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Pushed to the brink, each of the teams facing elimination this week in the Premier Lacrosse League stepped up to the plate and delivered.

Unfortunately, one of the 5-5 teams still had to go into the Battle for the First Pick bracket.

Atlas opened the weekend in Albany with a 12-9 upset of the league-leading Chaos, putting the Bulls in strong position odds-wise. That quickly changed a game later, as Redwoods followed up a dud last week with an 18-7 blowout victory of Chrome to clinch a playoff spot.

“I’m so happy for our guys,” Redwoods coach Nat St. Laurent said on NBC Sports Gold. “We talked way back in training camp about our whys, why we play the game, and having hope. Now we have hope to go get that championship, and that’s the most powerful thing in the world.”

With Redwoods (-2) passing Atlas (-7) in goal differential, the Bulls’ fate then rested in the Archers’ hands in a simple scenario. Archers would get in with a win, and Atlas would go with an Archers loss.

Unfortunately for Atlas, Archers held the high-powered Whipsnakes to one goal in the second half and got a six-point performance from Tom Schreiber in an 11-8 triumph.

Thus, Atlas’ late-season revival was for naught. Redwoods and Archers will meet in the first round of the playoffs next week, while Atlas will have to settle for a battle with Chrome in the consolation bracket.

“Congrats to the Archers and Redwoods,” Atlas coach John Paul tweeted Sunday. “We did all we could the past two weeks, but they got it done in the end. Rough start to the season came back to haunt us, but proud of our team for how we finished.  Plenty to build on.”

Atlas’ chances were slim heading into last weekend, when they battled Chrome in a do-or-die situation, but went up to 75.5 percent, according to the PLL, after Redwoods’ goal differential tanked with a loss to the Whipsnakes.

Archers, which also got four points each from Will Manny and Christian Cuccinello, entered the weekend with the best odds of the bunch. The team remained the only one of the three with a positive goal differential, now boasting a plus-six mark.

Redwoods lose Heningburg, respond well

Jules Heningburg was nearly Redwoods’ entire offense last week, getting either the goal or assist on all four of the team’s points. This week, the Woods had to put up a monster offensive performance with him out of commission for most of the game.

The former Rutgers star took a brutal crosscheck to the head from Chrome goalie Brett Queener late in the first quarter, giving him a concussion that kept him confined to the sidelines.

After a bit of a fiery exchange around the crease — culminating in a pair of 5-minute majors to Redwoods’ Sergio Perkovic and Chrome’s Mike Manley — the rest of Heningburg’s Redwoods teammates were ready to pick up the mantle.

After Chrome tied the score at 6, Redwoods went on an 11-goal run, earning the blowout victory to secure a playoff spot and keep their fate in their own hands. With the benefit of hindsight, the team needed to win by seven goals to stay alive.  

With no Heningburg, Ryder Garnsey took over the offense, totaling seven points while dazzling the crowd with highlight-worthy moves.

“We just battled,” St. Laurent said. “We knew what was on the line. We talk about how we needed spark plays and we had them all over.”

Heningburg shared his excitement and a positive health diagnosis on Twitter.

“PLAYOFFS,” he tweeted. “I never played in an NCAA tournament game, have never won a championship, and did not make them last year. I would lose a limb to make the postseason. I am GOOD, and my boys held it down.”

Final regular-season tallies

Whipsnakes’ Matt Rambo finished atop the league charts in both points and assists in the regular season with 42 and 23, respectively. Archers’ Marcus Holman narrowly took home the goal title, besting teammate Will Manny and Chaos’ Connor Fields by one goal, thanks to a two-goal performance in the regular-season finale.

Redwoods’ Garrett Epple, whose return to the lineup this week was much appreciated by his teammates, led the league with 23 caused turnovers. Archers goalie Drew Adams, who split time in net with Adam Ghitelman, led the league with a 65.3 save percentage, while Chaos’ Blaze Riorden had the highest mark for full-time starters.

Noteworthy

Albany brought the PLL its second sellout, joining Baltimore. Both came at stadiums used to hosting college lacrosse teams, Homewood Field and Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. ... Chaos’ Miles Thompson and Chrome’s Ty Thompson both returned to action this week to play at their alma mater. Miles had two points while Ty grabbed a ground ball. … Sergio Perkovic ended a four-game pointless streak for the Redwoods, notching three. … Atlas’ Trevor Baptiste was talking to the NBC Sports Gold broadcasters, then immediately won a faceoff and ran down field to score a goal (below). … Atlas also had a brotherly connection this week, as both Jake Richard and Noah Richard found the back of the net. It was Jake’s first career goal. … The Tewaaraton Trophy was in the stadium Sunday as the league celebrated Native American heritage. … The PLL media tour continued this week with Yahoo, while locally, the Albany Times Union wrote about the league arriving in New York’s capital.

Play of the Week
Ryder Garnsey, A, Redwoods

Garnsey made a couple plays worthy of the honor this week, but a slight edge goes to this one-handed assist to Matt Kavanagh on the crease.

Up Next

The PLL playoffs begin in Columbus next Friday, Sept. 6, when Archers and Redwoods go to battle at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The winner of that game stays in the Battle for the Crown bracket, while the loser will compete for the first pick. The teams split their two meetings this season, with each decided by a goal.

Atlas and Chrome kick off action on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 3 p.m. in a loser-goes-home matchup in the first-pick bracket (NBC Sports Gold). Atlas beat Chrome in both meetings in the regular season.

Finally, Chaos and Whipsnakes meet at 6 p.m. that night, with the winner going directly to the championship (NBCSN). The loser meets the winner off Redwoods/Archers for the chance at a rematch. It’s another close matchup, since each team beat the other by one goal during the regular season.