The Utah Archers clinched their second consecutive Premier Lacrosse League championship with a 12-8 victory over the Maryland Whipsnakes on Sunday at Subaru Park in Philadelphia.
The Archers, who finished the regular season with a 6-4 record, overcame an early deficit and dominated the latter stages of the game.
Mac O'Keefe led the way for Utah with three goals, while Matt Moore also contributed with two goals and one assist. Brett Dobson was stellar in goal, making 17 saves (68% of the shots he faced) to stifle Maryland's offense. Tre Leclaire scored a pair of goals for Utah, while Connor Fields and Grant Ament each chipped in with a goal and an assist.
Ryan Conrad scored three goals for Maryland, while TJ Malone registered four assists and Adam Poitras scored twice. Zed Williams and Matt Rambo each scored once but were largely kept in check by Utah's defense.
The Whipsnakes started strong, taking a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter thanks to goals from Rambo and Poitras. However, Utah responded with three straight goals (including a Mason Woodward 2-pointer) in the second quarter to tie it at 5 entering halftime.
O'Keefe scored less than three minutes into the third quarter, as the Archers scored five of the next six goals to pull ahead.
Dobson earned championship MVP honors for his exceptional performance between the pipes throughout the playoffs.
ESPN Generative AI Services creates recaps from event data and/or transcripts that are reviewed by human editors before posting; email support@espncustomercare.com for corrections.