Chaos Will Lean Towards Excellent Defense in PLL Quarterfinal Matchup with Boston

CAROLINA— There’s no way around it. It’s been an historic first year for the Chaos in their home market of Carolina. It was a regular season full of ups and downs. However, at the end of a long road, there one true goal still remains ahead of them as a possibility, and that is to win a PLL Championship.

It won’t come easy, as the last team to get into the field, but let’s not forget. The 2021 Chaos who won the PLL Championship also entered that tournament as the sixth-seed. Head Coach Andy Towers has instilled a mindset in this team that thrives off of being the underdogs and coming out of a situation wanting it more than their opponent.

Now it’s time to re-rack things as Carolina will see the Boston Cannons in the first round, a team they just saw in the regular season finale. While it was a close game from start to finish, the Chaos ultimately fell in overtime after making a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter that saw efficient offense. 

That will need to be what the Chaos carry over with an offense that has struggled to find their identity at times this season. However, they still hold their offensive core at attack that has experience winning the PLL Championship from 2021. Josh Byrne and Kyle Jackson both know what it takes to win it all as Chaos fans hope they can flip the switch to another level with that experience at hand, which will undoubtedly help them against an experienced Cannons squad.

“Playing the same team twice is going to be good for us because it’s going to be the same players, and it’s going to be a dog fight with a great playoff atmosphere,” said Chaos backup goalie Austin Kaut. “It’s good to be able to get back to the drawing board on them and study up on their film as we head into the quarterfinals.”

Some things will also match up a little differently. The first being that this will be a home game for Boston. Although the Cannons are the higher seed, the quarter final rounds were planned to be in Boston well before the season started. However, it should still serve as an advantage with the hometown fans behind the opponent. 

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The second key point is that this game comes off of rest. In fact, both teams rallied victories coming off of their scheduled byes this season, so it’ll be interesting how the rest benefits both squads with a trip to the semifinals on the line. 

To punch their ticket to the PLL semifinals, the Chaos will need to be very disciplined and rely on their all-world defense. However, they will have to do so without Jack Rowlett, who was suspended one game by the league for an unnecessary check against the Cannons last week. The suspension ruling may very well be questionable, but it doesn’t change the fact that the defense for the red and black will once again need to be on their A-game.

The Chaos and the Cannons are the two best teams in the league when it comes to scoring allowed as the two teams average giving up 11 and 11.5 goals per game respectively. Boston also tied for second in the league in caused turnovers with 77 as Carolina finished the regular season second from the bottom causing just 59 turnovers. 

The Chaos defense will also need to extend out to the perimeter more than they are used to as the Cannons dominate the league in two-point goals with 16. Blaze Riorden will also make a huge difference in net as he left the last game with an injury, but should be back in the lineup with no issues.

Face-offs have been an area that could use some improvement as well this season as it is no secret how important the possession battle is in this league. James Reilly got his chance at the stripe in Carolina’s last game with a Nick Rowlett injury and he did a pretty good job, going 50 percent with great help from his wings as well. That could make for an interesting game-time decision if Nick Rowlett is healthy and ready to go once again. 

“JR was in our training camp and did a great job and we looked at it like we were fortunate to be able to pick up James Reilly,” Towers said. “He went out against the Cannons and proved that he should be in this league and that he should be playing on gameday on a consistent basis. He stepped right in after not playing all season and didn’t miss a beat. He was on the front end of the whistle, he made smart decisions with the ball, and I felt like he won more than his share on the 50-50 ground balls as well.”

On the other side of the ball, the Chaos will need the offense to find an identity and step up their production in the biggest moment of the season as they sit in last in the league in overall scoring and Boston comes into the matchup ranked fourth. Moving the ball well for Carolina will also need to be a necessity as they look to make an improvement in the postseason after their last-place finish in the regular season in assists.

As previously mentioned, Byrne and Jackson will need to have big games for the Chaos to be victorious. The two currently have 29 and 11 points respectively with Byrne leading with 18 helpers. Ross Scott will also be another one to look out for as he leads the team in goals this season with 14. Shane Knobloch and Jules Henningburg have also tallied 12 and 10 goals each.

The Chaos will take on the Cannons on Labor Day Monday at 4pm on ESPN and there will be one other game following the red and black in the PLL quarterfinals this week with the Maryland Whipsnakes taking on the Denver Outlaws, who have made great improvement this season. If Carolina can beat Boston, they will advance to the semifinals to take on the top-seeded New York Atlas.