 50% or higher, and they were all Canadian or Eric Law.
Logan Wisniewskis has joined the club, burying 59% of his shots.
He's taking and making more assisted shots than ever.
Topher Adams wrote about Wisniewskis' evolution and his role shift this week.
Go read it on the PLL website or app.
Jake Taylor is ready for his first playoff game with the team he grew up watching titles in the 2010s.
Tomorrow will be Taylor's first game with Pat Kavanagh since the 2024 National Championship at Notre Dame.
Taylor scored two goals in that game, both assisted by, you guessed it, Pat Kavanagh.
Could his off-ball presence be what Denver was missing down the stretch in 2025?
There's a lot of pressure on Denver to win now.
They have more expiring contracts than any team in the league, including All-Pros and All-Stars at almost every position on the field.
Plus, there's a young, up-and-coming team in the West hungry for some revenge of their own.
I caught up with California Redwoods beat writer Phil Shore on the lessons that last year's semis taught a young Woods team.
Phil, the Outlaws and Redwoods met two weeks ago with very little on the line, very different lineups on the field.
When I think about this rivalry, I look back to last year's semifinals, when the Outlaws won pretty decisively.
Reflecting on that game, what are some of the lessons the Redwoods can take into this year's playoff matchup?
Last year's team that made the playoffs was a really young group, a lot of guys playing in their first season, and thus getting their first PLL playoffs taste, and they did take away a few things from it.
A lot of them said that the game was a blur, right?
They stepped onto the field for warmups, they blinked, and it was halftime.
They stepped onto the field after the meeting in the locker room, and the game's over, their season's over.
They have to work on being more poised.
It's a lot of mentality.
They have to be more calm, more poised, and more confident.
They have to trust in themselves, they have to trust in the preparation, and they have to rely on their preparation to allow them to use their muscle memory in order to make their plays and be more efficient.
You know, defensively, one of the things that really was a momentum shift in that game in the semifinals was at the end of each quarter in the first half, the Outlaws scored three goals, one with 15 seconds in the first quarter remaining, one with one second remaining in the first quarter, really, as time expired, and one with three seconds left in the second quarter.
That went from the Redwoods being up 4-1 to going into halftime 6-6.
It was a massive momentum shift.
You saw the Redwoods offense just kind of stall out, get nervous, and this year's team has a lot more experience now and a lot more confidence in themselves, and they should be coming out ready to play.
Yeah, this Outlaws team, with low clock just finds a way to create offense, whether the ball's, behind the cage at X or whether the ball's on the defensive end and it's Terrafenco and Pisano, running upfield to create an offense.
You've just gotta play a full 48 against this team, and like you said, 48 minutes, a lot less than 60, in a college playoff game.
These games do fly by.
A lot of talk has been, about the Outlaws offense getting back to strength.
Jared Bernhardt expected to return from a bilateral hamstring strain.
Pat Kavanagh removed from the injured reserve.
They're getting healthy at the right time, but the Redwoods are also returning to full strength.
We've seen Cole Castler, Chris Fake make their returns to the lineup.
What do these guys bring to the Redwoods defense?
Castner and Fake are two athletic, strong, imposing figures on defense.
And especially with Fake in this matchup against Denver, he's a very important piece to guarding Brendan O'Neill.
Brendan O'Neill is that rare unicorn: size, strength, speed.
And there aren't many players, there's really only maybe one in Brendan Lavelle that match up against, Brendan O'Neill as well as Chris Fake does.
They've played twice this season, and Brendan O'Neill does not have any goals against the Redwoods this season with Fake covering him.
So he matches up really well.
He lives for this moment.
He's been doing it since he was in college.
So that's a big matchup for them.
But at the same time, you've got, on the other end of the offense for the Outlaws, you've got quicker guys like Cavanaugh and Bernhardt, that Castner, does a really good job.
Even though he's really tall, he does a good job of matching feet with guys.
He's an imposing figure.
But with those two guys in place, it also helps them play a better team defense.
One of the other lessons they learned from last year is that they can't leave guys on islands against these guys.
They can't leave guys one-on-one.
They have to be ready to be aggressive, which is when they're at their best, and those two guys are very aggressive, and they have to be ready to help and communicate, and those two guys are great communicators as well.
Behind that defense, in cage, there are two goalies on the Redwoods.
The Redwoods have traded 2027 draft picks to acquire each of them.
Dylan Ward has been the guy all year.
We saw Ryan Krodyk a bit in August.
What are you hearing about who gets the start and what the goalie situation is?
Dylan Ward is the guy.
The reason they got him in that trade, a big reason why they got him, is because of his experience in big games.
He's won at every level he's played at, professionally, internationally.
He's won it all.
He knows what it takes.
He's a veteran.
He's one of the only guys in, on the team to have won a championship in the pros to be on this team.
So his veteran leadership is massive to this team as they go into the playoffs.
We talked about their inexperience.
He's gonna be a big reason w- that's gonna help keep them calm and keep them poised.
