- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,239,146
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
The New York Atlas have been close.
Very close.
But with the postseason approaching, Atlas head coach Mike Pressler says “close” to turning the corner no longer carries any value.
“We’re close. Yeah, we’re close,” Pressler said. “But it can’t be about being close anymore. It’s about your record and winning.”
New York’s last two games have ended in heartbreak.
Two weeks ago, the Atlas watched a six-point lead disappear in a 15-13 loss to the Boston Cannons. Last week, after a lengthy weather delay, New York held a two-goal lead with less than six minutes to go before the Philadelphia Waterdogs scored the game’s final three goals to win 11-10 and hand the Atlas another devastating in-conference defeat.
The losses have become increasingly difficult to stomach because New York has shown flashes of the championship team it was last season. Along with those two defeats, the Atlas dropped a one-goal game to the California Redwoods on June 5. Had New York won one or two of those games, its playoff trajectory would look much different.
Instead, the Atlas enter Sunday in last place with a league-worst minus-21 goal differential and just a 14% chance of making the postseason, according to the PLL’s playoff odds. Those odds could drop even further depending on the results of Friday’s and Saturday’s games.
Finishing games has been the difference between staying competitive in the playoff race and sitting at 3-6 entering the final three weeks, as the Atlas are. Pressler has emphasized the importance of putting together a full 48-minute performance all season.
“We feel like we’re almost there,” attackman/midfielder Reid Bowering said. “This whole year, it’s felt like almost, almost, and so we’re just trying to get a little bit better.”
Bowering has become a bigger part of New York’s offense as the season has progressed. With Jeff ****out for the season, he has helped fill the void on the lefty side, scoring two goals in each of the last three games.
“I do think last week was probably our most complete game offensively and defensively for the whole 48 minutes,” Bowering said. “Hopefully we just progress on that, and all we can do is focus on ourselves and try to win this next game.”
Veteran midfielder Bryan Costabile echoed Bowering’s belief but said the difference between winning and losing has come down to execution in key moments.
“The fact that they are very close games and we have been right in it the whole time just shows you that we are a very capable team,” Costabile said. “It’s just finding those little pieces and little moments toward the end of the game where we’re actually able to hold on … and do what we need to do to really win the game.”
Pressler agreed the margins have been slim, but said the small mistakes that have cost the Atlas games can no longer be afforded.
“We’re turning every rock here,” Pressler said. “There’s no more lapses. There’s no more … you give a quarter away, you give five minutes away, and you’re not going to get where you want to get to at the end of the season.”
New York fell to California 12-11 in the first regular-season meeting but was without Costabile and Matt Traynor. Both will be in the lineup Sunday when the teams meet at 3 p.m. ET in Columbus on ABC and ESPN+.
For the Atlas, the matchup is essentially a playoff game.
“We’re backs against the wall,” Pressler said. “We all know that … we’re in a must-win situation moving forward here, and everything’s about the Redwoods in Columbus this Sunday.”
Continue reading...
