(Photo Courtesy of PLL)The summers loudest and most robust crowd greeted action on Friday and Saturday night in steamy Harvard Stadium.There is one regular season weekend left. The Waterdogs homecoming weekend at Subaru Park on Saturday and Sunday.The Dogs host the Atlas at 2 p.m. Saturday on ESPN, followed by the Womens Lacrosse League Championship Game. The Waterdogs host Maryland at 1 p.m. Sunday on ABC.The quarters will be played in Minneapolis on Saturday, Aug. 29 on ESPN+. The semis are on Monday, Sept. 7 in Salt Lake City with game one airing on ESPN2. Thats Labor Day lacrosse.The PLL Championship will be played on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 12:30 p.m. in Harrison, N.J., at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Thats a world-class venue within a quick ride for fans in New York, Jersey and Philadelphia.clear your schedule... IT'S HOMECOMING WEEK saturday: vs new york at 2pm on espnsunday: vs maryland at 1pm on abc pic.twitter.com/asQp3G1H8j Philadelphia Waterdogs (@PLLWaterdogs) August 10, 20261. Philadelphia WaterdogsRecord: 7-3Last Week: ByeNext Week: vs. Maryland, New YorkPhilly had the weekend off. The Dogs challenge Maryland and New York at home on Aug. 15 and 16. One more win locks up the top seed in the East and a bye into the semifinals.Also this weekend, the California Palms will face the Maryland Charm in the inaugural WLL Championship Game. The game is 5 p.m. on ESPN from Subaru Park.2. Boston CannonsRecord: 7-5Last Week: W Maryland 14-12; W California 12-9Next Week: ByeA two-win weekend in front of gigantic crowds ended the regular season on a high note for Boston.The Cannons got an empty net 2-pointer by Marcus Holman in overtime to defeat Maryland, 14-12. Maryland committed an interference foul after a groundball pickup, turning the ball over. Holman quickly picked up the ball and was granted the immediate restart. Maryland goalie Emmet Carroll was caught out of the net on the clear and turned his back on the ball, jogging back toward his crease, as Holmans shot sailed passed him and into the empty net for the game-winner.Andrew McMeekin was 71.4% (20-for-28), added a goal and had one assist, but most importantly he won five consecutive face-offs to end the game, including a man-down (2 v 3 face-off). He leads all PLL FOGOs in points and winning percentage. McMeekin is a viable Rookie of the Year finalist.With the win over Maryland, Boston has clinched a postseason spot. They have an outside shot to leapfrog Philadelphia for No. 1 in the East, but they need help.Saturday nights 12-9 victory over California makes the Cannons winners of six of their last seven after a 1-4 start. A change at FOGO and a change in the net resulted in a bump up. But before you start planning the victory parade on Commonwealth Avenue, understand that Boston is +550 to win the title thats fourth choice according to Draft Kings.DraftKings PLL Title OddsUtah +250Philadelphia +250Denver +450Boston +550Maryland +650California +750Holman had four points and eclipsed 40 points for the summer quite an accomplishment for a 35-year-old. Goalie JC Higginbotham was 63%. Shortie Connor Kirst scored twice. Down 3-2 they engineered a 6-0 run to take control. The Cannons power play is the worst in the PLL. Coach Brian Holman must be considered the 2026 Coach of the Year based on the turnaround.Boston and Maryland are likely to meet in the quarterfinals in Minneapolis on Aug. 29.99 7Two more big performances from OKeefe (5 pts) and Sisselberger (69.2%) on Friday pic.twitter.com/07LObVL19e Utah Archers (@PLLArchers) August 10, 20263. Utah ArchersRecord: 7-5Last Week: W 13-12 CarolinaNext Week: ByeA plus-29 score differential gives the Archers the leg up in the West.Their one-goal 13-12 win on Friday night over Carolina sent the Chaos into the abyss. Mac OKeefe hit the game-winner with 1:16 on the clock. The Archers won despite no goals from Connor Fields and Tre Leclaire. They received strong outings from Sam King, OKeefe, Ryan Stines and Ryan Ambler. Mike Sisselberger won 68% of the face-offs to finish off a stellar regular season for the former Lehigh wrestler. A 42-18 groundball margin started with Siss. Utah got the win, however unimpressive it was, and now can turn the page to the playoffs as they dont play next weekend in Philly. Midfielder Tom Schreiber was spotted at practice in Boston and may be targeting a return to action after missing the entire 2026 regular season. Schreiber is now 34, coming off a 2025 campaign where he played in eight games and contributed 15 points (6G, 9A). Its a good dilemma for coach Chris Bates. If he pulls the trigger, I would expect Schreiber to dress in place of Leo Johnson when Utah plays next likely in the semifinals, as their SD of plus-29 dominated all ties, on Labor Day in Salt Lake City. A home game with annoying horns and juiced-up fans may be on tap. Schreiber may be back."You smell like goals today" Hear from Coach Soudan on Zach Geddes' performance in Boston pic.twitter.com/pL4JU0f4iA Denver Outlaws (@DenverOutlaws) August 10, 20264. Denver OutlawsRecord: 6-5Last Week: W 14-9 New YorkNext Week: vs. CaliforniaThe Outlaws have clinched a postseason spot at 6-5 with a plus-1 score differential. Carolina is the anchor in the West. The Outlaws held serve against NY, 14-9, on Saturday at Harvard, exploding to a 10-1 lead. Brennan ONeill had five points, four of them assists, dealing and running the offense with Pat Kavanagh and