He's the guy in goal.
There's no reason to turn away from him now, despite some s- good play from Ryan Krodyk the past few weeks.
We talked a lot about the 2025 matchup, but the fact of the matter is, is that this Redwoods team is not that Redwoods team, and this Outlaws team is not that Outlaws team.
If you look at the 2026 Redwoods, give me an X factor who was not here in 2025 who could make a difference come Saturday.
I'm going to give you two that weren't here, and they weren't even there in the first time these two teams matched up early in the season this year.
You gotta look at Finn Thompson on offense and Dante Bowen on defense.
Finn Thompson gives the team an off-ball presence that they haven't had up until his arrival.
He's gonna make defenses pay for sliding to McAdory and Malloy and Cavanaugh and Garnsey.
He's gonna make them pay off-ball, and we've seen it in the past few weeks.
Sam English called him inevitable, and he's been getting his every game.
So he's a guy to keep, keep an eye on.
And defensively, Dante Bowen made his debut against the Outlaws in the regular season finale, and the, the players loved what they got from him.
He was physical, he was aggressive, and kind of violent in the best ways.
That one play where he's just ripping the stick out of Denver's hands, they really liked what they saw from him, and he's gonna get another opportunity in this playoff matchup, in that rotation alongside Tevlin and BJ Farrar, who are very different styles of play from him.
So it gives them a lot of different looks, and it'll be fun to see, if he can continue that, that effort in, in the, in the rematch.
Can't wait to see it play out, 6:00 tomorrow on ESPN+.
Phil, as always, thanks for jumping on.
Thank you, Joe.
It's a pleasure.
On Saturday night at 8:30 Eastern, the Maryland Whipsnakes and Boston Cannons go head-to-head.
Winner gets a date with the Philadelphia Water Dogs in the semifinals.
At times, Maryland has looked like the best team in the league, but they've struggled to finish games.
They entered the playoffs on a four-game losing streak, and they're 0 and 5 in games decided by one possession.
But this is the time of year that the team in teal steps up.
They've got the young stars.
Aidan Carroll led all midfielders with 34 points in the regular season.
You talk to players on the Whipsnakes, they view Carroll as their most valuable player.
Coach Stagnitta hasn't been shy about challenging him, too.
Carroll shot one for six in a 13-7 loss to Denver back in June, and when asked what the Whipsnakes need to do to get Carroll going, Stags was pretty direct.
It's not about what the Whipsnakes need to do, it's about what Carroll needs to do.
They gave him chances in that game, they continued to give him chances, and he has made the most of them down the stretch.
Zach Wolf wrote about Carroll's jump in his second year as a pro and his new pregame routine, reading everything from Sir Roger Bannister's memoir on the four-minute mile to 18th century British warships.
I highly recommend reading that feature on the PLL website and app.
Maryland's also got the veterans.
Matt Dunn and Tim Moeller have won titles with the Whips.
Rob Pannell has won an MLL championship and gold medals with Team USA, but he's still chasing his first ever PLL championship.
For more on the team standing in their way, we welcome Boston Cannons beat writer Noelle D'Amico.
Noelle, big news ahead of the Cannons matchup with the Whipsnakes on Saturday.
Reigning Midfielder of the Year, Matt Campbell, is back from injury.
We'll get a chance to see him for the first time since early June.
What does Campbell bring to this offense?
I mean, besides just the, the obvious and what he could do, Midfielder of the Year last season, he brings a veteran presence that they've been without all season.
Like, Marcus Holman has been holding it down in the offense.
And I was looking at the, you know, the 19-man roster, and I think about half of them have never been to the PLL playoffs, between the rookies and the second years who- When the Cannons missed the playoffs last year.
So to have him back is gonna be huge.
When I was talking to Coach Manny a few weeks ago, he was like, "The funny thing is, when I took this job, I thought we were gonna have Matt Campbell."
So for them to, you know, rearrange the season and still find success, and be able to get themselves to the playoffs without him, I think is gonna be a huge advantage.
And now just adding that piece back in alongside, you know, Mikey Weisser, Jack Richeneri, Graydon Hogg, is gonna really light them up.
And Matt Campbell is 100%.
That was something that Coach Holman was really clear about.
He's like, he won't be returning until he feels 100% ready.
So I would not be surprised to see the Matt Campbell that we all expect on Saturday.
It's a scary thought for defenses.
O- one of the best downhill dodging players, and like you said, his evolution as a leader, over the past few years has, has been really impressive to watch.
It's something that Marcus and A- Adam Gittleman, when he was with the team, really challenged some of the younger guys, back at that 2025 championship series.
Really, looking at Campbell, looking at Ethan Rolle, some of the younger guys on the team, and saying like, "Hey, this has gotta be your team now.
Someone's gotta step up," and, Campbell didn't just answer on the field, winning the golden stick, but he answered in the huddles, demanding the ball, and, and using his voice, just like Marcus wanted them to do.
So a huge boost heading into this matchup to get him back.
