The Premier Lacrosse League returns to Baltimore this weekend, as the Maryland Whipsnakes take on the Boston Cannons on May 29 at 6 p.m. and the Utah Archers on May 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Loyola University’s Ridley Athletic Complex.
Rookie Joey Spallina is scheduled to make his Whipsnakes debut during the team’s Homecoming Weekend. Spallina recently graduated from Syracuse, leading the Orange to the national semifinals, where they fell, 15-7, to No. 2 seed Notre Dame.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound attackman finished the season with a team-best 87 points (35 goals, 52 assists) in 19 games.
“I think he can be a better pro than he was a college player,” Whipsnakes attackman Rob Pannell said on Glenn Clark Radio May 26. “… We’re extremely excited to get him. I know he’ll make an impact right off the bat.”
Pannell added that Spallina will “be the star of the show this weekend,” and hopes he will be the star on the field as well. Pannell sees Spallina as shining brightly for the Whipsnakes this season.
“He’s going to be a rock star,” Pannell said. “Coming out of college, being who he is, every young lacrosse player has been watching him this year. … [Fans] are going to be there with his jersey, looking for his autograph, looking to just meet him. He’s amazing with the kids.”
Whipsnakes defenseman Matt Dunn echoed those sentiments.
“Joey is an excellent player. He can do so many things, which I think is great about him. He can dodge, he can feed, he can play without the ball,” Dunn said on GCR May 27. “… I think his style of play is going to blend really well with our offense and the way the PLL game flows.”
Pannell, 36, knows he doesn’t have many years left in the PLL, but before his time ends in professional lacrosse, Pannell wants a championship. He said the offseason was successful for the team in terms of preparing for the season.
“A lot of it had to do with holding each other accountable, holding each other to a higher standard, a higher level of play,” said Pannell, whose team has started the season 1-1. “If we can do a better job as teammates, holding each other accountable, elevating our level of play and practice and make game day like a day off, then we’re going to have the success we want to.”
Dunn, a native of Towson, is excited to play in his home state this weekend. The defenseman is a product of Loyola Blakefield and the University of Maryland.
“Getting to play back in Maryland is really special,” Dunn said. “I remember playing at Ridley my freshman year in college playing against Loyola [in 2013] — the year after they had won the national championship.”
Dunn, now 32, earned two All-America honors for his work at Maryland. He is one of ten former Terps on the Whipsnakes.
“I’m still getting to play with some of my Maryland teammates from college and with guys I never got to play with because we didn’t overlap there but we shared the bond of going to Maryland,” Dunn said. “And my friends and family get to come out to a game, which with the PLL schedule, they aren’t all going to make the trip out to San Diego or Denver or wherever.”
“The chance they get to come out and see me play is special,” Dunn added.
Dunn is excited about what the weekend will have to offer.
“It’s just always so much fun getting to play back in Maryland,” he said.
For more from Matt Dunn, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Rob Pannell, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Premier Lacrosse League