As the final whistle blew in the last game of the Premier Lacrosse League’s 2022 opening weekend, Chrome LC head coach Tim Soudan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After going up 11-9 late in the fourth quarter, Soudan watched Archers LC go on the power play, score with less than a minute remaining and nearly force overtime on a last-second play. But his Chrome held on to victory thanks to a great defensive play on the crease by veteran defender Michael Manley and an intercepted pass by newcomer Nick Grill as seconds expired.

“Guys made plays when they needed to make plays,” Soudan said during the postgame press conference. “Nick Grill made a big play at the end.”

The Chrome entered Sunday’s game looking for their first win in 338 days. Ironically, they secured their first win of 2022 against the last team they defeated before finishing with a 2-7 record and missing the playoffs in 2021.

It was both Soudan’s first win in nearly a year and his first win with a vastly new roster — one that lacks a handful of Soudan’s longest tenured players.

A CHANGING OF THE GUARD

While some roster overhauls are planned, others occur abruptly. That was the case when four of the Chrome’s established veterans retired in the offseason. Joel White and John Galloway retired together at the end of last season after spending 13 seasons together in college and the pros. Ned Crotty’s retirement came in April and was followed by Jordan Wolf’s announcement that he was retiring due to the injury he sustained in 2021. In a span of just nine months, the Chrome had lost four key veterans that meant just as much to the Chrome’s locker room as they did on the field.

“All of those guys are Hall of Fame players when it’s all said and done,” John Ranagan said. “But beyond their play on the field, they set the tone every year that we’ve been a part of the Chrome. They emphasized the importance of getting to know your teammates and building that type of trust with your teammates is definitely something we’re going to miss from them.”

Along with fellow captain Jordan MacIntosh and Manley, Ranagan is one of the few players remaining to play under Soudan during his time coaching the Rochester Rattlers in Major League Lacrosse.

“The relationships we’ve built are a lot further than the field, and I think that’s why we stuck together so long,” MacIntosh said on the Pro Lacrosse Talk podcast. “I think the culture that John [Galloway] and Joel [White] have built make this a desirable team to play for. People want to be a part of that culture and family, and that’s a huge testament to the foundation those guys have built.”

“They created this great fun atmosphere,” Soudan said. “They were a big part of building the teams that ended up going to Championship Weekend a few times in Major League Lacrosse, and the thing that struck me was that all of these guys were young when they started to take on leadership roles. They’ll certainly be missed in a lot of ways, not only talent on the field, but the people that they are.”

While Soudan, Ranagan and MacIntosh all acknowledge the impact that Galloway, White, Crotty and Wolf had on the team, their focus is solely on the 2022 version of the team.

“We’re not really going to be talking all that much about what’s happened in the past, or what’s happened on teams and other leagues,” Ranagan said. “We have a maniacal focus on the 2022 Chrome.”

“We’re using this as an opportunity to recreate and revamp what the identity of our team is; who we are and what we’re all about,” MacIntosh added. “Things haven’t gone great for us in this league. So, we have this opportunity to recreate who we are and reestablish what our team identity is. I wouldn’t say we’re rebuilding, but more recreating ourselves.”

Soudan attributes the team’s optimism to the culture that Ranagan and MacIntosh have built.

“Jordan McIntosh and John Ranagan have been captains for the last couple of years, and they’re just incredible,” Soudan said. “What struck me when I first came back was that the same old song that I was singing early in their careers about being a family caring about each other was coming out of their mouths organically now. They love spreading knowledge and creating a culture. It’s what they do, and they’ve done a great job.”

YOUNG PLAYERS EMBRACE THE CULTURE

The culture that Soudan has built has trickled down to his young players.

“When the season was over last year, I called around to see how guys were doing and I was talking to Justin Anderson, who’s going to be an incredible leader for us down the road, and he said, ‘Coach, I was talking to Kevin Rogers, and I know we were 2-7 last year, but it was one of the best experiences of my life,” Soudan said.

Colin Heacock, who joined the Chrome in his first PLL season last year, also credited Soudan for the team’s positive outlook.

“Coach Soudan has been around the game for a long time as a player and a coach,” Heacock said. “Everybody respects him, and I think that him touching base with us individually and as a team during the offseason really helped.”

“He’s probably the only reason I’m playing professional outdoor lacrosse,” MacIntosh said. “He gave me a chance back in the day with the Rattlers. He’s the perfect professional coach and knows how to get the most out of us. We owe him a championship from all the years of getting close in the past.”

