The Philadelphia Waterdogs are a professional field lacrosse team based in the Greater Philadelphia area that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Waterdogs were the first PLL expansion team, beginning with the 2020 season .[ 1] Players were selected through an expansion draft, new entry draft, and the college draft over the first few months of 2020.[ 2] Andy Copelan was announced as the Club's first head coach on January 2, 2020.[ 3] Owners of the club include Pardon My Take hosts, Barstool Big Cat & PFT Commenter. The Waterdogs won their first championship in 2022 against the Chaos. In March 2024 the Waterdogs hired Bill Tierney as Head Coach.
2023 Waterdogs Lacrosse Club Roster
No.
Name
Nationality
Position
Height
Weight
College
Grad Year
High School
Hometown
Ref
1
Matt DeLuca
Goalie
6 ft 6 in
225 lbs
Delaware
2020
Farmingdale
Farmingdale, New York
[ 4]
3
Jack Hannah**
Midfield
6 ft 1 in
205 lbs
Denver
2022
Milford
Milford, Ohio
[ 5]
6
Kieran McArdle (C)
Attack
6 ft 2 in
185 lbs
St. John's
2014
Connetquot
Ronkonkoma, New York
[ 6]
11
Marcus Hudgins
Defense
6 ft 1 in
215 lbs
Ohio State
2024
West Genesee
Syracuse, New York
[ 7]
12
Thomas McConvey
Midfield
6 ft 4 in
210 lbs
Virginia
2023
St. Michael's
Toronto, Ontario
[ 8]
13
AJ Mercurio
Defense
6 ft 3 in
230 lbs
Denver
2024
Damonte Ranch
Reno, Nevada
[ 9]
15
Ryan Conrad
Midfield
6 ft 0 in
190 lbs
Virginia
2019
Loyola Blakefield
Timonium, Maryland
[ 10]
16
Chris Sabia**
Defense
6 ft 2 in
200 lbs
Penn State
2019
Haverford
Harleysville, Pennsylvania
[ 11]
17
Ryland Rees
LSM
6 ft 2 in
210 lbs
Stony Brook
2019
Terry Fox
Port Coquitlam. British Columbia
[ 12]
19
Jake Carraway
Attack
6 ft 2 in
200 lbs
Georgetown
2021
St. Mary's
Annapolis, Maryland
[ 13]
21
Liam Byrnes (C)
Defense
6 ft 3 in
195 lbs
Marquette
2016
West Islip
West Islip, New York
[ 14]
22
Michael Sowers
Attack
5 ft 9 in
165 lbs
Duke
2021
Upper Dublin
Dresher, Pennsylvania
[ 15]
23
Charlie Hayes
SSDM
5 ft 11 in
187 lbs
Detroit Mercy
2018
Eisenhower
Shelby Township, Michigan
[ 16]
25
Eli Gobrecht
Defense
6 ft 0 in
200 lbs
Ithaca
2016
Ithaca
Ithaca, New York
[ 17]
27
Jake Richard
SSDM
5 ft 11 in
190 lbs
Marquette
2016
West Chester Henderson
West Chester, Pennsylvania
[ 18]
29
Kenny Brower
Defense
6 ft 2 in
215 lbs
Duke
2024
Massapequa
Massapequa, New York
[ 19]
33
Matt Whitcher
SSDM
6 ft 3 in
200 lbs
York
2018
Huntington
Huntington, New York
[ 20]
36
Matt Brandau
Attack
5 ft 11 in
185 lbs
Yale
2024
Boys' Latin
Timonium, Maryland
[ 21]
37
Dillon Ward
Goalie
6 ft 5 in
195 lbs
Bellarmine
2013
The Hill Academy
Orangeville, Ontario
[ 22]
40
Connor Kelly**
Midfield
6 ft 0 in
195 lbs
Maryland
2018
Avon Old Farms
Easton, Connecticut
[ 23]
41
Jake Higgins
SSDM
6 ft 0 in
195 lbs
Maryland
2022
Gerstell Academy
Hampstead, Maryland
[ 24]
44
Ben Randall
Defense
6 ft 3 in
192 lbs
Ohio State
2018
Mason
Mason, Ohio
[ 25]
50
Christian Scarpello
Midfield
5 ft 11 in
188 lbs
Rutgers
2018
Madison
Madison, New Jersey
[ 26]
57
Ethan Walker
Attack
5 ft 9 in
170 lbs
Denver
2021
Culver Military Academy
Peterborough, Ontario
[ 27]
59
Mikie Schlosser
Midfield
6 ft 2 in
180 lbs
Michigan
2017
Davis
Davis, California
[ 28]
77
Zach Currier
Midfield
6 ft 0 in
180 lbs
Princeton
2017
Culver Military Academy
Peterborough, Ontario
[ 29]
91
Michael Boehm
Attack
5 ft 10 in
170 lbs
Michigan
2024
St. Ignatius
Rocky River, Ohio
[ 30]
*Indicates member of Holdout list[ 31]
**Indicates player is on PUP list[ 32] [ 33] [ 34]
(C) indicates captain
Source:[ 35] [ 36]
2020 Expansion Draft
edit
Pick #
Player
Pos.
