Archers solidify playoff position with full-circle win vs. Chaos

The Utah Archers dug out a gutsy win, 13-12, against the Carolina Chaos in Boston on Friday night to clinch their spot in the playoffs.

The back-and-forth nailbiter reached a crescendo in the fourth quarter when Carolina tied the game at 12 with 1:48 left. Mac O’Keefe (3G, 1T, 1A) scored the game-winner on a familiar power-play action 32 seconds later, capping off his team-leading five-point performance. Sam King (3G, 1A) notched four in his Harvard homecoming.

Goalie Brett Dobson made 12 saves, stopping 50% of the shots he saw and ending the regular season without a game below that number. It’s just the fifth time a goalie in MLL or the PLL has gone a full season without a game below 50%.

Goalies to go a full regular season without a game saving under 50%. - Brett Dobson (2026, 2025) - Blaze Riorden (2024, 2021) - Jordan Burke (2011) pic.twitter.com/ymJAnYuRZZ

— Zach Carey (@Zach_Carey_) August 8, 2026 “That’s really hard to do,” Dobson said postgame. “It’s kind of cool to think about and, obviously, ties back to working hard and taking a lot of shots. … This is what I dreamt of doing, was playing pro lacrosse.”

Three hundred sixty-four days before this win, Utah ended its 2025 season with a one-goal victory over Carolina in Boston. Despite having been eliminated from the playoffs before that game, the Archers developed their four-SSDM strategy from that performance.

Nearly a year later, Utah clinched its spot in the playoffs against the same team on the same field with the first short-stick defensive midfielder to be drafted No. 1 overall ( Aidan Maguire ).

“Tonight was a big win,” head coach Chris Bates said postgame. “It puts us in a position where we want to be.”

The win gave the Archers a 99.99% chance of being the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The only way for them to be passed for that top seed is for either the Outlaws or the Redwoods to win both of their remaining games and do so by such a margin that they overcome Utah’s plus-33 (for Denver) or plus-34 (for California) score differential advantage over them.

Denver plays New York before California plays Boston on Saturday. The Outlaws and Redwoods will then meet in the PLL regular-season finale in Philadelphia on Aug. 16.

All but locking up the top seed in the West means the Archers have also all but clinched a bye to the semifinals, which will be held on their home field at Zions Bank Stadium in Salt Lake City on Sept. 7. The bye straight to the semis and the opportunity to play at home would be a significant advantage for an Archers team that won its two championships after getting a bye to the semifinals.

Perhaps the most significant impact of the time off, though? The potential for three-time MVP Tom Schreiber to be in the lineup the next time Utah takes the field. Schreiber, who’s on injured reserve, practiced with the team in Boston. It was his first practice of the season after having double knee surgery last fall.

While Bates was noncommittal regarding Schreiber’s timeline or the probability of him suiting up in Utah, the possibility of a return has been inspiring for the club.

“The lacrosse world needs Tom Schreiber back,” Dobson said. “Him being back put smiles on a lot of our faces, and I could see on social media, too, how many people are happy to see him back out there.”

With exactly a month until the Archers are likely to be back on the field, Schreiber could give them an X-factor in a playoff run.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →