# Philadelphia Waterdogs

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. Players were selected through an expansion draft, new entry draft, and the college draft over the first few months of 2020. Andy Copelan was announced as the Club's first head coach on January 2, 2020. 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.

## Roster

2023 Waterdogs Lacrosse Club Roster :
| No. | Name | Position | Height | Weight | College | Grad Year | High School | Hometown |
| 1 | Matt DeLuca | Goalie | 6 ft 6 in | 225 lbs | Delaware | 2020 | Farmingdale | Farmingdale, New York |
| 3 | Jack Hannah** | Midfield | 6 ft 1 in | 205 lbs | Denver | 2022 | Milford | Milford, Ohio |
| 6 | Kieran McArdle (C) | Attack | 6 ft 2 in | 185 lbs | St. John's | 2014 | Connetquot | Ronkonkoma, New York |
| 11 | Marcus Hudgins | Defense | 6 ft 1 in | 215 lbs | Ohio State | 2024 | West Genesee | Syracuse, New York |
| 12 | Thomas McConvey | Midfield | 6 ft 4 in | 210 lbs | Virginia | 2023 | St. Michael's | Toronto, Ontario |
| 13 | AJ Mercurio | Defense | 6 ft 3 in | 230 lbs | Denver | 2024 | Damonte Ranch | Reno, Nevada |
| 15 | Ryan Conrad | Midfield | 6 ft 0 in | 190 lbs | Virginia | 2019 | Loyola Blakefield | Timonium, Maryland |
| 16 | Chris Sabia** | Defense | 6 ft 2 in | 200 lbs | Penn State | 2019 | Haverford | Harleysville, Pennsylvania |
| 17 | Ryland Rees | LSM | 6 ft 2 in | 210 lbs | Stony Brook | 2019 | Terry Fox | Port Coquitlam. British Columbia |
| 19 | Jake Carraway | Attack | 6 ft 2 in | 200 lbs | Georgetown | 2021 | St. Mary's | Annapolis, Maryland |
| 21 | Liam Byrnes (C) | Defense | 6 ft 3 in | 195 lbs | Marquette | 2016 | West Islip | West Islip, New York |
| 22 | Michael Sowers | Attack | 5 ft 9 in | 165 lbs | Duke | 2021 | Upper Dublin | Dresher, Pennsylvania |
| 23 | Charlie Hayes | SSDM | 5 ft 11 in | 187 lbs | Detroit Mercy | 2018 | Eisenhower | Shelby Township, Michigan |
| 25 | Eli Gobrecht | Defense | 6 ft 0 in | 200 lbs | Ithaca | 2016 | Ithaca | Ithaca, New York |
| 27 | Jake Richard | SSDM | 5 ft 11 in | 190 lbs | Marquette | 2016 | West Chester Henderson | West Chester, Pennsylvania |
| 29 | Kenny Brower | Defense | 6 ft 2 in | 215 lbs | Duke | 2024 | Massapequa | Massapequa, New York |
| 33 | Matt Whitcher | SSDM | 6 ft 3 in | 200 lbs | York | 2018 | Huntington | Huntington, New York |
| 36 | Matt Brandau | Attack | 5 ft 11 in | 185 lbs | Yale | 2024 | Boys' Latin | Timonium, Maryland |
| 37 | Dillon Ward | Goalie | 6 ft 5 in | 195 lbs | Bellarmine | 2013 | The Hill Academy | Orangeville, Ontario |
| 40 | Connor Kelly** | Midfield | 6 ft 0 in | 195 lbs | Maryland | 2018 | Avon Old Farms | Easton, Connecticut |
| 41 | Jake Higgins | SSDM | 6 ft 0 in | 195 lbs | Maryland | 2022 | Gerstell Academy | Hampstead, Maryland |
| 44 | Ben Randall | Defense | 6 ft 3 in | 192 lbs | Ohio State | 2018 | Mason | Mason, Ohio |
| 50 | Christian Scarpello | Midfield | 5 ft 11 in | 188 lbs | Rutgers | 2018 | Madison | Madison, New Jersey |
| 57 | Ethan Walker | Attack | 5 ft 9 in | 170 lbs | Denver | 2021 | Culver Military Academy | Peterborough, Ontario |
| 59 | Mikie Schlosser | Midfield | 6 ft 2 in | 180 lbs | Michigan | 2017 | Davis | Davis, California |
| 77 | Zach Currier | Midfield | 6 ft 0 in | 180 lbs | Princeton | 2017 | Culver Military Academy | Peterborough, Ontario |
| 91 | Michael Boehm | Attack | 5 ft 10 in | 170 lbs | Michigan | 2024 | St. Ignatius | Rocky River, Ohio |
*Indicates member of Holdout list
**Indicates player is on PUP list
(C) indicates captain
Source:

### 2020 Expansion Draft

| 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:

### Coaching Staff

* Head coach – Bill Tierney
* Assistant coach – Dylan Sheridan
* Assistant coach – Louie Dedonatis

### 2020 Player Pool Acquisitions

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:

## All time Draft Selections

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. 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, 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. |
| 2 | 8 | Waterdogs | Matt DeLuca | Goalie | Delaware | CAA | |
2021 Entry Draft
Draft results :
| Rnd. | Pick # | PLL Team | Player | Pos. |
| 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
| Rnd. | Pick # | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 8 | Thomas McConvey | Midfield | Virginia |
| 2 | 16 | Alex Mazzone | Defense | Johns Hopkins |
| 3 | 24 | Chris Fake | Defense | Notre Dame |
| 4 | 32 | James Reilly | Faceoff | Georgetown |

## Season results

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 |

## PLL Award Winners

Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year
* Zach Currier: 2021
Dick Edell Coach of the Year
* Andy Copelan: 2021

## Head coaches

| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Notes |
| # | Name | Term | GP | W | L | Pct | GP | W | L | Pct | Notes |
| 1 | Andy Copelan | 2020-2023 | 33 | 19 | 14 | .576 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | Participated in the 2024 Championship Series, resigned prior to the 2024 regular season |
| 2 | Bill Tierney | 2024 - Current | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | Hired on March 28, 2024 |

## All-time record vs. PLL Clubs

| Opponent | Won | Lost | Percentage | Streak |
| Archers | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost 2 |
| Atlas | 1 | 1 | .500 | Won 1 |
| Cannons | 1 | 1 | .500 | Won 1 |
| Chaos | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 2 |
| Chrome | 2 | 1 | .667 | Won 2 |
| Redwoods | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost 3 |
| Whipsnakes | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost 1 |
| Totals | 7 | 8 | .467 | |