PLL Team
College
1
Connor Kelly
Midfield
Whipsnakes
Maryland
2
Christian Cuccinello
Attack
Archers
Villanova
3
Brodie Merrill
Defense
Chaos
Georgetown
4
Charlie Cipriano
Goalie
Chaos
Fairfield
5
Ben Reeves
Attack
Whipsnakes
St.Als
6
Kyle McClancy
Midfield
Chaos
SUNY Albany
7
Kieran McArdle
Attack
Atlas
St. John's
8
Brian Karalunas
Defense
Redwoods
Villanova
9
Ben McIntosh
Midfield
Archers
Drexel
10
Drew Snider
Midfield
Whipsnakes
Maryland
11
Ryan Drenner
Attack
Whipsnakes
Towson
12
Noah Richard
LSM
Atlas
Marquette
13
Steven DeNapoli
Midfield
Atlas
Hofstra
14
Wes Berg
Midfield
Redwoods
Denver
15
Chris Sabia
Defense
Chrome
Penn State
16
Ryan Conrad
Midfield
Atlas
Virginia
17
Dan Eipp
Midfield
Archers
Harvard
18
Drew Simoneau
Faceoff
Chrome
Nazareth College
Source:[ 37]
Head coach – Bill Tierney
Assistant coach – Dylan Sheridan
Assistant coach – Louie Dedonatis
2020 Player Pool Acquisitions
edit
On March 21, Waterdogs announced they had signed the following players from the player pool:
Name
Position
College
BJ Grill
Defense
Marquette
Patrick Foley
Defense
Johns Hopkins
Dylan Johnson
Defense
Denver
Tate Boyce
Goalie
Providence
Reed Junkin
Goalie
Penn
Source:[ 38]
All time Draft Selections
edit
2020 Entry Draft
The 2020 player entry draft occurred on March 16 for teams to select players arriving from rival Major League Lacrosse. On March 4, Paul Burmeister and NBCSN hosted an entry draft lottery for selection order.[ 39] Out of 100 balls to select from, Waterdogs had 40, Chrome had 25, Atlas had 15, Archers had 10, Chaos had 6, Redwoods had 3, and the champion Whipsnakes had 1.
Rob Pannell was announced to be transferring to the PLL on March 9,[ 40] followed by 15 other players the following day, which comprised the selection pool for the entry draft. A total of 14 players were selected in the entry draft with remaining new players entering the league player pool.
Draft results
Rnd.
Pick #
PLL Team
Player
Pos.
College
1
1
Waterdogs
Zach Currier
Midfield
Princeton
2
8
Waterdogs
Ryland Rees
Long Stick Midfield
Stony Brook
2020 College Draft
Rnd.
Pick #
PLL Team
Player
Pos.
College
Conference
Notes
1
3
Waterdogs
Michael Kraus
Attack
Virginia
ACC
Kraus would sign a two-year contract with the Connecticut Hammerheads , who selected him second overall in the Major League Lacrosse draft instead.[ 41]
2
8
Waterdogs
Matt DeLuca
Goalie
Delaware
CAA
2021 Entry Draft
Draft results
Rnd.
Pick #
PLL Team
Player
Pos.
College
1
4
Waterdogs
Liam Byrnes
Defense
2
12
Waterdogs
Mikie Schlosser
Midfield
3
20
Waterdogs
Ben Randall
Defense
2021 College Draft
Rnd.
Pick #
PLL Team
Player
Pos.
College
Conference
1
2
Waterdogs
Michael Sowers
Attack
Duke
ACC
4
27
Waterdogs
Ethan Walker
Attack
Denver
2022 College Draft
Rnd.
Pick #
Player
Pos.
College
2
14
Jack Hannah
Midfield
Denver
3
22
Jake Higgins
SSDM
Maryland
4
30
Jason Reynolds
LSM
Notre Dame
2023 College Draft
This section needs to be updated . Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2023 )
2020
Game
Location
Date
Opponent
Result
1
Herriman , Utah
July 26, 2020
Atlas
L 10–11
2
Herriman , Utah
July 28, 2020
Archers
L 7–9
3
Herriman , Utah
July 31, 2020
Chrome
L 12–13
4
Herriman , Utah
August 1, 2020
Chaos
W 10–9
5 (Elimination)
Herriman , Utah
August 4, 2020
Redwoods
L 8–11
2021
Game
Location
Date
Opponent
Result
1
Foxborough , Massachusetts
June 6, 2021
Cannons
L 7–13
2
Kennesaw , Georgia
June 11, 2021
Chaos
W 14–12
3
Kennesaw , Georgia
June 13, 2021
Chrome
W 14–9
4
Baltimore , Maryland
June 26, 2021
Archers
L 8–17
5
Hempstead , New York
July 3, 2021
Redwoods
L 16–19
6
Eagan , Minnesota
July 9, 2021
Cannons
W 19–7
7
Eagan , Minnesota
July 11, 2021
Chrome
W 12–6
8
Colorado Springs , Colorado
July 31, 2021
Whipsnakes
W 11–6
9
Albany , New York
August 14, 2021
Atlas
W 10–9
10 (Semifinal)
Chester , Pennsylvania
September 5, 2021
Whipsnakes
L 10–14
Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year
Dick Edell Coach of the Year
All-time record vs. PLL Clubs
edit
^ "Premier Lacrosse League Announces Waterdogs LC as Seventh Team Name" . InsideLacrosse.com .
