Near-Perfect Brett Dobson Backstops Archers Back to Title Game

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — The Premier Lacrosse League championship game is set after one of the most memorable goalie performances in recent history.

The Utah Archers defeated the Carolina Chaos 10-1 in the second semifinal at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium on Saturday and didn’t surrender a score to the Chaos until the final minute of the game.

Archers goalie Brett Dobson made 18 saves (94.7 percent).

“Goes without saying, we’re thrilled to be going back to Philly,” Archers head coach Chris Bates said. “First and foremost, defensively, I thought we were lights out. Chaos has a lot of talent. For us to lock them down the way we did, Dobber was phenomenal in cage, collectively our defense was outstanding.”

It was all Archers early and often. Rookie Dyson Williams scored the game’s first goal, and the Archers kept the pressure on from there. With Tom Schreiber sidelined with an injury, Grant Ament stepped up as the quarterback. Utah scored four first-quarter goals — three of them were scored or assisted by Ament.

And while the Archers’ calling card has been offense, the defense starred Saturday. A first-half shutout was led by Dobson’s eight saves, while Mason Woodward and Graeme Hossack dominated 1-v-1s. The Chaos struggled to find matchups they could win, and the Archers’ short-stick midfield trio of Piper Bond, Connor Maher and Beau Pederson were able to win as individuals.

Hossack added a two-point goal in the first half, one of eight Archers to register at least one first-half point. Matt Moore’s goal put them ahead 9-0 at the break.

The Chaos continued to struggle in the third quarter. The Archers’ shorties were dominant. Carolina tried to push for more transition opportunities, releasing poles over the midline to try and create unsettled situations, but Dobson was up to the task.

“Lights out. Lights out. He just gave us energy, and you’re kind of shaking your head on the sideline because they couldn’t find a way to get it by him,” Bates said of Dobson. “Blaze [Riorden] obviously is special and one of the best to play the position. I think Dobber has such a calm about him that I think permeates our team. He has played really big in big moments, and he makes fun of me because I call him unflappable, but he just gets that extra calm in big moments.”

The Chaos started the fourth quarter with two minutes of locked-in power play after a high hit call on Moore. But after another Dobson save, the Archers cleared and killed most of the penalty. A Chaos turnover on a clear let the Archers kill the rest of the penalty. Carolina got just one shot off in the two minutes.

“That was one of the best defensive performances I’ve ever seen,” Ament said. “Just smothering defensively and giving up shots [Dobson] wanted to see. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort of this group.”

Utah’s offense slowed in the second half, but so did the pace. Still, Bates was hoping for a higher level of execution in the final two quarters.

“If we’re being honest, we were terrible offensively in the second half,” he said. “We were just not great. I thought we got a little out of whack. We said in the huddle at the end, we did not play our best lacrosse for 48 minutes.”

As time continued to tick, the talk of a shutout grew louder. With seven minutes to go and the Archers leading 10-0, the first-ever pro lacrosse shutout felt within reach. But with just under a minute left, the Chaos finally broke through on Zach Geddes’ twister.

“Once you get going early, it kind of stacks,” Dobson said. “But you want to stay even keel, you don’t want to start thinking shutout and then next thing you know, there’s five in the back of the net and you’re in a tough spot.”

While the Chaos had a rough night, in a year when the club made a serious shift in personnel and gameplan, a semifinal appearance is more than many expected.

“I’m very proud of our group,” Chaos head coach Andy Towers said. “No one expected us to get to the semifinals based on how the season evolved. Our guys stuck together throughout the whole season. Our defense was great all year long. We had a lot of turnover on the offensive end in terms of personnel, and it took us a while to get going. I feel like we started to get connected better down the stretch of the season.”