- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,239,978
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
The Utah Archers collected their second consecutive win on Saturday evening, taking down the Philadelphia Waterdogs 18-8 in Fairfield.
The Archers took control in the third quarter before a lengthy weather delay, largely thanks to a pair of scores from Tre Leclaire. He notched his first goal off a physical north-south dodge down the alley before adding a howitzer of a two-pointer on a power play two minutes later.
One minute and 40 seconds of game play — but over an hour of real time — later, Leclaire added another off-ball via a Leo Johnson assist. He then buried his second two-pointer off a beautiful double-elevator screen early in the fourth quarter.
Leclaire is often a bellwether for Utah’s offense as a complementary dodger and outside shooter. He totaled nine points against Philadelphia, the most-ever by an Archer in a regular-season game. The team is now 7-1 all-time when he scores four or more points in a game. Sam King (2G, 2A), Connor Fields (4G) and Ryan Stines (1G, 3A) added four apiece.
While Leclaire was productive and the Utah offense kept building momentum, the Archers’ defensive performance underscored what makes this team a championship contender.
CJ Kirst entered Saturday’s action averaging 5.0 goals per game and shooting 57.1%. He scored just one against Utah and shot 16.7% (1-for-6). Brendan Lavelleplayed Kirst well, embracing physicality to limit No. 15. His powerful, late checks to Kirst’s hands disrupted his shooting motion.
“Brendan Lavelle did a nice job,” head coach Chris Bates said postgame. “We slid hard. I thought defensively we had a great game plan. We flew all over the place. Dobber was great in cage.”
Utah’s short-stick defensive midfielders also continued to be difference-makers. No. 1 overall pick Aidan Maguire scored his second career goal a week after his first. Piper Bond added a goal and an assist. Maguire won an individual matchup with Kirst. Beau Pederson shut down Michael Sowers on another possession.
“Our shorties are as good as anybody,” Bates said. “They lock down week in, week out. It’s as good a unit as there is and it’s a real big reason for our success.”
The 10-point win (and the Carolina Chaos’ loss earlier in the day) boosted the Archers’ odds of making the playoffs all the way to 93%. Their score differential of plus-22 is far and away the best in the Western Conference.
Atop the conference standings, they’re also well in the hunt for the No. 1 seed (38% probability) in the West and the bye to the semifinals that comes with it.
Continue reading...
