With the hometown Archers at the helm, lacrosse has found a home in Utah

HERRIMAN – Grant Ament was stunned, but not as much as more than 5,000 of his closest friends Friday night when Ryder Garnsey’s overtime goal seemed to seal California’s surprise victory over the Utah Archers.

By now you know how that turned out: Garnsey’s goal was disallowed for a shot clock violation and freshman Jack VanOverbeke scored the game-winning goal to help the Archers to a 13-12 victory in a thrilling opener of the Archers’ homecoming weekend at Zions Bank Stadium.

The Utah Archers were at home.

“I was lucky to be here on the bubble team, no fans, cardboard cutouts in the stands. For us professionals, the home crowd wasn’t really important because there were no cities,” Ament recalled after the game.

“When the gate was rolled back, the whole place erupted. I started jumping up and down; that got all of us so motivated,” he added. “We were told it was going to be a great crowd based on ticket sales, based on the fact that Dick’s Sporting Goods was sold out for (an autograph signing appearance by) Tom Schreiber. We’re so thankful for that Utah crowd; I kept telling people, see you tomorrow. And hopefully we get the same result.”

A day later, the Archers took aim at the Denver Outlaws, burying the Colorado team with an avalanche of third-quarter goals en route to a 13-9 victory that clinched the Western Conference title for the first time since the PLL announced geographic divisions earlier this year, as well as a bye in the first round of the playoffs and a spot in the semifinals on September 7 in Long Island, New York.

Saturday was not the moment lacrosse came to Utah; the first exhibition matches have been held there since at least 1946. The University of Utah has had an NCAA Division I program since 2019, and the sport has been sanctioned by the Utah High School Activities Association since 2020.

Saturday may not have been the birth of a sport in the Beehive State, but it may have been the day Salt Lax City came of age.

Lacrosse fans from across the state flocked to suburban Salt Lake for the Archers’ two-day home game, which capped the 2024 regular season. Some of them even crossed state lines.

Joe Edgerton left his Las Vegas home around 5 a.m. on Friday morning. After a quick nap at the hotel, the Philadelphia Waterdogs fan for the past two seasons sat in his center field seats for his third road trip of the PLL season.

Edgerton was impressed with what he saw in Albany, New York, home of the Atlas, and in San Diego, home of the Redwoods this year. But Utah’s home crowd is better than both, he noted.

“That was the most packed stadium. Utah packed it,” he said while watching the Waterdogs’ 13-12 win over the top-rated Atlas. “There were a lot of people in San Diego and a lot of people in New York, but there’s a big lacrosse fan base here in Utah. They love the Archers, they cheer for them, they root for them.

“I can’t wait to go to Philadelphia next year because I know they have a passionate fan base there. It’s really special. And the PLL really puts on a first-class show.”

Lacrosse has spread along the Wasatch Front largely thanks to youth sports. More than 1,100 children of various ages participate in Junior Archers programs from Logan to St. George, with youngsters looking up to local pros like Beau Pederson of the Archers from Park City, Bubba Fairman of the Boston Cannons from Sandy, and former Utah coaches Marcus Holman and Will Manny of Boston.

Watching and coaching his 10-year-old son Liam play was a big reason PLL fan Alex Hill fell in love with lacrosse.

“We fell in love with the sport,” said the Kaysville native, whose wife from Connecticut introduced him to the sport. “It’s a great mix of athleticism, intelligence and skill. It’s just great.”

“My son is now 10 years old, has been playing since kindergarten and has enjoyed every minute.”

Lacrosse is often referred to as “the fastest game on two legs.” Hill describes it as a cross between football and basketball – a unique blend of physical contact, speed and athleticism. Once the kids got the hang of it, the parents followed.

“The kids love it, and then the parents follow suit,” Hill said. “Even football and soccer parents tell me how much they love lacrosse even more than football and soccer. It’s incredible to see.”

Craig Mueller of Hyde Park, Pennsylvania, was a fan of “traditional sports” and even coached his son in baseball until one winter day he told him he wanted to try lacrosse.

“I wasn’t very happy about it,” Mueller said while waving his Utah Archers flag in the top row of the stadium. “The first practice, I sat with my arms crossed; I showed no interest. But it continued like that until I saw how much exercise he was getting, and when the spring season started, we went to a (Penn State) game in State College, and I couldn’t sit down. … I was hooked.”

A year later, the Muellers moved to Cache Valley, where he began coaching at Sky View High School and eventually joined the local youth lacrosse association.

Mueller now helps with the Green Canyon youth program and the Northern Utah Lacrosse Club in Cache and Box Elder counties. He remembers about a dozen kids coming to practices, camps and clinics when he moved to Utah 10 years ago.

When Mueller attended a Junior Archers camp last month, there were “about 80” kids there. Many of them brought their families to Herriman for the weekend, including his wife, who wore the Waterdogs’ purple jersey for the first game against the New York Atlas.

“We’ve been there since the inception and the Dogs wore purple, which she liked,” Mueller said. “I think she still likes purple. But I became an Archers fan because there were two Penn State players, Ament and Mac O’Keefe. They’ve always been two of my favorite players as a Penn State lacrosse fan and I was immediately drawn to them.”