Waterdogs’ rookies help send Philadelphia back to PLL Championship

The Philadelphia Waterdogs defeated the Boston Cannons 13-10 on Monday at Zions Bank Stadium, earning a trip to the PLL U.S. Bank Championship on Sept. 20 against the Denver Outlaws.

The story wasn’t a perfect performance. It was Philadelphia’s ability to absorb Boston’s best punches without losing its identity.

“We found so many different ways to win games,” CJ Kirst said. “We faced adversity today. There were so many highs, so many lows. But yet again, we had the confidence to go out there and play our game.”

That adversity came early.

Despite a rocky start, Philly’s defense settled in behind rookie goalkeeper Sean Byrne. After the Cannons’ first two goals, Boston missed 18 of its final 19 shots of the first half, going 19 minutes without scoring.

Byrne finished the game with 14 saves and 10 scores allowed in his first PLL playoff appearance.

For a player who wasn’t even drafted, Byrne’s emergence has become one of the defining stories of Philadelphia’s season. Monday marked his sixth consecutive win as the Waterdogs’ starter since taking over for an injured Matt DeLuca.

Six rookies made their playoff debuts for the Dogs in the semifinals, and the class accounted for seven of the team’s 13 goals.

Kyle Lewis led the way with a hat trick. He became the 17th rookie in PLL history to score three goals in a playoff game, joining Kirst, who accomplished the feat last season.

“I think for us, we weren’t surprised by what Kyle did today,” Michael Sowers said. “We see it every single week in practice, and I think for us, we knew it was only a matter of time before he broke out. And honestly, he probably already has.”

Josh Yago also contributed two goals and an assist, while Matt Collison and Silas Richmond each scored one goal.

The rookies’ production has eased concerns about Philadelphia’s ability to score outside its MVP front-runners, Sowers and Kirst.

Even then, Kirst couldn’t be left out of the final minutes of the game when the Dogs needed one last goal to secure their ticket into the final. His score with 1:58 remaining ended a 4-0 Cannons run and iced the game for Philly.

“It’s no surprise. It’s kind of like a simple equation: just find him,” Sowers said of Kirst. “We needed him in that moment, and he stepped up as he always does. So, you know, it was a big-time moment from a big-time player, and we’re gonna need more of it.”

Now the Waterdogs get two weeks to prepare for the Western Conference champion Outlaws. It will be Philadelphia’s third Championship appearance in the last five seasons and its first since Bill Tierney took over as head coach in 2025.

“There’s times, obviously, like 2024, you wonder, ‘Am I ever going to get back there?'” said Sowers, who led the Waterdogs to their lone PLL title in 2022. “But I think it starts with this guy right here, and you hear it in this press conference. Like, [Tierney] won seven national championships, and to have the humility to be like, ‘Yeah, we’re going with Gavin Adler‘s idea for defensive matchups,’ I mean, that’s pretty incredible.”