It’s homecoming weekend for the Premier Lacrosse League’s Philadelphia Waterdogs at Subaru Park, and there’s a lot on the line.
The Waterdogs (7-3) are competing for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the final weekend of the regular season, needing one more win to secure it. The top seed will give the Waterdogs a bye to the semifinals on Sept. 7 in Salt Lake City.
Philly will play the New York Atlas (3-8) on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN), followed by the Women’s Lacrosse League championship between the Maryland Charm and California Palms (5 p.m., ESPN). On Sunday, the Waterdogs will face the Maryland Whipsnakes (5-6) at 1 p.m. (6abc). The Denver Outlaws (6-5) and California Redwoods (5-6) will play at 3:30 p.m.
Defender Gavin Adler is no stranger to Waterdogs-Atlas games. But this year, he’s on the other side of things.
Adler, last season’s Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year, helped the Atlas beat the Waterdogs in the PLL semifinals at Subaru Park en route to a league title. Then, in the offseason, Adler signed with Philly and will face his former team for the second time this season. The Waterdogs previously beat the Atlas, 11-10, on July 24 in Denver.
“[Last time] I made it a point to not let my personal feelings become a distraction for my teammates, and we approached it like any other game, and this weekend will be the same,” said Adler, a New York native. “Obviously, we’re competing at the top, and we’ve all got the same goals. So, just taking it game by game, and not letting that be a distraction, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t personal.”
While Adler will be playing his first game in front of Philly fans as part of the Waterdogs, others are familiar with the environment and will be having their own homecoming this weekend.
Here are some local players to watch during the Waterdogs’ homecoming weekend:
Michael Sowers, Waterdogs
Attackman Michael Sowers leads the PLL in points (41) and assists (20) and is a five-time All-Star.
The Dresher native led the Waterdogs to their first PLL championship at Subaru Park in 2022 and is an MVP contender this season. Sowers graduated from Upper Dublin High School and played at Princeton and Duke.
“It’s really special, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to do it for a couple of years now,” Sowers said. “It never gets old, frankly, and the opportunity to play in Philly, we’ll probably have like 50 to 60 people in the crowd in front of friends and family. It’s awesome.”
Matt Traynor, Atlas
Traynor returns to Subaru Park with the Atlas after being a part of its 2025 championship team.
Traynor, a Penn State graduate, grew up in Downingtown and attended Malvern Prep. The two-time All-Star is tied for the most goals (17) among New York’s midfielders and has 23 points this season.
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TJ Malone, Whipsnakes
Malone, a West Chester native and Haverford School alumnus, has 23 goals, tied for the fifth-most in the league, and seven assists (30 points).
The left-handed attackman was a 2025 All-Star selection and the 2024 Rookie of the Year after coming back from three surgeries during his time at Penn State where he was tabbed as the 2023 Big Ten Player of the Year.
Luke Wierman, Outlaws
Wierman, a West Chester native and Henderson graduate, is fourth in the league in ground balls (68) this season. The faceoff specialist’s best game of the season came against the Whipsnakes on Aug. 1, when he won 25 of 28 faceoffs for an 89.3 faceoff percentage. He has a 52.3% faceoff winning percentage, good for sixth in the PLL this season.
Wierman graduated from Maryland in 2024 and was part of the 2022 perfect season and NCAA championship team.
Big 5, big names
Several players competing this weekend are not originally from the Philadelphia area but attended college here.
Penn and Penn State have the most nonlocal athletes playing this weekend. Penn has Whipsnakes James Shipley and Emmet Carroll, as well as the Redwoods’ BJ Farrare.
In addition to multiple local players, Penn State also features Alex Ross (Atlas), Jack Posey (Whipsnakes), and Kevin Parnham (Outlaws).
New York’s Reid Bowering and Liam Kammar played at Drexel, while Levi Anderson played at St. Joseph’s.
History watch
Along with Adler, several other PLL stars will be playing at Subaru Park this weekend. That includes fellow Waterdog CJ Kirst, who is on the brink of setting the league single-season goals record. He’s at 30 goals through eight games, tied with the Boston Cannons’ Marcus Holman’s record of 30, which he set in 10 games in 2023.
Kirst, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick in the PLL draft and a northern New Jersey native, will have many friends and family in the stands of Subaru Park as he chases history.
“Super excited to have that opportunity, and regarding what’s ahead, regarding the milestones, I’m not trying to think too much about it,” Kirst said. “I think just going out there and trying to go win two games is the mentality I’ve had these past couple weeks … I know we’re super excited for what’s ahead.”
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