Posted June 17, 2024 | Article by Jack Kiefer | Photo by Premier Lacrosse League
Week 3 of the Premier Lacrosse League has officially come and gone. The PLL is no stranger to Philadelphia as they have made an appearance in the City of Brotherly Love in five of the six seasons in the league’s history.
Making its first-ever stop at Villanova University, the league hosted its third straight Homecoming weekend as the Waterdogs had a doubleheader
Speaking of Homecoming. It seems these former Nittany Lions had a homecoming of their own, and enjoyed their returns to the Keystone State this weekend.
Grant Ament – M, Utah Archers
Ament is off to a great start this summer. The 2020 graduate is known for his ability to dish the rock and get his teammates involved. So far this season, Ament has made opponents pay for not respecting his scoring ability.
Ament added two more goals this week in the Archers’ 9-7 victory against the Chaos, and the first goal was a thing of beauty.
In this goal, Ament takes advantage of the way his defender is guarding him. He rolled away from pressure to increase his angle. This finish is the most impressive part, as he uses the strength of his wrists to flick that by one of the best goalies in the world; Blaze Riorden.
Mac O’Keefe – A, Utah Archers
Ament wasn’t the only Nittany Lion to help Utah secure a victory. Repping a Penn State Saquon Barkley jersey upon arrival in Philadelphia, O’Keefe was all business from the beginning.
That translated to the field as he scored the opener for the Archers, off a feed from Connor Fields. In the second quarter, O’Keefe scored an impressive goal of his own.
The fact that he was able to get that shot off so quickly, and at almost 90 miles per hour is insane. O’Keefe has continued to show why he is one of the best outside shooters in the entire league.
Kevin Winkoff- M, Maryland Whipsnakes
After not playing last summer, Winkoff was playing with a chip on his shoulder. Making his debut with the Whipsnakes, he didn’t wait long to make his presence known.
Winkoff received a pass in transition and was just able to beat his defender to get to the open field to bury his first career PLL goal.
Down the road, Winkoff could provide this Whipsnakes offense with a versatile playmaker. After a successful PLL debut, this is not the last time we will be seeing Winkoff in a Whipsnakes jersey this summer.
TJ Malone- A, Maryland Whipsnakes
Malone had a quiet but productive day in the Whipsnakes 15-14 over the Waterdogs. The Philadelphia native had two goals on the day, both of which came in the third quarter.
Just a few minutes after scoring his first goal, the Penn State duo connected as Malone caught a beautiful pass from Winkoff to get his second of the game.
Through three weeks, Malone is leading this Maryland squad with 10 points.
What’s Next
The league-wide bye week is next week, so there will sadly be no PLL action next weekend.
The season will pick back up the following week as they travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota for Indigenous Heritage Weekend.
Jack Kiefer is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jak6707@psu.edu.
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