Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Orange in the PLL update

We’re fully into the summer lacrosse schedule, which means former Syracuse Orange players are three weeks into the new Premier Lacrosse League season.

With the league going on hiatus for a few weeks due to the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship, it feels like a good time to update how our favorite former Orange are doing in the early going of the 2023 PLL campaign.

There are 10 ‘Cuse alumni currently on one of the eight rosters in the league, along with one alum on a coaching staff. Let’s take a look at how they’re doing:

Tucker Dordevic, Whipsnakes

• 3 games, 11 points, 5 one-point goals, 2 two-point goals, 2 assists, 7-of-31 shooting (23 percent), 3 ground balls

Tucker’s off to the best start of any SU alum so far this season, ranking third on Whipsnakes in scoring through three games, and leading the scoring for midfield players. He certainly hasn’t been shy about shooting, averaging over 10 shots per game at the moment, but it’s lead to great production as he’s currently tied for 10th in the entire league in points with 11. He also leads all rookies in scoring as one of the early favorites for the Rookie of the Year award.

Brendan Curry, Atlas

• 3 games, 4 goals, 4-of-7 shooting (57 percent), 2 ground balls

Brendan’s off to a solid start for his sophomore season. After only scoring one goal in his entire rookie season, he’s already scored four in his first three games this year. What’s more, he’s done that on just seven shots as finding scoring opportunities in an extremely crowded Atlas offense can be difficult. His best game easily came in Week 2 when he scored a hat trick against Whipsnakes.

Cole Kirst, Redwoods

• 2 games, 3 points, 2 goals, 1 assist, 2-of-8 shooting (25 percent), 2 ground balls

Cole’s rookie campaign is starting very well for the ‘Woods. After not making the gameday roster in Week 1, he played in Week 2 and scored three points in helping his team to a one-goal win over Waterdogs. He’s tied for second on the team in midfield scoring, ahead of veteran stars like Myles Jones and Sergio Perkovic. Overall, he’s currently tied for sixth in the league in rookie scoring.

Peter Dearth, Atlas

• 3 games, 7 ground balls, 1 caused turnover, 0 points, 0-of-3 shooting

Dearth is one of the primary SSDM’s for Atlas, and has contributed nicely with seven ground balls and one caused turnover. He’s one of the team leaders in scooping up GBs in the early going this season, and has played solidly on the defensive end.

Bradley “Bubba” Voigt, Chaos

• 1 game, 1 goal, 1-of-2 shooting, 2 ground balls

Bubba started in Week 1 for Chaos and scored a quick-stick goal to finish off some excellent team ball movement. Unfortunately, with Chaos returning a handful of players who missed the first game due to playing in the NLL championship game, he hasn’t been able to take the field in either of the past two weeks. He may be headed for the player pool and potentially another roster if he can’t make the gameday roster after the World Lacrosse Championship break.

Drake Porter, Atlas

Porter is the third ‘Cuse alum on Atlas, and like Curry and Dearth he’s made the gameday roster in each week so far this season. Unlike his teammates, however, Drake has yet to actually play in a game as he is Atlas’ backup goalie to Jack Concannon. While Drake hasn’t gotten any playing time just yet, his hair and mustache combination at the moment is undeniably glorious.

Stephen Rehfuss, Atlas, Holdout List

Stephen has played the role of transient so far in 2023. He started the season with Cannons, where he resided his first two years in the league, before being released to the player pool and picked up by Atlas after Week 1. After two weeks of not making their gameday roster, Stephen was placed on the Holdout List just yesterday. According to the PLL website, the Holdout List is for the following: “Player who fails to report to his club, has not been medically cleared, or fails to submit paperwork will be placed on the holdout list”.

Whatever’s going on with Stephen at the moment, hopefully we’ll see him back on the field at some point this season. He had a great first two years as a professional, scoring 39 points in those two seasons with Cannons.

Jakob Phaup, Cannons

Phaup is one of two FOGOs on Cannons, but unfortunately he’s the backup to starter Stephen Kelly. He hasn’t played in any of the first three weeks, so at the moment he’s playing the role of understudy in the PLL.

Brett Kennedy, Whipsnakes

Kennedy started the season with Chaos, the team that drafted him in the first round last season. However, he got pushed out of Chaos’ loaded defensive room after they drafted Will Bowen in the first round this year. He got picked up by Whipsnakes, but has yet to appear in a game this season.

Alex Simmons, Chaos

Simmons was an undrafted free agent and signed on with Chaos in the preseason. While it was a nice accomplishment to make the cut on their 25-man roster to begin the season, he hasn’t made a gameday roster yet. So, we’ll see if he’s able to hang on with the team or perhaps be headed somewhere else when the league returns in July.

Steven Brooks — Atlas offensive coordinator

Atlas are the official SU destination at the professional level at the moment, as they have four Orange alums currently on their roster as well as Steven Brooks as their offensive coordinator. Brooks, who was the team’s interim head coach during the PLL Championship Series back in February before they brought on Mike Pressler as the full-time hire, is doing good things with the loaded offense at his disposal. The team is only 1-2, but Brooks was responsible for drawing up the game-winning play in their win during Week 2:

So, that’s where the former Orange are at right now in the PLL season. The league will be back in action in a few weeks on the weekend of July 8-9 in Minneapolis, MN, so I’ll catch you again for another update at the season’s midway point after Week 5.