Syracuse Orange in the PLL: Nine former men’s lacrosse players make Week 1 rosters

Wednesday was cutdown day in the Premier Lacrosse League.

With the opening of the 2022 season on the horizon in New York’s Capital Region this weekend, the eight members of the PLL were required to cut their training camp rosters from 30 down to 25 for the start of the season.

Which former members of the Syracuse Orange found their way onto opening week rosters? And who didn’t make the cut? Let’s take a look:

Atlas

• Brendan Curry
• Peter Dearth
• Jakob Phaup

I’ve read some good things about Curry, Atlas’ second round pick, coming out of training camp; that he’s using his dodging ability and speed to get his hands free for scoring opportunities. No surprises there, obviously.

Dearth returns to Atlas for his second as one of their main SSDM, and Jakob Phaup impressively beat out veteran Gerard Arceri for their No. 2 FO spot behind Trevor Baptiste. That’s a great job by Phaup to win that spot after going undrafted and being signed as a free agent.

Cannons

• Brendan Bomberry
• Stephen Rehfuss
• Nate Solomon

The Cannons have become a popular landing spot for former Orange players, as Stephen Rehfuss returns for his second season after an exceptional breakout rookie year that probably would have seen him win the ROY award if it wasn’t for Jeff Teat.

It’s exciting to see Bomberry and Solomon added to the Cannons roster for this season. I’m especially intrigued to see how Bomberry operates as a finisher in an offense run by one of the most prolific passers in history, Lyle Thompson.

Chaos

• Brett Kennedy
• Tommy Palasek
• Bradley Voigt

The defending champs have brought three ‘Cuse alumni into their roster for this season, headlined by the No. 6 overall pick in the draft in Kennedy. Chaos are somewhat bereft of close defenders at the moment, so expect Kennedy to be getting plenty of playing time to begin his career. Palasek and Voigt are part of an attack unit where playing time may be up for grabs, as well.

Redwoods

• TD Ierlan

Obviously not a SU alum, but the Orange volunteer assistant coach will take the field this season looking to dominate the dot and get lots of possession for a loaded Redwoods offense.

Cuts

• Jamie Trimboli (Cannons)
• Drake Porter (Cannons)
• Matt Abbott (Whipsnakes)
• Randy Staats (Chrome)

So, the Cannons like bringing in former Orange talent, but they still cut Trimboli and Porter loose on Wednesday. Trimboli was on their roster as a rookie last year, but lost his spot as they brought in a bunch of new blood on offense, including Bomberry. Porter was signed from the player pool about a month back, but lost out on the backup goalie spot to rookie Colin Kirst, whose coming off a strong season at Rutgers.

Matty Abbott is the oldest SU alum still playing, but he got cut from a Whipsnakes roster that is always chock full of talent, especially on the defensive end where he was slotted as a SSDM.

Randy Staats was out injured last year, and yesterday he was a surprise cut from Chrome’s attack unit.

The good news for these four is that they’ll have opportunities to come back and make rosters as the season progresses. Next Monday, in-season waivers will begin for teams to make additions from the player pool. Whenever injuries occur, or a player who made a roster isn’t cutting it, one of these guys can be added from the pool at any point. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for those potential additions.

The PLL season gets underway in Albany this Saturday and Sunday with two games each day. Chaos play the first game on Saturday against Whipsnakes at 2:15 PM on ESPN+. Atlas play Redwoods in the lone TV game at 5 PM on Saturday on ESPN, and Cannons play Waterdogs on Sunday at 1 PM on ESPN+.