Riorden & Reh Play for PLL Title

PLL Championship Preview

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A long season and some semblance of normal culminates for the Premier Lacrosse League this weekend with Sunday’s long-awaited championship game.  For University at Albany men’s lacrosse alumni Blaze Riorden and Troy Reh, who will line up for the Chaos on Sunday against the two-time defending champion Whipsnakes, it is a moment they have prepared for since they took their first steps on campus under Great Danes head coach Scott Marr.

Riorden and Reh were teammates at UAlbany in 2015 and 2016.  The Great Danes went 28-7 over those two seasons, won one America East title, and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. During the 2015 season, and under Marr’s fast-paced philosophy, the Great Danes led Division I in scoring offense, scoring margin, points per game, and assists per game.

“I think the thing we do is here is that we empower our kids to be confident in their abilities and what they can do,” said Marr.  “When they get empowered and they feel that freedom that we give them to play the game and to be themselves playing the game, that does take them to another level, and it really opens up their eyes and their confidence to play and to compete at that level.”

UAlbany’s stamp, and by extension, Marr’s, has permeated the PLL since its inception. In addition to having UAlbany alumni on PLL rosters, including the addition of UAlbany great Lyle Thompson this year following the merger with Major League Lacrosse, UAlbany has now hosted a PLL weekend in two of the league’s first three seasons. This year’s league visit to UAlbany came in the final weekend of the regular season, and featured the highest number of games, six, held on a single stop for the young touring league.

Both the Whipsnakes and Chaos played twice during the three-day stay, with both teams going 1-1 in their two respective games.  Riorden recorded 12 and 13 saves in the Chaos’ games against the Archers, an 11-9 victory, and against the Redwoods, a 10-9 defeat.

For the UAlbany alumni, returning to the field where they enjoyed so much success during their collegiate careers, in front of fans no less, was particularly special.

“It means the world to me to return to UAlbany,” said Riorden.  “What’s special to me is, although my team had a lot of success in my four years, there was a period of time after 2007 where that wasn’t as much the case.  I always believe that the people in your corner through thick and thin are real and true and I had that at UAlbany.  It wasn’t really a results-based support, it was a support for the program and lacrosse in the Capital District, and I respect that the most out of anything. I’ve come a long way from a 19-year-old college student who found a little bit of success in D-I to where I am now, and I can look back and know from the start that the support was there for me and that it wasn’t a product of my individual success over the last couple years or from the growth of professional lacrosse.  That’s what makes it so special.”

“It’s awesome to get back playing in front of fans and friends and family,” said Reh.  “Last year was a different experience, and one that I’m grateful the PLL was able to do to allow us to play the sport we love. But getting back to the tour-based model, visiting different cities and playing in front of friends and family and fans brings a different element to the game.  You feed off it through the highs and the lows, and it’s awesome to be a part of.”

Sunday’s championship game is a rematch of the league’s 2020 title game between the Chaos and the Whipsnakes.  The Whipsnakes have won each of the first two championships in PLL history, defeating the Redwoods in the league’s inaugural season in 2019, and defeating the Chaos in the following season.

“From when the PLL started the Whipsnakes have been the most dominant team, winning the two championships in the first two years, and now being back there again in the third year,” said Reh.  “It’s definitely a great opportunity to play them again.  The beauty of the sport of lacrosse is it’s a game of runs, and last year we were leading for three, three-and-a-half quarters, and they went on their run in the last six minutes and ended up beating us.  But that’s just the nature of the sport.  We’re a different team this year, with a different attitude, different mindset, different system, and different players with a new opportunity in a new year.  I‘m grateful to get back to that game and that moment and have a mindset going in of playing a full four quarters and playing Chaos lacrosse and hopefully the outcome is what we expect at the end of that.”

Last season’s Chaos team, in addition to Riorden and Reh, also featured UAlbany alumni Miles Thompson and Connor Fields.  The Whipsnakes were the top overall seed, unbeaten through the PLL’s Championship Series schedule adjustment in response to COVID-19.  The Chaos were the seven-seed, after going 2-5.