^ "How the PLL Developed Its First Expansion Team, Waterdogs Lacrosse Club" . Sports Illustrated .
^ "Andy Copelan Named As Head Coach of Waterdogs LC" . Premier Lacrosse League.
^ "Premier Lacrosse League Stats" . Premier Lacrosse League Stats. Retrieved 2020-07-30 .
^ "Jack Hannah" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-06-08 .
^ "Premier Lacrosse League Stats" . Premier Lacrosse League Stats. Retrieved 2020-07-30 .
^ "Marcus Hudgins" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved 2024-05-29 .
^ "Thomas McConvey" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-06-01 .
^ "AJ Mercurio" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved 2024-05-29 .
^ "Ryan Conrad" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-05-28 .
^ "Premier Lacrosse League Stats" . Premier Lacrosse League Stats. Retrieved 2020-07-30 .
^ "Premier Lacrosse League Stats" . Premier Lacrosse League Stats. Retrieved 2020-07-30 .
^ "Jake Carraway" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-05-15 .
^ "Liam Byrnes" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-05-28 .
^ "Michael Sowers" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-06-04 .
^ "Charlie Hayes" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2022-06-15 .
^ "Eli Gobrecht" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-05-28 .
^ "Jake Richard" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved 2024-05-29 .
^ "Kenny Brower" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved 2024-05-29 .
^ "Matt Whitcher" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-08-23 .
^ "Matt Brandau" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved 2024-05-29 .
^ "Dillon Ward" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-05-28 .
^ "Premier Lacrosse League Stats" . Premier Lacrosse League Stats. Retrieved 2020-07-30 .
^ "Jake Higgins" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-06-08 .
^ "Ben Randall" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-05-28 .
^ "Christian Scarpello" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-05-28 .
^ "Ethan Walker" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-06-04 .
^ "Mikie Schlosser" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-05-28 .
^ "Premier Lacrosse League Stats" . Premier Lacrosse League Stats. Retrieved 2020-07-30 .
^ "Michael Boehm" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved 2024-05-29 .
^ Philadelphia Waterdogs [@PLLWaterdogs] (April 20, 2023). "Roster Update: Jake Withers has been moved to the Holdout List" (Tweet ). Retrieved 2023-05-15 – via Twitter .
^ Philadelphia Waterdogs [@PLLWaterdogs] (May 12, 2023). "Defenseman Chris Sabia and LSM Matthew Hossack have been placed on the PUP List" (Tweet ). Retrieved 2023-05-15 – via Twitter .
^ Philadelphia Waterdogs [@PLLWaterdogs] (May 31, 2023). "we have moved midfielder Thomas McConvey to the unavailable to travel list. we have also moved attackman Jack Traynor and defensemen Eli Gobrecht to the PUP List" (Tweet ). Retrieved 2023-06-01 – via Twitter .
^ Philadelphia Waterdogs [@PLLWaterdogs] (June 6, 2023). "roster update: we have moved defenseman Chris Fake to the Holdout List. we have also moved midfielder Jack Hannah to the PUP List" (Tweet ). Retrieved 2023-06-06 – via Twitter .
^ "Waterdogs Roster" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-07-06 .
^ Philadelphia Waterdogs [@PLLWaterdogs] (May 15, 2023). "bringing these pups to albany 🐶👏 our 2023 training camp roster" (Tweet ). Retrieved 2023-05-15 – via Twitter .
^ "2020 Expansion Draft Results" . Premier Lacrosse League. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2020-02-13 .
^ Waterdogs Lacrosse Club [@PLLWaterdogs] (2020-03-21). "Welcome these dawgs to the squad!! 🌊🐶 https://t.co/rvU9Av7ZF2" (Tweet ). Archived from the original on 2020-03-21. Retrieved 2021-06-11 – via Twitter .
^ King, Peter (2020-04-13). "FMIA: 2020 Draft Rounds Into Focus; NFL People Show Lives in Quarantine" . ProFootballTalk . Retrieved 2022-07-29 .
^ "Rob Pannell Archives" . Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2022-07-29 .
^ Conlin, Bennett. "Michael Kraus signs two-year deal with Connecticut Hammerheads" . The Daily Progress . Retrieved 2020-07-03 .
^ Miller, Wyatt (2024-03-15). "Andy Copelan steps down, what's next for the Waterdogs" . Premier Lacrosse League . Retrieved 2024-03-15 .