All photos by Tracey Happold-Brown
The Utah Archers continued their dominance as back-to-back Premier Lacrosse League champions on a glorious Sunday, September 15 at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. They stunned the Maryland Whipsnakes and their fans with a strong 12-8 win, even though they were missing last year’s most valuable championship player in Tom Schreiber.
Despite the absence of Captain America on the field, Utah was locked, loaded and ready to fire back. Mac O’Keefe found the back of the net three times in the championship, while the defense played solidly in front of Brett Dobson, who stopped 20 shots and was an integral part of the win.
The quote from the Utah press conference that everyone is talking about? It was short, sweet and to the point: “Let’s raising another #%* banner!” This one will be the first with the full Utah Archers name on it, with 2024 being the first year the PLL used home cities for their teams.
The PLL hosted games in Salt Lake City on August 16/17, and the Archers picked up two wins that weekend – 13-12 over the California Redwoods and 13-9 over the Denver Outlaws.
Head coach Chris Bates attributes the championship and the win to the Archers’ fantastic play in Utah that seemed to shoot the Archers into the winning circle.
“I genuinely believe that Utah was the difference maker for us this season,” Bates said. “I genuinely do. That weekend for us helped us turn the corner. That crowd, and that city, and that community, how they supported us, made a difference. So we’ve said it loud and proud: We are Utah Archers now, and for those in the community who are listening, we are excited to be back and raise the banner.”
The Whipsnakes struck three times before they eventually had their rattles silenced, with the Archers taking over. Mac O’Keefe led with three goals, Matt Moore scored twice and added an assist, and Tre Leclaire scored twice to lead the offence for Utah. The Archers hit the bullseye by walking away with the win and silencing the Maryland crowd.
