Waterdogs

Waterdogs head into Indigenous Heritage Weekend seeking their first win and with a new faceoff specialist

The Philadelphia Waterdogs return from the bye week at 0-3 and last in the Eastern Conference. However, their record does not reflect their level of play. Only three plays decided the Waterdogs’ fate this season, and they lost each by one goal, with two overtime defeats.

Michael Sowers and Kieran McArdle, the team’s first and second-leading scorers, continue to shine at their typical All-Star level. Despite the team’s 0-3 record, Sowers ranks 4th, and McCardle ranks 9th in points this season. Both players are in the Top 10 for most touches, and they are the only players with over 100 touches and less than five turnovers this year. Still, the Waterdogs and Bill Tierney’s new coaching staff are going through some growing pains to start the 2024 campaign. Regardless, Sowers is ready to lay it all on the line to get Philly back into a playoff position. After their loss to the Whipsnakes in overtime, Sowers reassured the team would be fine.

I know we got the right guys in that locker room, and we got the right guy at the helm (head coach Bill Tierney). We are going to turn this thing around. There’s no doubt about it.

Recently, Zach Currier has been making a significant impact with more offensive touches instead of being confined to the faceoff stripe. In Philly’s last game, the Canadian midfielder tallied a hat trick and two assists against the Whipsnakes. The Waterdogs also get back Jack Hannah, who led the Waterdogs in points at midfield and was an absolute sniper from distance with three two-point goals in 2023.

Heading into Week Four, Philly is on pace to finish with the worst faceoff percentage in professional lacrosse history. Winning just eight of 81 faceoffs, the old strategy to let other teams win easily leads to them dominating possession. The Waterdogs have 116 possessions compared to their opponents’ 143. That disparity of possession attempts becomes critical, especially in close games: the Waterdogs theme for 2024 so far.

Opposing teams utilize a free faceoff win by peppering goalie Dillon Ward early and often with shots on net. This season, Ward has faced one of the lowest shots-on-goal totals (78) but ranks second to last in goals against (39). On a positive note, the Waterdogs lead the league in caused turnovers, with rookie defenseman Marcus Hudgins forcing four against the Whipsnakes and leading the team in groundballs after just two games.

Waterdogs sign Denver’s faceoff specialist Alec Stathakis

Bill Tierney, the former coach at Denver University, who saw the rise of one of the best faceoff warriors to ever do it, Trevor Baptiste, had his eyes set on Alec Stathakis, another F.O.G.O. from Denver. Tierney coached Stathatkis for four of his five years there. The legendary lacrosse coach has nothing but praise for the Waterdogs news faceoff specialist, who raved over Stathakis’ competitive nature and grit in getting the job done. Tierney said the rookie from Northville, Michigan, ran a five-and-a-half-minute mile and was clearly the strongest player in the Denver weight room. At 5-foot-11, 220 pounds, Stathakis finished second to only Trevor Baptiste in career faceoff wins (966) and groundballs (540) at Denver.

Despite those gaudy numbers in college, the professional game requires an entirely different level of strength and tactics at the faceoff stripe. Stathakis gels perfectly with the Waterdogs’ gritty and “bring your lunch pail to work” culture. But, like any rookie entering the professional field, there will be an adjustment period. Tierney said Alec did really well in the scrimmage but thinks he was a little perplexed by the 32-second rule.

We’ll see how the newest Waterdog fares going up the Carolina Chaos’ second-year F.O.G.O. Nick Rowlett, who holds a lowly 39.2% winning percentage, the worst in the league among teams who dress faceoff specialists. The 19-man gameday roster will be released tomorrow as the Waterdogs seek their first win of the season against the Carolina Chaos in the last game of the PLL’s Indigenous Heritage Weekend this Saturday at 8:30 PM EST on ESPN+.

Author’s Note: Other professional leagues need to take note of the jersey design for the PLL’s Indigenous Heritage Week. Every single one is a hit, not one single miss by Patrick Hunter, who drew inspiration from woodland art, a style of Native art that builds on “Ojibwe traditions of petroglyphs — drawings or carvings on rocks — and images made on birchbark scrolls.

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