Everything You Need to Know: PLL Championship Series
The PLL has just announced all the details for the PLL Championship Series in February, and let me tell you, if you are a fan of lacrosse this will be an awesome experience.
Citizens of the East Coast can rejoice because this tournament is being hosted in Washington D.C. at The St. James Indoor Field. A beautiful decision by Paul Rabil and his team as it allows fans to watch the spectacle at hand unfold while staying warm in the winter weather.
The tournament features the top four teams of the PLL regular season. This means no Waterdogs LC or Chaos LC, the two teams that competed in the PLL Championship game. This is only the beginning of the madness coming from this series.
A normal PLL game features 10 vs. 10 play on a 110 by 65 yard field. The Championship Series features six vs. six lacrosse on a 77 by 40 yard field.
A smaller field means more action. More action means more goals, more hits, and potential to gain more fans.
Also six vs. six lacrosse means more open space to see players like Matt Rambo dog on his competition.
No six vs. six play is not a joke, it is real life.
World lacrosse competitions featured a similar style of play this past summer and the games were electric.
The PLL wanted to bring madness this winter, and this is definitely a way to accomplish that.
Due to the play being six vs. six, rosters are only made up of 12 players instead of 26 players. This means we may be seeing all of the stars in D.C. in February.
One of the craziest rule changes in this format of play is sticks. There are no long poles in six vs. six lacrosse, and luckily for all the goalies involved that means no more long pole bombs from two point range.
Some of the other big rule changes from normal PLL lacrosse matches also enhance the speed of the game. The shot clock is only 30 seconds in comparison to the normal 52 second clock.
No faceoffs after goals, the goalie takes the ball out of his own net and starts the play. We may see Trevor Baptiste tear up the turf like he did in the all star game when he finally got a chance to step away from the faceoff stripe.
Did I mention no shot backup? Yes, you read that right. If a ball sails wide of the cage it counts as a turnover and the defending team can start on the attack.
Offense will be happening fast and furious. I just hope the players turn their safeties off so we can see some snipes.
Two point goals will still be a part of the action so we may see some super high scoring games.
The series starts with round robin action starting Feb. 22 until Feb 24. Feb. 25 features semifinal matchups, and Feb. 26 plays host to the championship game of the Championship Series.
Nine games featuring four teams in under a week of time is great for the sport nationally and for the growth of the league.
There is only one Nittany Lion that has potential to crack a lineup. Grant Ament, Penn State lacrosse legend, could do so for Archers LC. Someone as crafty and skilled on attack, like Ament, will most likely be one of the best players in the entire tournament.
The PLL under Paul Rabil has made many changes to promote the growth of lacrosse. This newest addition to the league will be another thing that helps define the legacy of Paul Rabil.
Hayden Lewis is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email lewis1818hayden@gmail.com.