Absolutely, and he's been that for them throughout his injury as well, just super vocal in team meetings and staying really involved in that leadership role.
So I think it's been huge.
Coach Holman said he's ecstatic.
He said he's got this look in his eye that's a little bit scary, so challenge for defenses for sure.
And getting him the ball at the stripe, Andrew McMeeken, who's been phenomenal this year, you recently caught up with him to take a look at what goes into his prep as he studies opponents.
Talk to me about what, what McMeeken does.
It's, it is so detailed.
He gives a full-on face-off report to the entire team every single week, and I uncovered this cool thing.
He has this app that i- one of his best friends, David Smith, designed for him while he was at Princeton.
He was a teammate there.
David Smith kind of watched Coach Casey Dowden, McMeeken do this process of old-fashioned pen and paper every single week, and he, after a year, he was like, "I think I can make this a lot easier for you guys."
He's a computer science major.
And so over winter break, he really downplayed his ability to throw together an app in, like, three days and work through iterations and specifically tailor it to McMeeken.
At first I was like, "Was this, like, a school project for you?"
And he was like, "No."
It completely, like, made for him in the way that he sees the game, so just tracking opponents and where the ball is going and the minuscule details that McMeeken loves to pull out to be able to isolate and say, you know, "Did I win a face-off, but then really I lost it two seconds later, so that doesn't count?"
Getting rid of those anomalies.
And so it's something that he had at school, and David Smith was like, "I don't wanna take any credit," but he did have a really phenomenal year and, you know, he's brought that with him into the PLL.
So it's been huge for the whole team.
He's taken over designing the wing play, and guys like Ethan Rolle have said, "It takes the reaction time completely out of it for me."
It used to be a lot of Ethan, you know, r- reacting to where the ball would go, and now he's like, "McMeeken tells me in game and we're making in-game adjustments, and I just get there."
And that's been huge for them, and we've seen the results of that, so McMeeken, X factor for them, especially against the Whipsnakes.
It's gonna be, it's gonna be a battle at the stripe.
Yeah, David Smith deserves a ton of credit.
Mc- it's, it's, it's tough to understate this run that McMeeken's been on, from the national championship with Princeton in May to now being 60% plus, one, leading the league, but two, the first ever Boston Cannon since 2001 to go 60% plus at the stripe.
And the Cannons have had some great face-off specialists throughout the years.
What McMeeken's doing, it has really been incredible and coincided with, a number of young players finding their roles.
Will Donovan's move to close defense, which you've spotlighted, and backup goalie, JC Higginbotham, becoming the starting goalie.
His journey has been incredible over the past couple years in his first two seasons as a pro.
How'd he get here to this starting role with the Cannons?
Yes.
First off, he's been with five organizations in two years, and when, when there's eight teams in the league and he's been with more than half of them, that is just pretty surreal in and of itself.
It was, you know, an Atlas champ series and then a training camp with the Outlaws and the Archers for a few weeks, then winning the championship series with the Chaos, and now being with Boston, having this opportunity.
He got invited to training camp, won that second spot, behind Curse at the beginning of the season, but he's always had Coach Holman's eye.
He actually remembers seeing him back in his high school recruiting days.
So he's had this, you know, mentality of gratitude, and I think that's what's prolonged him to get here because I asked, like, through that rejection or, you know, being cut from teams, like, what did that feel like for you?
And he was like, it stung at first, but just realizing I'm one of, like, 16 guys in the world who get this opportunity really fueled him moving forward.
That's what he plays for, and he was able to wait well with the help of his teammates, like knowing that the work he was doing was gonna be for them, so that when his number was called, and it was a few weeks ago, he was ready to go.
And kind of going back to that first start that was very tight-lipped, he didn't even tell his parents or his college coach, who was in the stands, and no one had any idea that he was starting.
He wanted to keep that moment just as regular as possible, stay in his routine, and it paid off for him, so it's exciting.
Exciting to see him get his start, and Coach Holman certainly has a bit of a thing for the underdog.
We've seen that with Brian Kelly, Graydon Hogg, and Holman said that comes a little bit from himself and his own journey to, to see him in those guys and give them a chance.
He said it's not always successful, but he's won more battles in that arena than he's lost, so thrilled to, to have him out there.
What a journey, and as quiet as he kept it, it going into that first start, it's been anything but since, making your debut and holding a Utah Archers offense that was one of the best in the league to seven points in your debut, will make, will force the word to get out there quickly on- on just how good of a goalie you are.
Absolutely.
Noelle, as always, thanks for jumping on.
Looking forward to the Cannons and Whipsnakes tomorrow at 8:30 on ESPN+.
Thanks, Joe.
Always a pleasure.
Tune in tomorrow night on ESPN+ for the quarterfinals double header.
Denver and California get it going at 6:00 Eastern, followed by Maryland and Boston at 8:30, all on ESPN+.
We'll be back here on Monday to break it all down and recap the biggest news coming out of the weekends.
Enjoy the games.
