Philadelphia Waterdogs dominate Denver Outlaws 14-4 to claim 2026 PLL championship

Early morning rain led to a soggy field, but that the water couldn’t dowse the fireworks of the 2026 PLL Championship game. The Denver Outlaws and Philadelphia Waterdogs, regarded as the two best and most talented teams all season, met in Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey to determine who would be crowned champions. For Denver it was the culmination of the long, hard road back to championship weekend, where they came up one goal short a season ago. For Philadelphia, it was an opportunity to win their second league championship. Their first title came in 2022, and the Waterdogs had been working their way back to this game since hitting rock bottom with a 2-8 season in 2024

The two teams met in the regular season on July 25th, on Denver’s home turf. Philadelphia won that contest 18-8, but it deserves the context that Denver was missing several key players due to injury and was the second game of Denver’s doubleheader homestand. With the title on the line, both squads entered the game fully healthy. But ultimately, the Waterdogs grabbed hold of the game and never let go. It was led by a record setting seven point game from newly minted league MVP CJ Kirst, as Philadelphia smothered Denver all afternoon en route to a 14-4 win and the title.

The pace was lightning fast from the opening whistle. Luke Wierman won the first faceoff forward and try to open the scoring himself, but Sean Byrne made a clean save to send things the other way. On an ensuing possession, Michael Sowers would get his defender hung up, and then a Silas Richmond pick on the inside freed Kirst cutting to the post for his first goal of the day. Wierman would win the ensuing faceoff and take it for a goal to even things at one, but Alec Stathakis answered right back in the same fashion to put Philly back in front. Jared Bernhardt scored a few moments later to tie things at two, but once again Philly had the answer. Continuing to leverage the pick game, Casey Wilson freed up Sowers who fed Zach Currier inside for a dunk.

This goal was the start of a Philly run that would span the rest of the first half. Brendan Staub would add a pole goal in transition. Kirst got his second after losing his man off ball and cutting for an easy catch and finish. After being held in check for much of the first frame, Pat Kavanagh was able to free himself from Gavin Adler and find a cutting Dalton Young for a goal, attempting to spark the Denver offense. But the Philly deluge continued. Stathakis would pop the ensuing faceoff towards Currier, who took the ball himself and scored on a diving effort, immediately dousing any Denver momentum. At the end of the first quarter, Philly led 7-3. 

The field stayed tilted in the 2nd quarter. Kirst would run by his man and shoot through a help defender to get his third of the day, and then assisted Kieran McArdle in a nice two man game for a goal to make things 9-3 as the Dogs began running away with things. Philadelphia was able to get Kirst switched onto a shorty several times, and the newly minted MVP took advantage time and time again. With all that attention on Kirst, Sowers was able to dodge his matchup without worrying about slide coming, and scored on an underneath move to the crease, staring down Denver defenders afterward. Late in the second quarter, Denver attackman Brennan O’Neill finally got his first goal of the day, using a matchup switch that came courtesy of a Logan Wisnauskas pick to muscle his way to the front of the goal against a shorty and scored.

O’Neill was seriously limited by Philly in the first half. He didn’t take his first shot until midway through the second quarter, and finished the first half with just two shots on 13 touches. In the semifinals, O’Neill scored on his first touch of the game just seconds after the opening whistle. 

Philly dominance continued in the third quarter, but on the other end of the field.  The Waterdogs offense shut the Outlaws out in Q3. That included killing a one minute penalty. The Outlaws launched a handful of shots from two point range to try for a spark, but Byrne was up to the task for all of them. It was one of the best performances of the season for the Philly defensive unit.

The fourth quarter started with a goal that all but announced Philly locked things up. Kirst picked off a pass on the ride and threw it forward to Sowers who scored on an empty net, making it 12-4. From there, the Waterdogs set to using the full 52 seconds on each possession, slowly draining the clock. Resets only added another 32 seconds of time ticking down to the inevitable. Philly continued to break the Outlaw spirit with caused turnovers on the ride, ground ball wins, and physical play. The final 12 minutes were a punctuation mark in an expertly played game in all phases by the Dogs. Late goals by Richmond and Matt Collison iced the game, but it felt decided much earlier than the final whistle.

Kirst finished with seven points, leading all scorers. Sowers had four points on a pair of goals with two assist, and Currier had two goals. Richmond had two points, while McArdle, Stathakis, Collison, and Staub had a goal each. Kyle Lewis added an assist. Byrne finished with 11 saves and a 73% day in  net. 

Dalton Young’s two points led the Outlaws, while O’Neill, Bernhardt, and Wierman had a goal each. Kavanagh had an assist. Logan McNaney finished with 11 saves