In the 2020 championship game, the Chaos led 4-2 at halftime, and 6-2 in the third, before the Whipsnakes rolled off a 10-goal run, shutting the Chaos out in the fourth quarter, to win 12-6.

This season, the Whipsnakes went 5-4 to earn the five-seed in the PLL playoffs, while the Chaos wen 4-5 to earn the six-seed.  In the quarterfinal round, the Chaos defeated Fields’ Archers 13-10, and the Whipsnakes beat the Redwoods 14-13.  The semifinal round saw the Chaos knock off the Atlas 15-9, and the Whipsnakes upset the top-seed Waterdogs 14-10.  The Waterdogs and the Atlas each had a record of 6-3 this season atop the PLL standings.

The Whipsnakes won the only meeting this season between the teams, outscoring the Chaos 13-7 in Week 1. The Whipsnakes jumped out to a 7-1 lead after the first quarter, and shut out the Chaos in the second to hold a 10-1 lead at halftime.  The Chaos, trailing 13-3 at the start of the fourth, scored four unanswered to close the final score within six.  Riorden recorded 19 saves in that Week 1 matchup, while Reh caused one turnover and won four ground balls.

“I don’t think there’s that much we can take away from our first game this season with the Whipsnakes,” said Reh.  “We’re a totally different team now than we were in the first game of the year.  We have different pieces playing, and we’re clicking on different cylinders.  I think we’re truly playing our best lacrosse when it matters the most, which is now. The only thing we can take away is learning from our mistakes from that game and seeing what they did against us and see if we can defend it better.  But that was back in June and now it’s September, so it was a long time ago. We just have to play Chaos lacrosse, control what we can control, and do everything in our power for all four quarters and hope the outcome is what we want.”

“The first game with the Whipsnakes this season was three-and-a-half months ago, and off the top of my head there are four or five guys in our championship lineup now that weren’t in Week 1,” said Riorden.  “I also think the Whipsnakes benefited from a lot of familiar faces.  I think 95% of the core of their championship team returned, as it did from the year before.  We had a small core, but we had to fill in a lot of other roles, so I think in that first game their chemistry was there compared to ours.  We’ve built that chemistry and built a team toughness and we’re ready to let it display on Sunday.”

On an individual level, Riorden has established himself as arguably the PLL’s best goalkeeper in the three seasons since its inauguration.  Riorden set a PLL single-game record in 2020, recording 23 saves in the Chaos’ game against the Redwoods.  He has recorded 20 or more saves in six games in his PLL career in a league that has seen 11 total 20-save games by goalkeepers.

In 2021, Riorden has recorded a league-leading 149 saves at a rate of .610, while causing seven turnovers and winning 23 ground balls.  Riorden has led the league in saves in each of his three years.

“I don’t really know what a championship would mean to me, I have to cross that bridge when I come to it,” said Riorden.  “It’s something that I’ve dreamt of from the time I picked up a lacrosse stick.  I know the feeling of losing a championship, and I guess I can only go based off my own experiences, and I never want to feel that pain that I felt last year after the championship again so, for right now, without knowing the future, I will try to avoid that pain at all costs.”

“I’m hoping that Blaze will be the MVP of the league,” said Marr.  “I think he’s had an MVP-like season, and he’s played such an integral role for his team being in the championship game.  And Troy and his energy and the emotion he brings to the game for his team with what he does on the field, they’re both getting closer to their peaks of playing at their bests.  It’s awesome to see them contribute at such a high level.”

“A championship would mean a lot, Reh continued.  “It’s hard to get to the championship game at any level, especially in the professional leagues, and winning one is even harder.  I think it would be a tremendous honor and something I would love for our team. We’ve all worked so hard, especially this year, proving to ourselves that we belong there.  We have all the trust and confidence within our locker room, with our 19 guys, our three coaches, and our trainer, and obviously the support of our family and friends.  Getting to the championship is a tremendous honor, and winning and hoisting the trophy at the end would be something special to share with this group.”

Sunday’s championship game is scheduled for 12:00 pm and can be watched live on NBC and streamed live on Peacock.