The culture that Soudan and the Chrome captains have created is impressive, especially when considering how limited the players’ time is together.

“We have the luxury of being together for a whole week in training camp, but then the rest of the season, you’re together for 36 hours, so it’s hard to kind of recreate that on the fly,” Ranagan said.

“Playing in the PLL is so much about the ability to be around good people. A lot of guys take time out of their lives to fly around the country to play in games and spend a weekend away from their family,” Jesse Bernhardt said. “So, when you’re sacrificing those things, you want to make sure you’re doing it around the people that you enjoy.”

Soudan emphasized finding players that fit from both a skill perspective and locker room fit this offseason, and that was a key part in his decision to draft Logan Wisnauskas first overall in the 2022 PLL College Draft.

“I think the absence of a left-handed attackman was a big part of the decision making,” Soudan said. “As I watched Logan play throughout the year, his IQ stuck out to me. I also had conversations with Jesse Bernhardt and John Tillman about his passion for lacrosse, and the fact that he’s really looking forward to the next step in his lacrosse career.”

“He’s got some natural ability and skill, but I think the work ethic and time spent during those unseen hours is definitely what separates him and makes him more successful,” added Bernhardt, who coached Wisnauskas as an assistant at Maryland. “So much of the professional approach is self-accountability and making sure your body is physically ready to play at that level. He definitely embodies that approach, and it’s going to do great things for him moving forward into the summer and for years to come.”

Heacock, a fellow Boys’ Latin (Md.) High School and Maryland alum, echoed Bernhardt’s sentiments.

“Logan and I both went to Boys’ Latin for high school, so I’ve known Logan for quite some time,” Heacock said. “He wants to win, and he’s not afraid to put in the hours after practice or before watching film. His work ethic really sticks out, and it’s been impressive to see how he’s evolved as a player.”

“We have some great leadership,” Wisnauskas said. “MacIntosh and Heacock are some great guys who have taken me under their wing … I’ve been trying to listen to those guys and take it all in. Be a sponge and put it forward.”

Soudan was pleased with how the rest of the college draft went, particularly drafting former Army attackman Brendan Nichtern, who finished with two goals and an assist on Sunday.

“The nice part about the [Logan Wisnauskas] decision was that Nichtern fell to us at [No. 9]. He’s incredible,” Soudan said.

In addition to the rookies, Soudan and the team captains are excited to have a full season of players who saw limited time in 2021, particularly new starting goalie Sean Sconone and attackman Dylan Molloy.

Sconone made 11 saves on 22 shots and contributed on several of Chrome’s transition opportunities last weekend. Soudan spoke about Sconone’s accomplishments at UMass and in prior pro seasons as one of the reasons they trusted him with the starting role.

“It’s the little things that set [goalies] apart, and you don’t really see it until they play in games,” he said.

On the other end, Molloy registered two goals and two assists in the win. Soudan said that Molloy showed up to camp in great shape and has been impressed with Molloy’s commitment off the field.

“What I love about Dylan is that he always checks in with me,” Soudan said. “He wants to make sure he’s doing the right things.”

Along with Sconone and Molloy, players like Jackson Morrill, Ryan Terefenko, Rogers and Anderson are expected to make further strides in their second seasons with the Chrome.

“Because of some of the injuries, guys got opportunities to play more than maybe they would have if we didn’t have those injuries,” Bernhardt said. “I think the experiences and playing time that those guys got as young guys is going to pay huge dividends this summer.”

Another Chrome player that is expected to play a big role in his first PLL season is third overall pick in the 2021 PLL College Draft JT Giles-Harris.

“It was really great to see JT out there. He was one of the pieces that we invested in last year, and it didn’t end up paying any dividends last year, but it’s going to moving forward,” Soudan said. “He proved [last weekend] that he can pretty much guard anybody.”

“I felt pretty comfortable out there, even though it was my first time, just because of the leadership that we had,” Giles-Harris said. “We trust each other.”

While injury prevention is a top priority for the Chrome in 2022 — they lost Bernhardt and Will Haus for various portions of last summer — ultimately the message has been trusting each other and elevating the level of play on the field every week.

“This is the PLL. You have to ride the rollercoaster a bit,” Bernhardt said. “I think, for having some new guys, we held our poise, and it’s a great way to start the year off.”

“There needs to be a next level of effort from everybody on the team, because I think that’s what’s going to be able to take us to the top,” Ranagan said. “There’s skill all over this league. It’s your effort, your intensity and your ability to trust your teammates that gets the job done. Those are the three things that we’re focusing on.”