HERRIMAN, UTAH — Denver defeated Utah 11-5 in the PLL Semifinals on Monday at Zions Bank Stadium, securing a second-straight appearance in the championship game. Denver’s decisive victory was fueled by a 9-1 first-half lead, including a 6-0 second quarter.
Brennan O’Neill led Denver with three goals and one assist, while Pat Kavanagh contributed one goal, one two-pointer, and one assist. Jared Bernhardt added two goals, and LSM Jake Piseno scored a two-pointer. Goalie Logan McNaney saved 69% of the shots faced, and face-off man Luke Wierman won 59% of face-offs. Kavanagh stated, “Obviously you want to get back to the championship game, especially after the success we had last year…It's been more of a fun an interesting ride this year with all the guys in and out of the lineup. And I think we've got a little more doubt in our group, but our belief never wavered.”
Prior to the game, three-time MVP Tom Schreiber was ruled unable to play after warming up, with Leo Johnson taking his place. Utah coach Chris Bates described the situation as “devastating,” explaining Schreiber “tweaked it, it didn't feel right…You know, deflating, you feel for him.” Bates added Schreiber had looked good in practice but was cautious due to his recovery from a 409-day absence from PLL play.
Denver quickly took control of the game, with O’Neill scoring 10 seconds into the game. He explained the team’s strategy was to “jump on them early…especially with them playing at their home, home-field with the crowd on their side…If you can hop on them early and quiet the crowd a little bit, make a statement early on that you're not going anywhere, you're not shying away from anything.” Utah responded with a goal from Sam King, assisted by Beau Pederson, but failed to score again for the next 30 minutes. The Archers had last played 30 days prior to the semifinal match.
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