Film study: Analysis of the Archers’ favorite power play

The Utah Archers offense averages 12.7 points per game, ranking second in the league behind only the top-ranked New York Atlas.

This is largely due to personnel. The club has a long list of initiators who are a perfect fit with the All-Star-caliber players off the ball.

However, much of this success is also due to the Archers’ attacking game, which complements the players’ strengths wonderfully and helps them succeed with sophisticated concepts that turn the heads of defenders.

Utah ranks fifth in the league with a 33.3% power play success rate. The Archers have scored on 2 of 6 opportunities, so the club’s power play hasn’t been anything special so far in 2024. But the action that led to their two power play goals is.

The Archers like to play a double wheel power play with three players spread out on either side of the court rotating in a triangle, from the crease to the wing, to the open space tip, back to the crease, and so on. It’s a common set-up in modern lacrosse that keeps the ball and players moving and forces the defense to deal with constant movement.

This move itself isn’t revolutionary – professional defenders have seen it countless times before. The Archers capitalize on that familiarity with a clever but simple gimmick to create an open step-down for their best shooters.

Against the Carolina Chaos, the game started on the right side of the field with Three Leclaires Catch the ball at the top of the triangle. He passed down to Grant Ament on the wing, who carried the ball forward in the usual movement of the game and returned it to Mac O’Keefe top left side.

O’Keefe then turned to the right as if to repeat the same action on the left, but then quickly turned back to the left to feed a curling Tom Schreiber for a simple step-down on the right wing. For Schreiber, this shot is almost always worth money.