For the second year in a row, St. Bonaventure men's lacrosse alum Brett Dobson is at the top of the lacrosse world.
Dobson led the Utah Archers to their second consecutive Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) championship title Sunday in Philadelphia. And, for the second year in a row, he earned Championship Game Most Valuable Player accolades.
He now has his own piece of league history as he becomes the only two-time Championship Game MVP in PLL history after his 18-save performance Sunday to key a victory over the Maryland Whipsnakes.
"He just shows stuff that you think is open, and then, when you shoot it, it's not there," Maryland Whipsnakes attackman Matt Rambo said postgame. "He's one of the top goalies in the league, so that's what you'd expect from one or two of the best goalies in the world right now."
He had a special group of supporters in the stands Sunday – the entire St. Bonaventure men's lacrosse team made the trip to Philly for the game. The Bonnies received TV time on the national ABC broadcast as well.
Dobson showed his appreciation for his time as a Bonnie, wearing a Bonnies Lacrosse T-shirt on his way into the stadium before the championship game and then celebrating with the Bonnies in the crowd afterward.
"St. Bonaventure is a place that's really close to my heart," Dobson said after Sunday's win. "It's the only school that offered me to play D-I lacrosse, I took it and ran with it. The gratitude I have for Coach Mearns to bring the boys here and cancel conditioning Monday, it was awesome."
He went on an historic run during the PLL playoffs, nearly producing the first shutout in pro lacrosse history in the Western Conference finals. He came just 56 seconds away from blanking the Carolina Chaos in that 10-1 victory to clinch a spot in the title game.
The 2022 second round pick of the Archers, Dobson recorded ridiculous numbers during two postseason games: 35 saves, an 80% save percentage and 4.5 goals against average.
Maryland led Sunday's championship bout early, 4-1, through 13 minutes before Dobson locked down the Whipsnakes offense.
Utah's offense took over for a 10-6 lead in the fourth quarter and Dobson made save after save down the stretch to end any ideas of a Maryland comeback.
"Just Brett Dobson being Brett Dobson in the playoffs," Grant Ament said after the Archers' 12-8 victory at Subaru Park. "It was awesome to see."
"At the end of the day, the big boy is the big boy," Archers head coach Chris Bates said about Dobson. "He's played big in big games and gives us a sense of calm. He makes save after save, and you can feel it on the bench. You can hear our guys feel it when it's a big save."
A consensus All-American at St. Bonaventure his senior year of 2022, Dobson was Bona's first Division I recruit under head coach Randy Mearns. He led all Division I goalies in save percentage in both his junior and senior seasons at Bonaventure and earned 2022 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Dobson recorded a .601 save percentage over four seasons at Bona's and set the benchmark for program saves with 569.
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