Jared Bernhardt once again on injured reserve. Logan Wisnauskas and Zach Geddes, the fastest shortie in the league, both had three points. ND crease man Jake Taylor dressed for the first time this summer and bagged two goals inside. Coach Tim Soudan continues to make moves to maximize this roster.Goalie Owen McElroy got the start for Logan McNaney, whos been dealing with some health issues, and McElroy made 19 saves (70.4%) with nine scores allowed. The Outlaws finish the regular season against California on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 3:30 on ESPN+.Channeled our inner Shaq 2000s Slam Dunk Contest during MLL Weekend pic.twitter.com/qh6NaUKArE Maryland Whipsnakes (@PLLWhipsnakes) August 10, 20265. Maryland WhipsnakesRecord: 5-6Last Week: L 14-12 BostonNext Week: vs. PhiladelphiaThats back-to-back brutal losses to Denver and Boston during the past two weeks to cement their status as underachievers. Its like somebody put a hex on this team. Theyve lost three-straight overall. They are 0-4 in games decided by two or fewer goals. They are re-inventing ways to lose winnable games.Its hard to believe Maryland is sub-.500. In the last two losses, MD had a late lead. They could not extend or protect those leads and failed to close out. They led 12-10 with 1:09 to play. They have not received enough face-off wins at crunch time, and their young defensive midfield group makes mistakes when they get tired. The overtime setback, 14-12 in Boston on Friday night in front of the biggest crowd of the summer, had a bizarre ending. Whips goalie Emmet Carroll, caught out of the net scooping up a groundball out of the crease and Jack Pilling was called for an interference infraction, shoving Holman to the ground with Carroll already in possession. Carroll turned his back on the restart as Marcus Holman threw in a 25-yard dart for the game-winner. Never turn your back on the lacrosse ball.The positives were Adam Poitras (5G) and Aidan Carroll (4G), who diced the Boston defense with dodging prowess. Poitras exploited matchups with Boston offensive midfielders. Carroll has played like a first-team all pro the entire summer. Hes been unstoppable. The Whips not named Poitras and Carroll shot a combined 3-for-28. The attack trio combined for five points and was a non-factor. Joey Spallina is hovering around the Rookie of the Year honor. But McMeekin must be given a look. A big final game would go a long way for No. 22. The Whips continue to run the offense and initiate possessions, with players like Richie Connell and Garrett Degnon instead of TJ Malone. Hall of Famer Rob Pannell had just 20 touches.Lets see if coach Jim Stagnitta can clean this mess up. He has more wins than anybody in pro field lacrosse history. Maryland faces Philadelphia on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 1 p.m. on ABC. The ABC game a week ago from Columbus, Ohio set a PLL ratings record with 612,000 viewers.Feeeeeellss the auraSaturday night lacrosse is happening NOW pic.twitter.com/Qhb5x6xs5K California Redwoods (@PLLRedwoods) August 9, 20266. California RedwoodsRecord: 5-6Last Week: L 12-9 BostonNext Week: vs. DenverThe Woods will make the postseason if they dont lose their finale on Sunday, Aug. 16 against Denver by more than 12 goals.California lost to Boston on Saturday night at Harvard, 12-9. The Woods midfield scoring was subpar. Syracuse rookie Finn Thomson had three points, and rookie goalie Ryan Croddick from Princeton was 57%, relieving Dillon Ward in the second quarter when the veteran drew a flag. California shot 22.5% and had 21 turnovers. They are 1-4 since July 1."you can build a team off of high character human beings and guys that are willing to compete. that's the foundation of our team" - blaze riorden pic.twitter.com/7IbPNdRWlw Carolina Chaos (@PLLChaos) August 10, 20267. Carolina ChaosRecord: 5-7Last Week: L 13-12 UtahNext Week: ByeTheir season is complete after a one-goal 13-12 loss to Utah on Friday night in Boston.Carolina kept fighting; you must respect that. Their defense fell apart late in the season with injuries, and their offense never learned to pass. They managed four assists in the Utah loss, bringing the season total to 45 assists in 12 games. If you cant pass, you cant win. Chaos coach Steven Brooks has some personnel decisions to make in the offseason and some lineup options to weigh the parts dont fit quite yet. Carolina could use a real FOGO. Teddy Malone and Chad Palumbo were bright spots.A minus-20 score differential does not compare well with Californias minus-8, and thats why Carolina is likely toast.WHAT A FINISH https://t.co/82ghWg5qCFpic.twitter.com/915OBfxabU New York Atlas (@PLLAtlas) August 8, 20268. New York AtlasRecord: 3-8Last Week: L 14-9 DenverNext Week: vs. PhiladelphiaThe 2025 champions are 3-8 after a one-sided loss to Denver on Saturday. They will pick first in the 2027 College Draft. Nothing has gone right for New York this summer. The departure of defender Gavin Adler, injuries to Michael Grace and Jeff Teat, then a recent injury to Connor Shellenberger was icing on the cake. New Yorks new assistant coaches on both sides of the ball never had a chance to sync up.Matt Traynor had four points, and defender Brett Makar scooped up seven groundballs and now has 47 with 21 caused turnovers and seven points. Those are monster stats on a bad defense.New York plays Philadelphia next Saturday in gorgeous Subaru Park.Quint Kessenich covers the PLL for ESPN.